Thunderbird:Help Documentation:Finding Information in Messages: Difference between revisions

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=Using the Quick Search Box=
=Using the Quick Search Box=


Thunderbird makes it easy to quickly find messages. To quickly find a message from someone, just type their name or email address into the `Subject or Sender' box near the top right corner of the Thunderbird window. To find a message about a particular subject, do the same thing.
Thunderbird makes it easy to search your messages.


If you know what word(s) you're looking for, but aren't sure exactly which part of the message to look in, click the magnifying glass icon on the left side of the box, select `Entire Message', and type the text as before.
To quickly search the contents of a folder, simply start typing in the Quick Search Box near the top right corner of the main application window [screenshot].


When you use the quick search box, Thunderbird shows you the search results in the main window itself, by simply hiding any messages which do not match. To show all messages again, click the Close button on the right of the quick search box.
Click the magnifying glass icon [screenshot] to search for messages with specific properties. The Quick Search Box allows you to search the following:
* Subject
* Sender
* Recipients (To or Cc)
* Body
 
As you type, Thunderbird searches your messages for those which fit the search criteria, and displays them in the main message list. Messages that do not fit your criteria are temporarily hidden. To clear your search criteria and show all messages again, click on the Close button [screenshot] which appears in the Quick Search Box.


=Using Mail Views=
=Using Mail Views=


Another quick way to find messages is with mail views. You simply select a view from the `View:' list (which is located right above the message list itself), and all messages which fit the view's criterion will be shown -- and all other messages hidden.
Thunderbird also allows you to view all the messages in a folder which fit the criteria you specify. For instance, you can quickly show only messages which are unread, or which you have labelled as Important.


Here is a list of the views which come with Thunderbird (you can also create your own if you want):
To do this, click on the '''View:''' list right above the main message list, then click a view. In the main message list, Thunderbird immediately displays all the messages which match the criteria you choose, and temporarily hides the other messages.


; All : Selected by default. Shows all messages.
Thunderbird provides the following pre-set views:
; Unread : Shows only unread messages.
* '''All:''' Shows all messages.
; Label views : Shows only messages with a particular label applied (by you). The default labels are:
* '''Unread:''' Shows unread messages only. Messages which you have already read are hidden.
* Important
* '''Label views:''' Shows only those messages which you have previously labelled as Important, Work, Personal, To Do or Later. (You can also create your own labels: [link to help topic].) Unlabelled messages are hidden.
* Work
* '''People I Know:''' Shows only messages from people in your address book. Messages from other senders are hidden.
* Personal
* '''Recent Mail:''' Only shows messages less than a day old. Older messages are hidden.
* To Do
* '''Last 5 Days:''' Only shows messages less than five days old. Older messages are hidden.
* Later
* '''Not Junk:''' Only shows messages which have ''not'' been marked as junk mail (either by Thunderbird or by you). Messages marked as junk are hidden.
; People I Know : Shows only messages from people in your address book.
* '''Has Attachments:''' Only shows messages which have attachments. Other messages are hidden.
; Recent Mail : Shows only messages less than a day old.
; Last 5 Days
; Not Junk : Messages which have not been marked as junk mail by Thunderbird or by you.
; Has Attachments


==Customizing Views==
==Customizing Views==


You can create your own views, change existing views, and delete views from the `Customize Message Views' dialog box. To bring up this dialog box, select `Customize...' from the `View:' list or from the View > Messages menu.
You can create your own views and add them to the '''View:''' list. For instance, you could create a view which displays only those messages from a list of senders that you specify, or which shows only unread messages labelled as To Do from the last 5 days. You can also modify or delete views that you have already created.
 
<!-- Do we need more about customising views? -->
 
=More Complex Searches=
 
Thunderbird lets you do more complicated searches in the `Search Messages' window. This window is accessible through the Edit > Find > Search Messages... menu item. (To quit the search window, click the window's close button, press Ctrl+W, or press Esc.)
 
==Specifying Location==
 
You can search for a message in any folder of any account, but only one account at a time.
 
