- Apple Mail has always been trouble under any version of PPC operating systems and that's why I use TenFourBird which works like a charm. And webkit, according to SourceForge, hasn't been updated since 10/8/18.
- You are not logged in. To discriminate your posts from the rest, you need to pick a nickname. (The uniqueness of nickname is not reserved. It is possible that someone else could use the exactly same nickname.
- TenFourFox The TenFourFox project provides builds of Firefox for PowerPC (PPC) that are based on Firefox ESR.
Tenfourfox Tenfourfox.
The chair of the Mozilla Corporation stated that the Mozilla Corporation will stop developing Thunderbird in a July 2012 post that has been widely mis-interpreted as meaning Thunderbird is dead. Part of the bad PR was caused by people not being aware that the community had already been doing a significant amount of the development, and that the community did not agree with his conclusion that 'it is already pretty much what its users want and mostly needs some on-going maintenance'. Many people are also unaware that another project survived after the Mozilla Corporation stopped development. SeaMonkey is a community lead project that was created 15 years ago after the Mozilla Corporation stopped releasing new versions of the former Mozilla Application Suite.
The Thunderbird project is not dead, it has become a community lead project. It continues to uses the Mozilla Foundation (a 501(c)(3) non-profit) as its legal and fiscal home but is now a independent project. It still has some dependencies upon Mozilla Corporation infrastructure (such as the build system) but has minimized that, and provides it's own add-on web site. While the project primarily relies upon unpaid volunteers, the Thunderbird Council (the governing body for the project) has hired eight full time employees and is looking to hire up to six more in 2019. All of them are engineers except for the community manager. [Maildev] thunderbird near term focus describes what they will be focusing on this year. There is also a collaboration with Ura Design to create a UX team and style guide, and with the p≡p Foundation to add p≡p (pretty Easy privacy) support to the Enigmail add-on (OpenPGP based email security).
According to Thunderbird Usage Continues to Grow there are approximately 27 million active monthly users. The major source of funding is donations from users.
Thunderbird uses a Mozilla toolkit library (a set of APIs built on top of Gecko) whose features have been driven by Firefox's needs. One long term problem for the project was how to deal with Firefox moving to the WebExtensions API and deprecating support for XUL/XPCOM (Legacy add-ons). This transition started with Thunderbird 60. Legacy add-ons could still be used if the author made some modifications described in the Add-ons Guide for Thunderbird 57 and beyond (including version 60). Changes were made by volunteers to a few of the most popular add-ons that weren't being maintained anymore. Version 68 essentially dropped all support for Legacy add-ons and requires WebExtensions based add-ons.
Installation Statistics
Extension statistics
There has been no consensus or official decision after several years of discussion about whether to replace the current Thunderbird with a next generation Thunderbird that used web technologies (while still remaining a desktop email client). The default plan appears to be to stick with the current code base, converting many modules from C++ to Javascript, and to refactor the code as needed to pay off technical debt. This will make it easier to make major changes such as a complete redesign of the address book, replace the built-in HTML editor, remove libmime, and to minimize the dependencies upon Mozilla's software.
Is this web site going away?
The admin suddenly announced 21 Sep 2019 in a 'The End' thread that he was going to start shutting down and archiving the forums and knowledge base as he didn't have time to keep running the site . MozillaZine gets free hosting at the Open Source Labs (OSL) at Oregon State University. He was apparently in the midst of moving the web site from some old dedicated hardware (hosted at OSL) to a centrally OSL managed virtual machine. Its suspected the real problem was he doesn't have the time to finish that transition.
A potential replacement admin (Ian Neal) was found with experience running phpBB forums, a long history of contributing code for Mozilla projects, and a willingness to complete the transition to a centrally OSL managed virtual machine. However Kerz (the admin) has stopped posting (his last post was on 24 Sep 2019), hasn't replied to email's sent to him by a moderator, and hasn't read a private message sent to him from the potential replacement. In the interim the wiki (knowledge base) has been frozen while the forums continue to work. Its unclear what is going on.
Tenfour Nj
How to ask for help.
