Put Thunderbird to work
(Credit: CNET Networks)The most recent update to the Mozilla Thunderbird (download for Windows or Mac OS X ) mail client shoves the former fledgling out of Mozilla's nest. The goal, if unstated, is clear: get as many people as possible to try the app, and hope that the appeal of a lighter client with similar power to Outlook and Outlook Express will pull some users away from Microsoft's ubiquitous software.
For home use, Thunderbird 2 should be a no-brainer. Many of the newer features incorporate Web mail services, which can now work offline as well as on. Threaded post reading and customizable tagging are big pluses, and so is the integrated RSS reader. Taking a page from Web browsers, Thunderbird 2.0 added "forward" and "back" buttons that let you cycle through messages in order of viewing, regardless of their folders. Strong HTML support, junk-mail filtering, encryption options, numerous add-ons, and support for POP3, IMAP, and Gmail (with support for other Web mail services in the offing) make this favorite freeware a must try.
The big question for Thunderbird, however, is "Can it be used for work?" The app lacks an integrated calendar, and importing settings from Microsoft Exchange and Outlook can be tricky.
First, you need to configure Thunderbird for either an IMAP or POP3 account. If you don't know which one to use, contact your company's tech support. For IMAP, open up your Outlook, go to Tools/Email Accounts/Change or View Existing Accounts and then hit Change when you see the Microsoft Exchange server. Copy the address of the Exchange server and paste it into your Thunderbird IMAP account settings under "Server name." Type in your user name and you're good to go.
For POP3 accounts, you'll need to know the name of your POP mail server (often pop.yourserver.com). If you don't have it ready when you set up the POP account, you can enter it later through Thunderbird's Tools/Account Settings/Server Settings option. To check your Gmail with Thunderbird, you've got it easy. Simply choose the Gmail option from the Add Account option under Tools/Account Settings, enter your account name and password, and you're good to go. Other Web mail accounts will need to be set up as a standard POP3 account.
Another essential component of e-mail clients is the calendar. Ostensibly, Thunderbird is lacking in this department, but there is a workaround. There's an excellent plug-in called Lightning that gets better with every build.
The Lightning extension integrates the Sunbird calendar application with Thunderbird.
(Credit: CNET Networks)After I installed Lightning, I found an excellent forum post explaining how to import your calendar, and I'll summarize it here:
Go to your Outlook calendar and make sure it's set to the American date format, mm/dd/yy. Then go to File/Import and Export and choose Export to a File. Choose "Comma Separated Values (DOS)" and save the file, then import it into Lightning under Calendar/Import in Thunderbird.
Now meeting invitations sent to you from Outlook users will include a button in the message to add the event to your calendar.
The latest Lightning build, as of this writing, supports adding events to the calendar that have been mailed to you, but not e-mailing out invitations yourself. The Mozilla Calendar Project blog hints that feature will be included in a future release. However, if you're a bit more adventurous, Lightning has a nightly build that is less stable than the official version but includes more features that are missing from the official release. Also, many Sunbird extensions work with Lightning.
I'm still having some difficulty connecting to the shared address book on the corporate Exchange server, and I'm waiting for some IT help with configuring LDAP settings. Here's an excellent LDAP address book resource I found for those who want to fight their own configuration battle.
The LDAP settings panel can be reached through Tools/Address Book/File/New/LDAP Directory. For now, I would recommend exporting the ones you need from Outlook and importing them into Lightning through the Tools/Import/Address Books feature.
Next week, I'll take a look at some of the best add-ons for Thunderbird, including themes. If you've made the switch to Thunderbird for your work e-mail, tell me about it in the comments.
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http://www.freepops.org/en/download.shtml
and download the tiny program, install it, and then go to Start->Programs->FreePOPs and drag it to your Startup folder (in Start->Programs).
Then go to
http://www.freepops.org/en/tutorial/mozilla.shtml
and follow the great tutorial!
http://www.freepops.org/en/download.shtml
and download the tiny program, install it, and then go to Start->Programs->FreePOPs and drag it to your Startup folder (in Start->Programs).
Then go to
http://www.freepops.org/en/tutorial/mozilla.shtml
and follow the great tutorial!
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/2313
then you can install the awesome extension Provider for Google Calendar--available from
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/4631
and then every change, addition, or deletion made to the online version of the calender or your local version will sync bi-directionally. Now there's no need to login to google every time you want to view or change your calender!
Tips for installing extensions into Thunderbird (it's not that easy for beginners)...
