Thunderbird popstate issues

[NewCreationDave]

I have seen the solution to the popstate problem with Thunderbird posted as simply removing the Thunderbird profile files from Dropbox.  But that defeats the purpose of having Dropbox sync my profile and emails across my devices.  Is there a solution which allows the Thunderbird files to remain in my Dropbox?

[Mark]

The issue I'm afraid is that the two are simply not designed to play well together - as Dropbox cannot work if Thunderbird is accessing the files. Also, remember that correctly configured email setups mean you dont need to sync anything as its done at server level for you (IMAP server)

[NewCreationDave]

Thunderbird is a local client email program.  It MUST reside in dropbox (if I'm employing dropbox as my syncing agent) in order to have the file directories, stored emails, current state of threads, etc., synced on all devices so that when I open Thunderbird on my desktop, it is current with where I left off on my laptop, etc.  If I was relying on the servers for syncing, I wouldn't need Thunderbird.  If I move the files out of my dropbox, it defeats the entire purpose.

[Rich · Accepted solution]

And Thunderbird supports IMAP configurations, which allows your local client to read messages and the current state of your threads directly from the server. Configure each computer to use IMAP and they'll all read the current state of your mail account directly, with no need to sync data across another service. Read a message on one computer and it's marked as read on the others as soon as the mail client connects to the server.

Dropbox simply wasn't designed for what you're trying to accomplish. It has never been recommended to store live mail files (like Microsoft PST files as well) in Dropbox. You can, but you should pause syncing while the mail client is open so they don't interfere with each other.

I'm afraid this just isn't a problem for Dropbox to resolve.

[Mark]

Im afraid I do know exactly what Thunderbird is. It, however, shouldnt reside in Dropbox as email clients (not just Thunderbird but Outlook et al) are not intended to be in them.

You would still need Thunderbird to use servers for syncing as Thunderbird is only a way of viewing the emails.

[NewCreationDave]

Tnx, I'll check that out

[Mark]

Speak to your email provider about changing from what I assume is a POP3 server to an IMAP or Exchange one.

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