Why Does My Thunderbird Expand All Threads By Default?

There are a lot of users who are curious to know about the situation where Thunderbird expand all threads by default. Therefore, to guide them about this feature, the reason behind it, the manual way to fix it, and the professional alternative solution to overcome it, we prepared this complete blog post. So, a lot of users find it a glitch or bug when Thunderbird always expand threads, but ironically, it is an in-built default feature that expands the conversation whenever it is sorted in a threaded view. There are multiple benefits of this feature, which make users’ tasks more efficient, and thus, to know about that as well, read the complete blog till the conclusion.

What is Thunderbird Expand All Threads By Default?

In a nutshell, the “Thunderbird always expand threads” is a default feature of this email client, in which users can access the complete conversation automatically. This basically gives a more expanded view of the email content whenever it is sorted in threaded mode.

It makes sure that the user does not need to manually click on each reply to read them, and thus, they do not miss/ignore any information even by chance. The fact about this Thunderbird expand all threads by default option is that it can show up to 100 threads together in a threaded view, which eliminates lots of hustle to manually see each reply or section of the thread.

Benefits of Thunderbird Always Expand Threads Feature

• The primary advantage is that it shows the full conversation in one go, which helps in understanding the complete context of the replies.
• Sometimes, when the threaded view is collapsed, it sometimes makes the user ignore the important message, which is close to impossible in Thunderbird expand all threads by default.
• This feature also makes sure that none of the data is hidden from the users’ sight, and thus, they get a more focused interface in which the important data is highlighted automatically.

Why Users Want to Disable Thunderbird Expanded View?

• First of all, for a lot of users, this Thunderbird expand all threads by default, thing looks very cluttered and messy.
• Also, when the thread contains long messages, the performance of Thunderbird slows down and makes the experience very awful.
• Plus, in this threaded view, it is very difficult to find the unread or new messages as they merge in between the threads.
• In addition to that, users also want to disable Thunderbird threaded view so that they can easily navigate the required files.
• Last but not least, some users always recommend the traditional email layout like Outlook, and that is why they want to learn and turn off the Thunderbird expand all threads by default option.

How to Manually Fix Thunderbird Expand All Threads By Default?

There are multiple manual ways for Thunderbird disable thread view by default. And, thus, to learn about them briefly, read the shared sections below:

1. Use Asterisk to Disable Thunderbird Always Expand Threads

1. First of all, run Thunderbird.
2. Now, go to the folder that has expanded threads.
3. Then, simply press the * key on the keyboard.
4. This will close the threaded view.

Drawback: This method is quite simple and fast, but the limitation is that it does not work once the user restarts Thunderbird or when the user receives a new email. 

2. Use the Config Editor Option to Fix 

1. Primarily, run Thunderbird on your device.
2. Then, click on Settings and select General.
3. Once done, go to the bottom and choose the Config Editor option.
4. Now, in the search field there, type mailnews.thread_expand_all.
5. After this, if a new window pops up, set it to false by double-clicking the value.
6. And, if not, then create one by right-clicking and selecting the New option.
7. Further, choosing Boolean and naming it mailnews.thread_expand_all.
8. Finally, set it to False to fix the Thunderbird expand all threads by default issue.

Drawbacks: This method is very technical and complex for users who belong to a non-tech background. Also, this one comes back to a threaded view whenever the user receives a new message. 

3. Reset the Thunderbird Folder View

1. Launch Thunderbird on your device.
2. Then, go to the folder that reflects the threaded view.
3. Once done, click on View and choose Sort By.
4. Further, select the Unthreaded option.
5. And, with this, you can resolve Thunderbird expand all threads by default situation.

Read Also: Quick Guide to Fix Thunderbird Not Working After Update

Alternative Solution to Overcome Thunderbird Always Expand Threads

If none of the manual solutions turn out to be effective and you want to work in the traditional email layout only, where there is no threaded view, then you can simply use the MailsWare Thunderbird File Converter. It has 30+ export options, which allow the user to directly switch the email client from Thunderbird to Outlook, Gmail, or others with complete information as well as attributes. The quick steps to use this tool are as follows:

1. Install and run the tool on your device.
   
2. Select Thunderbird data using the given selection modes.
   
3. Choose your saving option from the list of export options.
   
4. Then, give the required credentials.
   
   
5. Finally, click on Convert to export Thunderbird to Gmail, Outlook, etc., of their choice.
   

Features of Professional Tool

• It supports bulk data and lets the user transfer everything to another client, which gives a non-threaded and conventional email view.
• Using this tool, every element, including attachments, header, footer, multimedia, and more, remains the same and transfers to the export option.
• The best thing is that it also offers a demo edition, which is completely free of cost and works the same as the licensed one, except for the file-size limitations.
• In addition to that, it has a very easy-to-use layout so that even beginners can use it to fix the Thunderbird expand all threads by default issue.
• Overall, it is a one-stop Thunderbird solution since the user can export, download, fix, and import Thunderbird files using this tool.

Conclusion

In this blog, we briefly shared the different aspects of Thunderbird expands all threads by default. Thus, in a nutshell, the manual ways are not so reliable, but the professional alternative can help you for sure. Thus, this tool covers and sorts almost 90% of the Thunderbird issues and helps the user work efficiently without any data loss or alteration at all.

Read next: Complete Guide to Fix Thunderbird Not Showing Sent Folder