How can I modify Thunderbird 68 so that I can run it (with its own profile) in parallel (at the same time) to TB 60 (on Mac)?
Rephrase of question: On a Mac (Yosemite), I'd like to install and run two separate Thunderbird apps simultaneously (in parallel) alongside each other (each with their own profile).
tl;dr: What code should I change/tweak to create an identical build of Thunderbird, with the following exceptions?: It can be installed and run as a completely seperate app with no conflict/sharing of profiles with the regular/original TB I currently have installed. In other words perceived and treated by my mac machine as a completeley different Email Client and doesn't interact with my current TB Email Client (or its profiles).
Details:
Okay so I have my reservations with using profile startup arguments to launch a specific profile...I do this with Firefox and every now and again I get crashes and my profile gets corrupted. I can't risk that with Thunderbird/emails.
Is there a way to modify a file such as a config file so that Mac sees TB68 as a separate program? You know, just like how it sees Firefox Developer Edition (or Waterfox) and Firefox as separate browsers and they can be both natively run at the same time without any arguments/modifications/settings etc.
I'm currently using Seamonkey but it's not on par with Thunderbird. I'm guessing building a Thunderbird might be a solution but I'm not a developer and don't know how quick and easy the process is. https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Developer_guide/Build_Instructions/Simple_Thunderbird_build On this point, if anyone has or knows where I can find a virtually identical build of Thunderbird (third-party or official) that's recognised by Mac OSX as an independent app, that may help I guess.
I know TB development is independent from Firefox development. But I've seen this: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1542025 and thought it's worth mentioning the following: I'm not sure if my question/issue above will be solved by itself in future updates of TB by having a dedicated profile feature similar to Firefox, https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/dedicated-profiles-firefox-installation
I've posted a similar (but not the same) question to this on the TB Support Forum a while back. It was initially suggested that I specify profiles on startup. Then it was acknowledged there could remain a problematic issue. That is why I'd prefer two separate apps to avoid any problematic issues that may arise with having one app with multiple profiles: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1265160 To summarise this support forum post: I know I can use Terminal on Mac to specify profiles similar to in Firefox. I do this for old FF and FF Quantum e.g.
open /Applications/Firefoxquantum.app --args -P Firefoxquantumprofile
However, I've ran into issues – Sometimes when clicking on an out-of-browser web-link, there seems to be a mix-up of profiles and consequently the old Firefox profile gets corrupted. I lost some add-ons, add-on settings, bookmarks and some other damage too. I'm worried something similar may happen, e.g. if I tried with TB and happened to click on an out-of-client email link, consequently calling up the wrong profile or corrupting one of the profiles. Again don't want to risk that.
Modified by Simpleisgood
All Replies (7)
As far as I am aware MACOS only supports one default mail program. So clicking links in your operating system will have exactly zero regard to your desire for two applications
Starting with 68 are discrete profiles per install, so if you install Thunderbird 68 in two different locations it will want to use two profiles by default.
Re-wrote response below (couldn't delete this post).
Modified by Simpleisgood
Matt said
As far as I am aware MACOS only supports one default mail program. So clicking links in your operating system will have exactly zero regard to your desire for two applications Starting with 68 are discrete profiles per install, so if you install Thunderbird 68 in two different locations it will want to use two profiles by default.
@Matt, Thank you for your rapid response.
So just to confirm: I have TB 52 installed right now. If I install TB68 in a different location, will I be able to have both of them (TB52 and TB68) open and running at the same time (with no profile conflict)? Or will I have to have two TB 68s in different locations for that to work? (without the need for profile arguments of course)
nb. I'm not 100% sure I understand the point you made about default programs. MACOS only supports one default mail program at a time but this is also true for web browsers right? Yet I still come across issues when using profile arguments with old and quantum FF.
Clicking that link will invoke your operating systems mail handling routines. What mail programs it opens is an operating system setting.
There are plenty of bugs opened from the profile per install as well. In firefox and Thunderbird. But my feelings is most of your issues are probably having a single firefox account synchronizing setting for the different versions. Thunderbird has no such thing.
Now your getting into stuff I have no interest in quantum firefox is more than a year old, why you would be futzing around with the old version I have no idea, I have exactly zero issues with the daily version I have been using for years. (except the daily update that is)
Matt said
mailto:matt_au@gmx.com Clicking that link will invoke your operating systems mail handling routines. What mail programs it opens is an operating system setting. There are plenty of bugs opened from the profile per install as well. In firefox and Thunderbird. But my feelings is most of your issues are probably having a single firefox account synchronizing setting for the different versions. Thunderbird has no such thing. Now your getting into stuff I have no interest in quantum firefox is more than a year old, why you would be futzing around with the old version I have no idea, I have exactly zero issues with the daily version I have been using for years. (except the daily update that is)
Thank you again Matt for your response.
I agree FF's daily update notification can be annoying I tried to disable it from about:config by changing the URL checking link but that didn't work.
With regards to FF, I think your feelings are along the right lines - although I don't use FF sync...but yeah when the corruption occurs I sometimes get FF's page telling me to load addon settings as if for the first time. At other times I just get the majority if not all addons wiped along with the complete bookmark list. I can't remember which type of pages but sometimes old/legacy FF can be helpful when some pages don't open with quantum but there are other benefits of having both.
I have tried your suggestion (installing TB68 in another location) and I can say it is a success so far. However for some reason, after closing it down for the first time and starting it up for the second time, TB68 decided to to start up using a new profile.
I looked in the Thunderbird Profiles directory and found two new TB68 profile folders (besides the original TB52 profile). The first one ended in '.default-release' and the second one ended in '.default'. I closed and started up again for the third and fourth and fifth time and it seems to keep opening the second profile (.default). Do you know why this has happened?
Anyway, I hope TB68 remains stable and keeps on opening this second profile (and doesn't mix or interfere with other profiles or the TB52 profile). Maybe more testing is required.
Simpleisgood said
Maybe more testing is required.
Oh and I noticed that the sliding notification for emails arriving at a TB52 inbox showed the TB68 logo. This was while TB68 was closed.
Does that mean that TB68 has already started to interfere with a TB52 profile's settings or is the visual GUI of the notification independent of profile settings and related to something else?
Nb. When installing I renamed Thunderbird.app to TBSixtyEight.app after dragging and placing into a folder that sits in the applications folder. Original TB52 is directly located in the application folder so they are not in the same location and have different names.
The icon your interfering to is part of the OS integration. As I said right at the beginning. You operating system only recognizes one default mail client. It can be 52 or 68 but not both.