Please don't send a private message to a moderator to ask for technical help. Either create a new thread and ask a question, use the search field (to the right) to search for threads about similar topics, or look in the knowledge base (to the right). If you find a old thread about a similar problem and want to ask for help, please create a new thread instead if its over a year old.
If you create a thread please
- Mention the version number in Help -> About Mozilla Thunderbird, what operating system you're using, and the exact text of any error message.
- Use a descriptive title such as 'contact sidebar vanished', don't just say you need help. If you're running OS X or Linux mention the operating system in the title to help other users with that background notice your thread.
- Don't post your email address.
- If you need to provide a picture see Post a screen shot on the forum
Some good articles for new users:
Getting started with Thunderbird.
Common misconceptions about Thunderbird
How to keep Thunderbird working (aka How not to shoot yourself in the foot)
How do you backup Thunderbird?
64 bit builds
SSL security errors
Moving your profile
Move to a new PC
Other sources of information
Using Gmail with Thunderbird.
Updating add-ons
Add-on doesn't support your version of Thunderbird
Many add-ons are automatically disabled by Thunderbird 5.0 or later because they have a maximum version field that indicates they only support up to Thunderbird 3.3. However, many add-ons will work if you bump the maximum version they support, despite tools -> add-ons complaining that is it incompatible. If you are using a old version of Thunderbird the easiest way to do that is to install the Disable Add-on Compatibility Checks (Version 4-56) add-on. That will automatically disable version checking so that you can try the add-on. Ignore the warning message that the add-on is not compatible. If you run into a problem just uninstall the add-on. If you can't do that, use 'help -> restart with add-ons disabled' to disable all add-ons and then uninstall the one that doesn't work.
Tenfourbird Powerpc
Firefox and Thunderbird used to both use https://addons.mozilla.org/ . Thunderbird now uses https://addons.thunderbird.net/
Thunderbird version 60
Many add-ons broke due to changes in the Mozilla Toolkit used with version 60. Edits have been made to some of the more popular add-ons by developers to get them to work. In some cases the add-on developers made the changes necessary to get their add-on to work, but most of Thunderbrid's add-ons are no longer actively maintained. The extensions.strictCompatibility setting defaults to true in version 60.*, preventing Thunderbird from letting you install an add-on that doesn't explicitly claim to support version 60. If you use the config editor at Tools -> Options -> Advanced -> General to toggle that setting to false you can install the add-on. However, that doesn't mean that it will work, just that you can now try to use an old add-on that might work because it doesn't use any API's that have been changed/removed.
Thunderbird 60 / Add-on Compatibility has links to unofficial fixed versions of add-ons or documentation on what to edit to fix some broken add-ons.
The current WebExtensions support in Thunderbird 60.4.0 is really for 'Embedded WebEXtensions'. The embedded WebExtension's files are packaged inside the legacy add-on.
Thunderbird version 68
Add-ons that use XPCOM/XUL are now considered Legacy add-ons. Legacy add-ons are essentially no longer supported starting with version 68. All add-ons are WebExtension based add-ons instead. Since the WebExtensions API doesn't support complete themes yet, there is no support for complete themes anymore.
Unfortunately most of the current WebExtension APIs are mainly for commonly used elements like windows and tabs and it is going to take a while until mail-specific APIs are available. In the interim some experimental WebExtension APIs will be available in some add-ons starting with Thunderbird 63. The goal is for those APIs to get reviewed by developers, modified as needed, and then eventually included as part of Thunderbird. In the interim its going to be chaotic.
[meta] Add support for WebExtensions bug report
Thunderbird WebExtensions - legacy API
Thunderbird 68 uses a Mozilla toolkit library that wants to have separate profiles for release builds, daily builds and beta builds. This is sometimes called Mozilla's 'profile by install' feature. If you automatically upgraded Thunderbird 60.* to 68.* in many cases it ignored the old profile and created a new one. Part of the problem was a bug where if you installed in a different location it would not recognize the old profile. One way to workaround that is to specify the location of the old profile using a -profile 'full_path_of_profile' command line argument (tell Thunderbird to ignore whats specified in profiles.ini) and a --allow-downgrade command line argument (indicates that you can use that profile with deprecated releases) in the target field in the Thunderbird shortcut.