In the `Search Messages' window, the first thing you specify is where to search. In the `Search for messages in:' list, select the account (and folder, if any) to search in. Say you have an account called `mail.isp.net' and you want to search the Inbox. You drop down the list, move the mouse over the account name, then click on `Inbox' when the folder list appears as a sublist of the account list. If you want to search the entire account, you click on `choose this folder' from the sublist.
 
Next you specify whether you want to search subfolders, with the `Search subfolder' checkbox. (In Thunderbird, mail folders can contain other mail folders; and mail folders themselves can be considered subfolders of account `folders'.) By default, the checkbox is checked because it usually makes sense to be as inclusive as possible when starting a search.
 
==Specifying Criteria==
 
Next you set up the criteria to match messages against. For example, the message has to be from so-and-so; or it has to be dated within the last week; or it has to be an unread message. Or you can specify that ''all'' of the criteria will have to be satisfied for a message to match.
 
The actual criteria are presented as a table of drop-down lists, with three columns. Each row represents a single criterion. You can add or remove criteria by clicking the `More' and `Fewer' buttons just below the criteria table.
 
The columns of the table are:
 
; The subject of the criterion : That is, what you want to check. This can be the subject of the message, the sender, the age in days, priority, attachment status, recipients, and so on.
; The comparison : That is, whether the subject is the same as, different from, more or less or equal, and so on. For different types of values, the comparisons are different. The four different types of values you can check are text, numbers, dates, and truth values (booleans) -- whether something is true or not.
; The value that you specify : For example, if you want to specify that a message must be 6 days old, you would type `6' here.
 
Here is an example of a criterion:
 
: You want to match all messages which are 6 days old. You select `Age In Days' in the first drop-down list, `is' in the second, and type `6' in the third column box.
 
===Multiple Criteria===
 
When you set up more than one criterion, you have the choice of matching all the criteria, or any of them. For example, if you specify the criteria `must be 6 days old' and `sender must contain the name "dave" ' then you can make it so that the search is for messages which are 6 days old ''and'' from `dave', ''or'' you can have it so that messages which are 6 days old ''or'' from `dave' will show up.


==Results==
To create, modify or customise views, click '''Customize…''' in the '''View:''' list or choose View > Messages > Customize….


Once you've specified the criteria, you click the `Search' button on the top-right corner of the window, and the search results appear as a list of messages in the lower half of the window. (There is a divider between the criteria and the results that you can drag to change the space taken up by the two parts.)
For more information about customizing views, [click here].


The results list is just a message list like in the main Thunderbird window, except there is no right-click shortcut menu for the messages.
=More Advanced Searches=
Thunderbird allows you to search your messages using very precise, advanced criteria. To do this:


Below the results list is a row of buttons to manipulate the search results. The buttons are:
# Choose '''Edit > Find > Search Messages…''', or right-click the name of any folder and choose '''Search messages…'''. The Search Messages dialog box appears.
# In this dialog box, use the '''Search for messages in:''' list to specify which folder to search.
# Specify whether or not you want to search subfolders within the specified folder. (This option is checked by default.)
# In the upper area of the dialog box, specify your search criteria.
##You can search messages by properties such as size (for instance, larger than 100KB) and date (for instance, received in the last 3 days).
##You can also search for specific text in the message subject or body.
##You can specify multiple criteria by clicking the '+' buttons [screenshot], or remove criteria by clicking the '-' buttons [screenshot]. If you specify multiple criteria, you can instruct Thunderbird to search for messages that match either ''any''' or ''all'' of the criteria.
# Click the '''Search''' button to begin your search.
## When Thunderbird finds messages that meet your criteria, they are listed in the lower area of the dialog box.
## Click a message in this list to select it. You can then use the buttons at the bottom of the dialog box to open, file or delete the selected message.


; Open : Opens a message; same as double-clicking it.
To clear all the criteria you have entered so far, click '''Clear''' at the top right.
; File : A drop-down menu which lets you move messages to another folder.
; Delete : Deletes a message; same as pressing the delete key.
; Open Message Folder : Opens a new Thunderbird main window, goes to the message's folder, and selects the message.
; Save as Search Folder : Saves the search as a virtual folder where all matching messages appear. The practical effect of this is that these messages show up both in their original folder and in the search folder, and that each time a new message arrives that fits the search criteria, it automatically shows up in the search folder.


