We're now more accustomed to checking email in a browser tab, or loading up a mobile app, but for years everyone used a desktop client to get email and try to organize their inbox into some sort of order - from Since then in 2003, Mozilla Thunderbird has been one of the best programs for the job.
Desktop applications like Thunderbird offer several advantages over web clients, not least the ability to collect emails from multiple accounts (Apple, Google, Microsoft, etc.) and put them in one place. This also means you can manage your email even when you're offline (of course, you won't be able to send and receive messages without an internet connection).
Key Features of Thunderbirds
First, Thunderbird is free to download and run, and unlike Apple Mail, it's available on Windows, macOS, and Linux, so anyone can use it. You don't need to pay for any additional features, nor do you need an ongoing subscription (you probably already have enough). If you find Thunderbird useful and affordable, you can donate to support its development.
Once you get into the actual app itself, there are plenty of features available: support for keyboard shortcuts, fast and easy search, advanced filters for automatically sorting messages as they come in, full control over the appearance of the app's interface program, as well as a color-coded tagging feature that lets you organize messages across folders (for example, you can use separate tags for work and personal emails).
You can also manage your calendar, contacts, and tasks in Thunderbird, so it's essentially a suite of productivity tools for your desktop. You can choose the order in which you view your messages, you can arrange the panes in a number of different ways, and you can choose to view threaded conversations (like Gmail's default) or non-threaded conversations.
Thunderbird uses a tabbed interface by default (although you can change this if you want), just like your web browser might. You can open individual messages in individual tabs for easier navigation, and even settings and other pages have their own tabs. Additionally, there are a large selection of third-party add-ons covering everything from language translation to attachment extraction.
Add email account
Go to the Thunderbird official website to download the software. During setup, you'll be asked to enter the details of one of your email accounts: Thunderbird already knows the necessary configuration options for most common accounts, including iCloud and Gmail. Many times, all that is needed is your email address and a password to access it.
For some accounts, some preparation may be required so that Thunderbird can properly view your email. For example, if you use Gmail with Thunderbird, you need to make sure it's open to desktop clients: From Gmail on the web, click the gear icon (top right), view all settings , and then click Forwarding & POP/IMAP . Make sure IMAP access is enabled for Thunderbird to use.
If your email account is protected by two-factor authentication (and it should be), you may need to load an authenticator app or follow the prompts on your phone to grant Thunderbird access. For example, if your Apple iCloud account is protected by two-factor authentication, you need to go to the online Apple account page and click "Application-specific password" to create a password for Thunderbird.
If you run into any issues with any of your accounts, a quick visit to that account's help page or browsing the Thunderbird support forums should get you up and running. Once connected, Thunderbird starts downloading recent messages from various inboxes, and folders and accounts have their own entries in the left navigation pane.
Management messages
To group all messages from different accounts together, click the three dots at the top of the left navigation pane and select Folder Mode > Unified Folder . By clicking the filter buttons above the main message list, you can have more control over which messages are displayed (such as unread or starred) and the order in which they appear.
Next to the search bar there is a special application menu button that looks like three horizontal lines: clicking this button gives access to many layout options and other settings. For example, you can place your main email list to the side or top of your message threads, and there are three different density settings so you can also choose the amount of white space you see within the Thunderbird interface.
To search for messages across all your different accounts, use the search box at the top of the Thunderbird window. Each new search query appears in its own tab, so tracking them isn't difficult, you can look for emails from (or to) specific contacts, or mentions of specific words, or in specific folders . There's even a timeline view that shows the frequency of matches over time.
Filters are always useful in email clients too and can save you a lot of time. You can start creating filters by clicking the top application menu button (three horizontal lines) and then Tools > Message Filters : You can set various criteria (such as message content or message sender) to Guide to various types of filters. Action (such as archiving a message or adding a star to it).