Thunderbird 67, 68 and newer betas does not use existing profile bug report.
Thunderbird version 78
Version 78 compatible extensions
RoadmapThe Engineering manager has published a rough roadmap here . Keep in mind that sometimes major features are added slowly over many versions. Maildir support was first announced for version 12, become fairly usable in version 33, and is now pretty good in version 68.
Its not clear when the built-in HTML editor will be replaced. They experimented in 2011 with a replacement using a 'Compose for Thunderbird' experimental add-on, that if successful, would have been merged into Thunderbird. It used the CKEditor Smart WYSIWYG editor component, but they decided it was too hard to integrate. Making another attempt has been proposed many times, but didn't make it into the current roadmap.
2020 virtual summit on Thunderbird
Version 78 and later roadmap
Downgrade
See Go back to an old version of Thunderbird if you want to go back to an earlier version . Uninstalling Thunderbird does not delete your profile, which has your mail, settings, address books, add-ons etc. If you're worried backup your profile first using one of the suggestions in Profile backup or Third party profile backup software and services
Windows 10
Formal support for Windows 10 was added in version 38.2.0
Unsupported Operating System
Thunderbird 52 is the last release to support Windows XP (requires SP3), Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows 2008 and Windows Vista. If you want to run Thunderbird with XP SP3 or Vista install version 38.5.0 and then upgrade it, in order to get a more recent version of Thunderbird. This kludgy process is due to digital signing.
See Unsupported Operating Systems if Thunderbird no longer supports your Operating System. There are several workarounds available such as a third party build of Thunderbird called TenFourBird if you are using a PowerPC Mac running Tiger or Leopard.
Lightning (calendar) problems
Check if there is a release candidate at the Mozilla Calendar Project Blog. The Lightning add-on web page has a 'development channel' at the bottom. Click on that if you're interested in finding out how to get experimental versions of Lightning. Its typically the only version that will work with beta versions of Thunderbird.
Beta versions
Beta versions of Thunderbird are available here.
A side effect of installing a beta is that it puts you on the beta channel, so that whenever you check for upgrades it will look for both new releases and betas. The channel information is stored in the programs directory, so if you uninstall you start fresh. Uninstalling doesn't delete your profile, which contains your mail, address books, settings, add-ons etc.
Add-ons
As of Oct, 7, 2019 there are 1338 extensions at https://www.thunderbird.net/ . 229 are compatible with version 60, and 110 are compatible with version 68 according to https://cleidigh.github.io/ThunderKdB/ . Version 68 requires WebExtension based add-ons. This is similar to the transition that Firefox made to Firefox Quantum in 2017.
Bug reports
Bug reports are at https://bugzilla.mozilla.org . Thunderbird related bug reports are typically filed either under Thunderbird (client software) or Mail/News Core (component). The bug reports are NOT a way to get help on a problem. Its recommended that you create a thread at one of the support channels and have somebody else try to confirm its a new bug before reporting it.
Tenfour Support
Bugzilla has four major problems:* A large number of duplicate bug reports.
* Many of the bug reports are useless because the problem is not reproducible by whoever is looking into the problem.
* User unfriendly search capability makes it hard to find if a bug has already been reported.
* Many bug reports get ignored for years.
The developers don't appreciate 'me too' comments or lobbying attempts in bug reports. Bugzilla Etiquette describes the guidelines for using the bug reporting system.
Tech Support Scam
Mozilla does not offer telephone support or paid technical support for Thunderbird, and does not recommend any companies that do that. However, there have been cases were somebody used a legitimate technical support company that did not make any false claims, but the user thought they were dealing with Mozilla because they incorrectly connected the dots . You can report a web site that you believe is using Mozilla's trademarks to mislead people into thinking the site is an official Mozilla site or sponsored by Mozilla to Mozilla's legal dept. at https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/about/legal/fraud-report/ .
Its against the rules for anybody in these forums to remotely access your PC. It is too prone to abuse, and we want to help people in a way that information is shared with other users. Most problems are not new.
