The first is to offer more than Microsoft’s Outlook, the default choice for businesses that need to manage their email communications. And the second challenge is to offer more than Gmail, the default choice for individuals who need to manage their email communications.

Mozilla Thunderbird – The wide variety of add-on for this email client makes it very flexible, secure and easy to use. Highly recommended for desktop and power users. Highly recommended for desktop and power users. Review Roundup: Mac email clients. Mac email clients have begun to morph accordingly. This free, open-source client from Mozilla, makers of Firefox, lets you bolt various extensions onto.

Mozilla’s Thunderbird shows just how hard it is for any email client software to meet both those challenges. The service itself is more than adequate, and the volunteers who have built and grown the open source project have put serious thought into improving the user experience. Mail account setup, which has always been one of the biggest bugbears of switching clients, is now relatively simple. Instead of searching for IMAP, SMTP and SSL settings (and understanding what they are), Thunderbird now only asks for name, email address and password.

If you can just remember your password, you’ll be collecting your emails right away. Other aspects of Thunderbird match Mozilla’s overall look and feel. Mozilla’s Firefox browser was one of the first to introduce tabs, and that essential tool has been brought over to Thunderbird. Leave multiple emails open and you can switch between them as easily as you switch between tabs on your browser (and equally run the risk of hitting open tab overload.)

Like Gmail, Thunderbird scans your email before you send it and looks for words like “attachment” to remind you that you forget to attach your file, and the quick filter toolbar makes filtering a breeze. When you want to keep your inbox organized and shoot incoming mail directly into a folder, you’ll find setting up the parameters quick and easy.

Adding email accounts is a breeze.

Thunderbird has even teamed up with third-party providers to supply personalized email addresses. Just choose an address, such as firstname@lastname.com, and Thunderbird will set it all up. A host of add-ons and themes add a bunch of extra features, including calendars, encryption, and contact tools. For a free email client, Thunderbird certainly has a great deal to recommend it. But the popularity of the software has waned over the last few years. Although Mozilla has continued to roll out security updates and ideas from Firefox, Thunderbird has received no major update since 2012. In December 2015, Mitchell Baker, Mozilla’s executive chairwoman, said that the foundation would like to stop supporting the software altogether, arguing that its continued support drew resources away from projects, like Firefox, that have a greater impact on the industry. The long lag time that can strike users with heavy inboxes is something that’s unlikely to be fixed.

Firefox Mozilla For Mac

The reason for Thunderbird’s demise has nothing to do with its functions, which are all useful and well-designed. It has everything to do with the fact that the software is a desktop tool in a world that has now been mobile for some time. And while businesses still need a comprehensive and secure email client for their office work, that need is now largely met by enterprise software solutions that bundle in calendar and other functions.

Thunderbird does the job it was designed to do but many users will find themselves wondering whether that job hasn’t now been made obsolete.

Conclusion

Mozilla Thunderbird is a beautiful, well-made email client for a world that isn’t sure it needs email clients.

ACCU-RATE:

Usability: 8/10

Speed: 7/10

Features: 7/10

Support: 6/10

Pricing: 10/10

If Thunderbird is specified as your system's default email application, it will integrate with other applications (such as word processors and web browsers). For example, when you click an email address link (like 'email@example.com') on a web page or invoke a mail function (such as 'Send to') from a word processor, Thunderbird will launch and open a message composition window.

Unfortunately, there is a great deal of variability among operating systems and applications regarding how the default mail client is specified. If the suggestions on this page do not solve your problem, consult the specific application or operating system's documentation for instructions on how to set the default email client. Also, see the Default mail client article on the MozillaZine website for more tips.

Thunderbird can be configured to check if it is the operating system's default mail client each time it is started.

1. At the top of the Thunderbird window, click the Tools menu and select OptionsIn the menu bar, click the Thunderbird menu and select PreferencesAt the top of the Thunderbird window, click the Edit menu and select Preferences, or click the menu button and choose OptionsPreferences.
2. On the Advanced panel, select the General tab.
3. Make sure that 'Always check to see if Thunderbird is the default mail client on startup' is checked.
4. Click to check if Thunderbird is set as the default mail client immediately.

• If you want to set Thunderbird as the default client for e-mail, newsgroups or feeds, check the corresponding boxes and click OK. When a box is grayed out, Thunderbird is already set as the default client for that purpose.
• If you set Thunderbird to be the default mail client, other applications (such as your web browser or word processing application) may need to be restarted for the changes to take effect.

1. Click the Windows Start button, then click on the Control Panel icon to open the Windows Control Panel.
2. Click the Add or Remove Programs icon to open the Add or Remove Programs applet.
3. On the left side of the Window click the Set Program Access and Defaults icon.
4. In the Access and Defaults window, click on the Custom radio button to expand the Custom category.
5. Underneath Choose a default e-mail program, select Mozilla Thunderbird.
6. Click at the bottom of the window.

1. Click the Windows Start button, then click the Default Programs item.
2. Click on Set your default programs.
3. Under Programs, click Thunderbird.
4. Click Set this program as default.
5. Click at the bottom of the window.

1. Open the PC Settings application by pressing and releasing the Windows Start button, then clicking the gear icon.
2. Select Search and apps from the sidebar.
3. Select Defaults from the sidebar.
4. Click the icon under the heading Email to show your choices.
5. Select Thunderbird.

1. Open the Settings application by pressing and releasing the Windows Start button, then clicking the gear icon.
2. Click the Apps icon, then click Default Apps in the list.
3. Click the icon under the heading Email to show your choices.
4. Select Thunderbird.

The instructions above for making Thunderbird check if it is the default email client should have configured the operating system preference. However, if it isn't working, you can set it manually as follows:

1. Launch the default Mac OS X email application (called 'Mail', located in the /Applications folder.)
2. Select Mail > Preferences from the menu.
3. On the General tab, select 'Thunderbird' from the Default email reader drop-down list.
4. Close Mail.

Free Email Client For Mac

Using Gnome as an example, go to Applications > Desktop Preferences > Advanced > Preferred Applications. Select and enter thunderbird %s (If Thunderbird is not in the system's PATH statement, specify the full path.)

Thunderbird Email Client For Mac

In some cases (such as Firefox on KDE Linux), the application doesn't check the operating system preferences to determine the default email application. When that is the case, you must set the default in the application itself. Refer to the application documentation for instructions.