IMAP or POP?

If it's IMAP, it's simply doing what it's supposed to do. If it's POP, I have to wonder why you are keeping messages that you don't want to look at.

File them into folders on the server, and if it's POP, that means Thunderbird will retrieve only what is left in the Inbox.

IIRC, the standard email protocols don't allow for messages to be filtered and downloaded on the basis of their age. I need to check for myself, as I don't currently use POP.

If it is offered, this may well be a server function. For instance, Gmail has a "recent" classification that helps with POP accounts.

But I'd say it's a problem of your own making, by simply allowing messages to accumulate in the Inbox. Take control. File or delete what you don't need. With that many messages, you can't really be interested in the content of many of them. So why keep them?

Zenos said

IMAP or POP? If it's IMAP, it's simply doing what it's supposed to do. If it's POP, I have to wonder why you are keeping messages that you don't want to look at. File them into folders on the server, and if it's POP, that means Thunderbird will retrieve only what is left in the Inbox. IIRC, the standard email protocols don't allow for messages to be filtered and downloaded on the basis of their age. I need to check for myself, as I don't currently use POP. If it is offered, this may well be a server function. For instance, Gmail has a "recent" classification that helps with POP accounts. But I'd say it's a problem of your own making, by simply allowing messages to accumulate in the Inbox. Take control. File or delete what you don't need. With that many messages, you can't really be interested in the content of many of them. So why keep them?

It uses IMAP (I think thats the default setting for hotmail.com addresses) As for the "problem of my own making" part I have an email account since I was a child and which I use as a "spam filter" which means I use it to login/register to various sites etc and use it only in an opportunistic manner = when I need to veryfy an account or reply to an offer from craigslist etc

I dont want to filter the inbox because thats the main feature/reason I keep this account to hassle free just log in and do my thing and log out I dont want to sort delete or filter anything (I do that on my main email address which I give only to family/friends and serious business contacts and thats why its clean without spam)

The bottom line is that I want to use thunderbird to check my emails (so that I avoid to open a browser and log into hotmail with all those ads to upgrade my account etc)

but on the same time I dont want to fill up my hard disk with junk messages....

Is that too much to ask from an email manager?

How is it to know which messages to download?

I have just set up a POP-connected account. I don't see any settings to restrict Thunderbird to download only recent messages, or messages whose timestamps are within a specified timeframe. As far as I know, there are no commands in the POP protocol to support this way of working. Please provide a screenshot of the settings you think would offer this function.

You need to bear in mind that when the POP protocol was designed, memory and disk space were expensive, so the storage offered by servers was minute by today's standards. The expectation was that a user would download and delete messages from the server on a regular basis, knowing that the server could be quickly filled and then new incoming messages would be refused by the server.

The ability to leave messages on the server was added later as a concession to users who wanted to read their email on two or more computers, possibly one at work and one at home.

You surely don't expect this server to continue working in this fashion indefinitely? It will fill up one day; perhaps the server operator will delete old messages automatically. Or maybe it'll just refuse to add any more.

I suggest you think about what you don't need to keep and create a filter to delete messages you don't need. That would be, by the definition implied in your question here, all those messages 30 days of age or older. Then just leave it running overnight.

Zenos said

How is it to know which messages to download? I have just set up a POP-connected account. I don't see any settings to restrict Thunderbird to download only recent messages, or messages whose timestamps are within a specified timeframe. As far as I know, there are no commands in the POP protocol to support this way of working. Please provide a screenshot of the settings you think would offer this function. You need to bear in mind that when the POP protocol was designed, memory and disk space were expensive, so the storage offered by servers was minute by today's standards. The expectation was that a user would download and delete messages from the server on a regular basis, knowing that the server could be quickly filled and then new incoming messages would be refused by the server. The ability to leave messages on the server was added later as a concession to users who wanted to read their email on two or more computers, possibly one at work and one at home. You surely don't expect this server to continue working in this fashion indefinitely? It will fill up one day; perhaps the server operator will delete old messages automatically. Or maybe it'll just refuse to add any more. I suggest you think about what you don't need to keep and create a filter to delete messages you don't need. That would be, by the definition implied in your question here, all those messages 30 days of age or older. Then just leave it running overnight.

you right click on the account> then on settings> then on the windows that appears you click on the left side box the option synchronization and Storage and in that option there is a setting under "storage space" which you check called "synchronize the latest" and you can sellect the days for example the latest 30 days... (the words used may be different since I dont use the english version )

as to how it is supposed to do that? simple.. every mail has a date... it will not download any mail that has an older date than 30 days from today ("today" being the current day thunderbird reads from windows calendar)

and if there is any older mail already stored then simply deleting it from the LOCAL instance of that mail (= not send a delete command to the hotmail,com server)

I don't know why I thought you were using POP since you had said you're using IMAP.

So, IMAP. IMAP stores your messages on the server and your email client acts as a remote viewer. You're asking for it to be selectively blind to some messages and not others.

I think you'll find the devil is in the detail. That word "download" refers to the message body. In the most lightweight mode, an email client will offer you just a list of messages and "download" each message on demand as you open it for reading. This can be devilishly slow and means you can't search message bodies, nor can you read non-downloaded messages if for any reason you have to work offline. So Thunderbird can be set to make local copies giving you have a local store that can be read, and searched, even when offline.

I think the setting you're referring to is just to decide which messages have their bodies downloaded. The principle of IMAP's operation means it has to be able to show you what is available. If you don't want to see that certain messages are sitting there clogging up an Inbox, then it's down to you to move or remove them.

For the way you're (mis)using this account, I suggest you set it not to "store messages on this computer". Then it will only download the bodies if or when you try to actually read them. But I don't think it's reasonable to ask IMAP not to show you the complete list of what is in your server's inbox.

If you want to keep messages on a server and not see them in an email client, then the usual solution is to put those messages into their own folder, and not subscribe to nor synchronize that folder in the email client.