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I want my e-mail to display "from" on the left and "subject" on the right. It's backwards since its installation. How do I fix this?

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  • Last reply by Zenos

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I had Thunderbird installed on my computer at a computer shop. My e-mail display is backwards with the subject the first to display and then the sender, followed by the date. I want the sender first, then subject, then date. I know this is something I can fix myself with the proper instructions. I need detailed instructions with common language, not computer terms. I don't know what a "column button" is so that was not helpful. Is there a service phone number I can call? I can't find one anywhere!!

I had Thunderbird installed on my computer at a computer shop. My e-mail display is backwards with the subject the first to display and then the sender, followed by the date. I want the sender first, then subject, then date. I know this is something I can fix myself with the proper instructions. I need detailed instructions with common language, not computer terms. I don't know what a "column button" is so that was not helpful. Is there a service phone number I can call? I can't find one anywhere!!

Chosen solution

You can reorder the columns by clicking and dragging the column heading (Date, From, Subject, etc.), put them where you want.

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Chosen Solution

You can reorder the columns by clicking and dragging the column heading (Date, From, Subject, etc.), put them where you want.

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The words at the top, such as "Date", "Subject" are the so-called column buttons. Move your cursor onto one, press and hold down the left mouse button and drag the column button to where you want it, then release the mouse button. This is a standard feature in very many windows, such as Windows File Explorer, and many other dialogs, such as those where you select a file.

If you carefully aim for the left or right hand edge of a column button and do the same, you can change the width of the column.

All of this, so far, is standard practice in the sort of system used in Windows and other environments such as Linux and Macintosh computers. So this is an issue of general computer literacy and is not specific to Thunderbird.

Back to Thunderbird.

Doing this adjustment sets it only for the current folder. Your other folders won't change. But if you right-click a column button, you'll see a drop-down list where you can select which columns to show. More importantly, at the bottom, there are options to copy the current column arrangement to other folders.