So I guess no one gives a crap. Thanks Thunderbird family. Time to find another email client.

Thunderbird keeps asking me if I want the message deleted to save disk space.

What is the exact message you get?

The window that appears is titled "Compact Folders". Every time I delete a message, the following appears. It gives me the options to Proceed or Cancel.

"The messages you have deleted can be purged from disk. This operation will save about 263 MB of disk space. Select the option below to let Thunderbird do this automatically without asking you."

Check box with the following: "Remove message deletions automatically and do not ask me."

I clear my trash folders 2-3 times a week. There is no way that 263 MB of disk space are taken up by trashed messages. I prefer to empty trash manually rather than having everything deleted manually. It's annoying that I have to cancel this message every time I delete an email.

Check this article to understand what compacting (or purging) is, and why it's needed. http://kb.mozillazine.org/Compacting_folders

Basically it's not about deleting existing messages, but to purge messages you have already deleted but still exist in the mail file(s).

To avoid the prompt in the future, check the box 'Remove message deletions automatically and do not ask me' and press proceed.

Having said that, it's always recommended to create a backup of your Thunderbird profile folder on a regular basis. https://support.mozilla.org/kb/profiles-where-thunderbird-stores-user-data#w_backing-up-a-profile

Thanks. From the message I was getting, I would not have understood that was what's happening.

It's all very well telling me to 'Remove message deletions automatically and do not ask me' and press proceed' but where exactly do I find this option please? I am using T'Bird 78.7.0 (32 bit)

Regards and TIA

Phil

It's all very well telling me to 'Remove message deletions automatically and do not ask me' and press proceed' but where exactly do I find this option please?

This dialog actually has two potential actions, not just one: 1. "Proceed" allows compact to occur after you click the button 2. If you mark the checkbox (and click Proceed), then you will not be prompted in the future

I'd be happy to compact my messages but the banner suggests that "The messages that you have deleted can be purged from the disk". I most definitely do not wish to delete or purge anything whatsoever from my history.

Can you please clarify exactly what clicking on "Proceed" does?

Regards

Phil

Proceed button does TWO THINGS

1. it does the first sentence, "messages you have deleted can be purged from disk" 2. it sets the preference indicated by the checkbox (in other words the third sentence), to not prompt you in the future

IT DOES NOT DELETE MESSAGES FROM TRASH FOLDER. MESSAGES THAT YOU SEE IN THE TRASH FOLDER stay IN THE TRASH FOLDER. (caps for emphasis, I am not yelling)

Or if you prefer, https://wiki.mozilla.org/Thunderbird:Help_Documentation:Menu_Reference#Compact_Folders is a description from over a decade ago

Or newer https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/compacting-folders (which I helped write)

Hi, I too have been annoyed by this new "option". Your reply assures us that deleted messages will still be in the Trash folder. However, the pop up message states: "messages you have deleted can be purged from disk" I suggest the wording here be changed (actually, I don't need Thunderbird asking me to automatically purge; if I want to do that, I know how to). As I read it, "proceeding" will purge the deleted message, and I don't want that. So I suggest a fix. First, it wasn't broken in the first place, so remove this automatic fix. Or word it so that it doesn't seem that all deletions will be purged. Thanks

Thank you for your support here Stephen. Desite the learned explanations, I am still very reluctant to press the "Proceed" button. I agree that the message could be better worded and hope that the developers take some notice of our comments.

Regards

Phil

> Hi, I too have been annoyed by this new "option". > First, it wasn't broken in the first place, so remove this automatic fix.

There is nothing new here - the prompt is a couple decades old.

> I am still very reluctant to press the "Proceed" button

Because you don't like the wording? Because you don't trust the explanations that have been given? (i.e. because you don't know me, or others that have given very accurate details ?)

A leap of faith. I trusted the advice given here and clicked the "proceed" to purge the deleted message. I did not know, from the wording in the option box after deleting, that my mail would go to the Trash folder. I had to accept that it would. And it did. On Thunderbird's end, I would change the wording, for it implies a purge. Thanks

> Unfortunately I trusted the advice given here and clicked the "proceed" to purge the deleted message. Sure enough, the deleted message did not go to my trash folder, but was purged.

Perhaps we don't have a common definition of "deleted message".

A deleted message can be a) a visible message in Trash folder b) a visible message in any folder, with strike out font, if you use the "mark as deleted" option c) a message that is not visible in any folder when you don't use "mark as deleted" option, and you move the message to another folder or deleted it (which moves it to trash).

In cases b and c, when you do a compact it will by definition free the space the message was occupying and the message will disappear.

In case a, nothing will happen to trash, which you stated did not happen.

There is a fourth case where antivirus software may cause an entire folder to disappear.

And a fifth, which cannot be ruled out, a potential bug in Thunderbird. But we have no reported bugs, and version 78 has been out for over 8 months

In the context of the above items, please give more exact details about "the deleted message ... was purged." (And to again emphasize, to the best of my knowledge nothing changed in version 78.)

The Swedish text in the nagging pop-up box say "Remove messages automatically and don't ask me again". After reading that and the answers and comments above, I still don't dare to check the box and press "Continue", as I don't like to take the risk of having deleted massages removed/purged or... Jan (new user ...)

Wayne Mery,

""3/9/21, 8:38 AM

> I am still very reluctant to press the "Proceed" button

Because you don't like the wording? Because you don't trust the explanations that have been given? (i.e. because you don't know me, or others that have given very accurate details ?)""

I am reluctant because I don't trust the program not the answers given. Glitches happen with updates. I don't want to clear my trash folder until I am sure I won't need to double check on something later (which I have had to do on occasion). I would like Thunderbird to add the option to 'not' purge and 'not show this message again' and add a 'purge now' option in the tools so if down the road we want to purge the trash, we can.

I have worded https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1317882#answer-1397463 to say, it WILL not clear trash.

I can't fix translations. I can't force people to be more comfortable with the existing wording. The wording isn't going to change any time soon.

I do help manage releases so I'm aware of most of the code changes that are going into releases, and this area of code isn't changing.. Also, I helped create the wording, and I do work with developers.

NIGGLI, You made a suggestion about trash - we're not going to further complicate this dialog with options or checkboxes for touching trash. Let me emphasize

   -- THIS DIALOG DOES NOT TOUCH TRASH --

.

Hi everyone, christ1's post was marked as the solution by the person who asked the original question (miclev2333). For better help, it would be best to use https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/new where volunteers can get more details about your setup.

Because this thread is solved and more people might start using it for their own questions, I'm going to lock it.

FWIW, https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/compacting-folders has been revised to be more clear and give more useful information