The `Clear' button right below the `Search' button wipes out all the criteria and gives you a brand new search.
=Creating your own Saved Search folders=
If you regularly carry out a particular search, you can save that search as a Saved Search folder. Saved Search folders behave like ordinary message folders, but they only contain messages which match the criteria you specify. For more information, [click here].

Latest revision as of 16:54, 25 June 2016

Using the Quick Search Box

Thunderbird makes it easy to search your messages.

To quickly search the contents of a folder, simply start typing in the Quick Search Box near the top right corner of the main application window [screenshot].

Click the magnifying glass icon [screenshot] to search for messages with specific properties. The Quick Search Box allows you to search the following:

  • Subject
  • Sender
  • Recipients (To or Cc)
  • Body

As you type, Thunderbird searches your messages for those which fit the search criteria, and displays them in the main message list. Messages that do not fit your criteria are temporarily hidden. To clear your search criteria and show all messages again, click on the Close button [screenshot] which appears in the Quick Search Box.

Using Mail Views

Thunderbird also allows you to view all the messages in a folder which fit the criteria you specify. For instance, you can quickly show only messages which are unread, or which you have labelled as Important.

To do this, click on the View: list right above the main message list, then click a view. In the main message list, Thunderbird immediately displays all the messages which match the criteria you choose, and temporarily hides the other messages.

Thunderbird provides the following pre-set views:

  • All: Shows all messages.
  • Unread: Shows unread messages only. Messages which you have already read are hidden.
  • Label views: Shows only those messages which you have previously labelled as Important, Work, Personal, To Do or Later. (You can also create your own labels: [link to help topic].) Unlabelled messages are hidden.
  • People I Know: Shows only messages from people in your address book. Messages from other senders are hidden.
  • Recent Mail: Only shows messages less than a day old. Older messages are hidden.
  • Last 5 Days: Only shows messages less than five days old. Older messages are hidden.
  • Not Junk: Only shows messages which have not been marked as junk mail (either by Thunderbird or by you). Messages marked as junk are hidden.
  • Has Attachments: Only shows messages which have attachments. Other messages are hidden.

Customizing Views

You can create your own views and add them to the View: list. For instance, you could create a view which displays only those messages from a list of senders that you specify, or which shows only unread messages labelled as To Do from the last 5 days. You can also modify or delete views that you have already created.

To create, modify or customise views, click Customize… in the View: list or choose View > Messages > Customize….

For more information about customizing views, [click here].

More Advanced Searches

Thunderbird allows you to search your messages using very precise, advanced criteria. To do this:

  1. Choose Edit > Find > Search Messages…, or right-click the name of any folder and choose Search messages…. The Search Messages dialog box appears.
  2. In this dialog box, use the Search for messages in: list to specify which folder to search.
  3. Specify whether or not you want to search subfolders within the specified folder. (This option is checked by default.)
  4. In the upper area of the dialog box, specify your search criteria.
    1. You can search messages by properties such as size (for instance, larger than 100KB) and date (for instance, received in the last 3 days).
    2. You can also search for specific text in the message subject or body.
    3. You can specify multiple criteria by clicking the '+' buttons [screenshot], or remove criteria by clicking the '-' buttons [screenshot]. If you specify multiple criteria, you can instruct Thunderbird to search for messages that match either any' or all of the criteria.
  5. Click the Search button to begin your search.
    1. When Thunderbird finds messages that meet your criteria, they are listed in the lower area of the dialog box.
    2. Click a message in this list to select it. You can then use the buttons at the bottom of the dialog box to open, file or delete the selected message.

To clear all the criteria you have entered so far, click Clear at the top right.

Creating your own Saved Search folders

If you regularly carry out a particular search, you can save that search as a Saved Search folder. Saved Search folders behave like ordinary message folders, but they only contain messages which match the criteria you specify. For more information, [click here].

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