How to Get Organized in Mozilla Thunderbird

Lighter and more nimble than Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird also happens to be totally free, whether it came bundled with your new system or not. While some might criticize it as less robust than Outlook's many features, it's actually very easy and far simpler to organize your inbox with Thunderbird, so long as you know your way around the program.

Things You'll Need

• Windows OS

Instructions

Create a hierarchy of folders and subfolders

1. Once you've setup Thunderbird, you'll see default folders like Inbox, Unsent, Draft, Trash, Sent. To make sure you can see these folders, go to View: Toolbars: and make sure that 'all' is selected.

2. You can create new folders or subfolders of existing folders. To create a new folder right click on 'Local Folders' and select 'New Folder.'

3. Type in the name of the new folder and then select where to locate it as a subfolder. If you want the new folder to appear on the same level as Inbox and other main folders, select 'Local Folder.'

4. Create as many folders and subfolders as you need to organize and categorize your inbox--folders might include: 'bills,' 'family correspondence,' 'work related,' etc...

Setup Tags

1. Tags are a quick way to color-code your messages for easy browsing. Locate and click on the 'tag' button on your toolbar.

2. You should see a list of color-coded default tags like 'work,' 'to-'do,' 'important,' 'personal,' etc... next to the corresponding number key that you will use to tag messages.

3. To add tags, click on 'Add Tag,' then type in the tag name and select the color you'd like to use for that tag. The new tag will automatically be assigned the next available number key.

4. To edit existing tags, go to Tools:Options, click on the 'Display' icon, and then the 'Tags' tab. Click on the tag you'd like to change, then hit the gray 'edit' or 'delete' button.

5. Once your tags are all set, you can begin tagging messages by simply highlighting a message in your inbox, then hitting the corresponding number for that tag, giving you a more colorful inbox.

Stars and other tools

1. In your inbox, there are pre-defined columns to help you sort out the junk from the important stuff. The 'Star' column on the left lets you easily mark a message as important by just clicking the circle in the star column and on the row of the message you want to mark. Same goes for the 'junk' column, marked by a flame on the right side.

2. Yet another way to mark a message as worth another look is by marking it as read or unread. Click the circle under the sunglasses icon to toggle between read and unread. Unread messages are bolded, making messages that need another look stand out a bit more.

3. Use filters to automatically route messages from certain senders or containing certain words or phrases in the subject line to a pre-determined folder. Create new filters by going to Tools:Message Filters.Then click 'New' and fill in the blanks in the dialog box.

Putting it all together

1. Easily move messages back and forth from folder to folder by either running your filters under the Tools menu, or by simply dragging and dropping a message into the desired folder.

2. It's also easy to see all your important messages at once in a folder--for example, clicking the star icon at the top of your inbox window will move all the 'starred' messages to the top or bottom of your list of messages.

3. Tags aren't so easily sorted, although they can all easily be erased in one fell swoop by hitting zero.

4. Finally, if you still need more tools to get organized, check out the Mozilla site for an abundance of powerful plug-ins.

Resources

• Mozilla Site