Thunderbird Local Folders

[Ed]

Can anyone tell me what is the purpose of the Thunderbird Local Folders.
Can I delete these?

I have a number of POP3 email accounts and I download new messages from
each of these into their own specific Inbox.

I'm aware that I could download all new messages into the single Inbox
under Local Folders but I prefer to keep them separate as described
above. Hence I have no need for Local Folders and so would like to
delete this. Or maybe Local Folders serves some other useful purpose?

Yours truly,
Ed

 

[Lou]

Can anyone tell me what is the purpose of the Thunderbird Local Folders.
Can I delete these?

I have a number of POP3 email accounts and I download new messages from
each of these into their own specific Inbox.

I'm aware that I could download all new messages into the single Inbox
under Local Folders but I prefer to keep them separate as described
above. Hence I have no need for Local Folders and so would like to
delete this. Or maybe Local Folders serves some other useful purpose?

Yours truly,
Ed

Ask in news.mozilla.com

 

[John Corliss]

Can anyone tell me what is the purpose of the Thunderbird Local Folders.
Can I delete these?

Ed, they are a poorly (IMO) implemented central repository for all email
and newgroup account messages, both incoming and outgoing.

I have a number of POP3 email accounts and I download new messages from
each of these into their own specific Inbox.

I'm aware that I could download all new messages into the single Inbox
under Local Folders but I prefer to keep them separate as described
above. Hence I have no need for Local Folders and so would like to
delete this. Or maybe Local Folders serves some other useful purpose?

I fought this battle for a couple of years, but couldn't win. The
"Global Inbox" AKA "Local Folders" is a feature apparently loved by all
the Thunderbird developers and it won't go away. However, I agree, there
doesn't seem to be any reason for it to exist and to not be optional.

The only way I found to deal with them that didn't cause any problems (I
forget who made the suggestion) was to rename the "Local Folders"
account to a blank space. That way, at least it wasn't so distracting.

However, since my needs are different from yours, eventually I found a
way to do a fresh install of Thunderbird, without importing any old
accounts, then copying all my saved messages from a backup (on a CD no
less!) to a recreated folder structure under the "Local Folders" account.

Good luck.

--
Regards from John Corliss
I don't reply to trolls like Andy Mabbett, Doc (who uses sock puppets)
or Roger Johansson, for instance. No adware, cdware, commercial
software, crippleware, demoware, nagware, PROmotionware, shareware,
spyware, time-limited software, trialware, viruses or warez for me, please.

 

[Ed]

Ed, they are a poorly (IMO) implemented central repository for all email
and newgroup account messages, both incoming and outgoing.


I fought this battle for a couple of years, but couldn't win. The
"Global Inbox" AKA "Local Folders" is a feature apparently loved by all
the Thunderbird developers and it won't go away. However, I agree, there
doesn't seem to be any reason for it to exist and to not be optional.

The only way I found to deal with them that didn't cause any problems (I
forget who made the suggestion) was to rename the "Local Folders"
account to a blank space. That way, at least it wasn't so distracting.

However, since my needs are different from yours, eventually I found a
way to do a fresh install of Thunderbird, without importing any old
accounts, then copying all my saved messages from a backup (on a CD no
less!) to a recreated folder structure under the "Local Folders" account.

Good luck.

John, thank you very much for your informative reply. Guess I will just
have to live with the Local Folders for now.

The only thing that goes into my Local Folders is when I post to a
newsgroup and keep a copy of the message in the Global Sent box as there
doesn't seem to be any other obvious place to hold these. Though of
course I could switch that off and not save a copy anywhere! It's not
really necessary.

Yours truly,
Ed

 

[Adam Piggott]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

Can anyone tell me what is the purpose of the Thunderbird Local Folders.
Can I delete these?

I have a number of POP3 email accounts and I download new messages from
each of these into their own specific Inbox.

I'm aware that I could download all new messages into the single Inbox
under Local Folders but I prefer to keep them separate as described
above. Hence I have no need for Local Folders and so would like to
delete this. Or maybe Local Folders serves some other useful purpose?

Usenet posts, drafts, templates etc. are stored there. Well, they are on my
install
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Version: GnuPG v1.4.2.2 (MingW32)

iD8DBQFEITIJ7uRVdtPsXDkRAhfsAKCBj0mO8Pw/re65dT++MhmBE/7HRACfUw1G
DY4LLY/YczzmHfdVk7HmGC4=
=5KVp
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

 

[BrianE]

Usenet posts, drafts, templates etc. are stored there. Well, they are on my
install

This is very easy to change using account settings, then go to copies &
folders tab.

Cheers

B.

 

[Ed]

This is very easy to change using account settings, then go to copies &
folders tab.

Cheers

B.

Exactly. There is no real need at all for Local Folders. Just wish I
could delete them.

Yours truly,
Ed

 

[BrianE]

Exactly. There is no real need at all for Local Folders. Just wish I
could delete them.

Yours truly,
Ed

Nag the Mozilla bods..

 

[John Corliss]

John, thank you very much for your informative reply. Guess I will just
have to live with the Local Folders for now.

The only thing that goes into my Local Folders is when I post to a
newsgroup and keep a copy of the message in the Global Sent box as there
doesn't seem to be any other obvious place to hold these. Though of
course I could switch that off and not save a copy anywhere! It's not
really necessary.

You're welcome, Ed. And I should have mentioned that although there are
ways to get rid of the "Local Folders" via hacking the prefs.js file in
your profile folder, every time there's a major update to Thunderbird,
the method changes too. Not only that, but getting rid of the Local
Folders can lead to sent message copies getting vaporized if you're not
careful.

--
Regards from John Corliss
I don't reply to trolls like Andy Mabbett, Doc (who uses sock puppets)
or Roger Johansson, for instance. No adware, cdware, commercial
software, crippleware, demoware, nagware, PROmotionware, shareware,
spyware, time-limited software, trialware, viruses or warez for me, please.

 

[Stephen Harris]

Exactly. There is no real need at all for Local Folders. Just wish I
could delete them.

Yours truly,
Ed

I use message rules on those local folders.
Can you use message rules on your created inboxes/folders?

 

[Watanye]

Can anyone tell me what is the purpose of the Thunderbird Local Folders.
Can I delete these?

I have a number of POP3 email accounts and I download new messages from
each of these into their own specific Inbox.

I'm aware that I could download all new messages into the single Inbox
under Local Folders but I prefer to keep them separate as described
above. Hence I have no need for Local Folders and so would like to
delete this. Or maybe Local Folders serves some other useful purpose?

Yours truly,
Ed

I don't know how pertinent this will be with all the answers already
posted, but I found this while trying to archive my inbox to reduce the
stuff in my flash drive.

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Local_Folders#Getting_rid_of_Local_Folders

 

[Ed]

I use message rules on those local folders.
Can you use message rules on your created inboxes/folders?

Yes, of course.

Ed