There is a button at the extension site that says Install Now, so you would think to just click on it. But that will not work, because it tries to install it into Firefox (if you are using firefox for your browser that is), which works great if you are trying to install an extension for firefox, but you're not. The instruction at the site say to download it (like to your desktop) by right clicking, Save as, etc... But my way is much easier: Right-click on the Install Now button, then choose "Copy Link Location". Now go to Thunderbird, Tools->Add ons, and under the extension part, click Install. Paste (Ctrl-V) the link you just copied into the File Name bar. That's it, now install it. As a shortcut I include the direct links for the extension installers below:
Lightning:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/downloads/file/8816/lightning-0.3.1-tb-windows.xpi
Provider for Google Calendar:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/downloads/file/15250/provider_for_google_calendar-0.2-tb+sb.xpi
Another difficult thing: Sometimes (like in the case of the Provider extension) the Install Now button on the main extension page is not a direct link to the installer (if it is a direct link it will end in .xpi) but is instead a link to a page with a little licensing info and the direct link. In this case Copying the link location and pasting it in will result in an installation error. So when you paste it in to the File Name bar make sure it ends in .xpi or you didn't go far enough.
SUNBIRD -- one more thing: I much prefer Sunbird (Mozilla's stand-alone calendar) to Lightning at this point, but I don't use it because the Provider extension is not compatible with the stable version of Sunbird out right now. Once the new version is out, though, that link to Provider is good for BOTH Lightning or Sunbird (you can tell by looking at the end of the installer where it says tb+sb). Sunbird is available at
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/
So very soon when they finally release Sunbird 0.5, I will definately switch back to it, unless Lightning improves immensely somehow (enough to catch up with Sunbird).
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/2313
then you can install the awesome extension Provider for Google Calendar--available from
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/4631
and then every change, addition, or deletion made to the online version of the calender or your local version will sync bi-directionally. Now there's no need to login to google every time you want to view or change your calender!
Tips for installing extensions into Thunderbird (it's not that easy for beginners)...
There is a button at the extension site that says Install Now, so you would think to just click on it. But that will not work, because it tries to install it into Firefox (if you are using firefox for your browser that is), which works great if you are trying to install an extension for firefox, but you're not. The instruction at the site say to download it (like to your desktop) by right clicking, Save as, etc... But my way is much easier: Right-click on the Install Now button, then choose "Copy Link Location". Now go to Thunderbird, Tools->Add ons, and under the extension part, click Install. Paste (Ctrl-V) the link you just copied into the File Name bar. That's it, now install it. As a shortcut I include the direct links for the extension installers below:
Lightning:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/downloads/file/8816/lightning-0.3.1-tb-windows.xpi
Provider for Google Calendar:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/downloads/file/15250/provider_for_google_calendar-0.2-tb+sb.xpi
Another difficult thing: Sometimes (like in the case of the Provider extension) the Install Now button on the main extension page is not a direct link to the installer (if it is a direct link it will end in .xpi) but is instead a link to a page with a little licensing info and the direct link. In this case Copying the link location and pasting it in will result in an installation error. So when you paste it in to the File Name bar make sure it ends in .xpi or you didn't go far enough.
SUNBIRD -- one more thing: I much prefer Sunbird (Mozilla's stand-alone calendar) to Lightning at this point, but I don't use it because the Provider extension is not compatible with the stable version of Sunbird out right now. Once the new version is out, though, that link to Provider is good for BOTH Lightning or Sunbird (you can tell by looking at the end of the installer where it says tb+sb). Sunbird is available at
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/
So very soon when they finally release Sunbird 0.5, I will definately switch back to it, unless Lightning improves immensely somehow (enough to catch up with Sunbird).
we are looking to the new future
we are looking to the new future
I've been using Thunderbird for few months now and find it very interesting. Here's a list of pro's and con's of this little program :
Pro's :
- nice look;
- once it's set up, it goes very smoothly;
- like it very much when i open it and it tells me right away how many messages are pending;
- transfer between Outlook Express and Thunderbird was very easy (emails, adresses, directories, etc.); everything followed.
Con's:
- Cannot export neither my adress book nor my files into a "document directory" (outside the program file) just like it was possible for Outlook (as a backup).
But I think it feel so good "flying" out of Microsoft..:)
I've been using Thunderbird for few months now and find it very interesting. Here's a list of pro's and con's of this little program :
Pro's :
- nice look;
- once it's set up, it goes very smoothly;
- like it very much when i open it and it tells me right away how many messages are pending;
- transfer between Outlook Express and Thunderbird was very easy (emails, adresses, directories, etc.); everything followed.
Con's:
- Cannot export neither my adress book nor my files into a "document directory" (outside the program file) just like it was possible for Outlook (as a backup).
But I think it feel so good "flying" out of Microsoft..:)
It was going crazy so I switched back to the evil empire. Boy I wish I could have a consistently wonderful experience with a mail/calendar program other than Outlook.
Perhaps my courage will grow again in the near future to try it again.
k
It was going crazy so I switched back to the evil empire. Boy I wish I could have a consistently wonderful experience with a mail/calendar program other than Outlook.
Perhaps my courage will grow again in the near future to try it again.
k
- Thunderbird 2
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by wa9guu
May 1, 2007 2:39 PM PDT
- I really appreciate the competition to uSoft. But this left me with no OE and no way to get my Hotmail. For us computer stupid folks give us an exact example of what to type to get Hotmail in the program.
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