When an email is sent, the sender is identified with a display name and an email address. IF the sender completes the information that includes a display mane, that is what is shown. The option in Thunderbird overrides this with the display name yu set for the person in your address book.

Email from this support forum uses a disaply name so you see mail as from "Mozilla Support Forum" not no-reply@support.mozilla.org

The from actually looks like this From: Mozilla Support Forum < no-reply@support.mozilla.org >

It is considered bad form on the part of a mail client to not use the display name part of the From if the sender has set it. So Thunderbird simply has no option for that, other than what appears in the actual message header where both are shown.

In the case of mailing lists and things like blogger it is common place to use a single from email address and insert the username of the person involved as the display name.

For instance yahoo groups mail looks like this Bob bob@work.com [sbs] <sbs@yahoogroups.com>

Without the display name it would be impossible to tell who had actually authored the mail

What are you really trying to achieve? Most of these questions come as a result of some problem that can often be address a different way.

I appreciate the Display Name usage, If everyone used sensible Display Names life would be easier but I get hundreds of mails which just use Sales, Info, Support, Accounts etc. Without looking at each header how to tell the originating email address?

IMHO It would be better if Display Name and Email From Address were separately selectable columns. This would also allow easy sorting/collation of mails coming from same address/company.

Also when creating/editing/debugging message filters it would easier if Email From Address could be shown as a column (without having to check individual headers). Similarlrly for Cc.

I agree fully, If the display names were informative and not a way to hide the origin. Like someone who just calls himself ca and his name isn't anything like it.

Bad form or not, Matt can you propose this as a longed for inclusion.

Just file a bug for it. https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/

I have been looking at the add-on from V3 to see if I can hack it into a usable form. Might have some success there with my limited skills. But I have worked out this does not work. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/show-address-only/

Adds the column, but there is do data in it.

I found this Email Addresses in Message Headers It doesn't add a column but it's a bit on the way