Donations
Donations can be made at https://donate.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/ . Note the 'While Thunderbird is now an independent project separate from Mozilla, Mozilla has agreed to collect donations on our behalf.' You don't have to use the methods (credit/debit card or PayPal) available on that web page, it also has a link to a FAQ that explains how/where to donate by check, wire transfer etc.
From MozillaZine Knowledge Base
Firefox 3.x and Thunderbird 3.x do not support Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, Windows ME, Windows NT 4.0, Mac OS X 10.2.x and Mac OS X 10.3.x. One workaround would be to use Firefox 2.0.0.20 and Thunderbird 2.0.0.24. However, it is very risky to use an obsolete browser because you can't get any security bugs for known vulnerabilities fixed, and exploits are out there. Using an obsolete version of Thunderbird is less (but still is) of a risk, there are less feasible exploits than for a browser. The major risks for e-mails are enabling inline attachments or blindly opening any attachment.
Windows 2000 and XP SP1 are no longer supported starting with Firefox 13 and Thunderbird 13 due to Mozilla moving to the Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 compiler. [1]
Firefox and Thunderbird do not officially support Windows 8 yet, but all reports are that it works fine. There are no plans to do a Metro version of Thunderbird. Since there is no Thunderbird 'app' (Metro version of Thunderbird), Thunderbird won't run on a Surface RT tablet, since Windows RT only runs Windows Store apps. Thunderbird will run on the Surface Pro since it has the full Windows 8. [2][3][4][5] Mozilla is working on a Metro version of Firefox (its currently in beta). Mozilla would like to create a version of Firefox for Windows RT but Microsoft doesn't allow other software to use the APIs needed to support a modern web browser. [6][7][8]
Contents |
Windows
If you have a unsupported version of Windows one workaround would be to install a kernel patch called kernelex. It designed to let applications that require Windows 2000 or Windows XP run on Windows 98/ME systems. It seems to have a good reputation but its recommended you assume the worst and back up your entire system and create a bootable rescue disk beforehand if you try it.
It adds a compatibility layer that emulates functions that the application expects to find. This includes several file and registry security features that it might pretend to implement, but actually ignore. Normally you would be more secure using Firefox 3.x since it has many security patches not in Firefox 2.0.0.20. However, its possible you could actually be less secure because Firefox 3 exposes you to some new and more serious vulnerabilities due to it assuming those features would protect you.
If you don't already use them, consider using add-ons such as AdblockPlus, FlashBlock , NoScript and WOT to help compensate for the added vulnerabilities.
Another possibility is to create a browser and/or email appliance. You could run the latest version of Firefox and/or Thunderbird using a virtual machine that has a very lean copy of Linux (such as Damn Small Linux) as a guest operating system. This is not the same thing as dual booting. The problem is that most virtual machines (VMWare, VirtualBox etc.) are optimized to be run using a Windows 2000/XP host (rather than a Windows 98 host) so they're slow.
See Build a Lightweight Browser Appliance and Windows 98? Linux and VirtualBox! (Maybe) as a starting point.
Mac OS X
There are various threads where somebody talks about somebody else finding a workaround, but never any details. SeaMonkey 1.1.19will run on Mac OS X 10.2 or later. It was released for anybody unable to run the 'newer stable version' on March 16, 2010 when support for 1.x was dropped. SeaMonkey will no longer backport security fixes to 1.x nightly builds.
Classilla is a open source browser for OS 9. Its built on WaMCom (Web and Mail Communicator), a port of Mozilla client software for classic Macintosh systems. Where possible it will also run on OS 8.6.
Mozilla plans on dropping support for Firefox on Leopard around June 2012. TenFourFour is a version of Firefox fine-tuned for PowerPC Macs running Tiger or Leopard. TenFourBird is a version of Thunderbird for PowerPC Mac OS X based on TenFourFox. As of April-5-2012 both TenFourFox and TenFourBird support the latest ESR (Extended Support Release) from Mozilla (10.0.3). The Camino browser runs on Tiger and later on both Intel and PowerPC Macs.
See also
External links
- KernelEx v 4.5 thread (good support forum for kernelex)
- Windows 98 compatibility question at Portable Apps web site.
- Add a CSS Media Query for Windows 8 Desktop theme bug report.