OK, so why are you blaming Gmail when you say you don't use it? What makes you think that a Gmail autosave (whatever that is) is to blame?

Apart from saving to Drafts, I wouldn't expect Thunderbird to be doing what you describe. And even drafts should be deleted automatically when the message is done with.

So I have to ask is this an account that connects using IMAP, and therefore if the server is doing these things for you.

You can set where Thunderbird saves copies of Sent mail, and this behaviour can be modified by addons. For instance, I move messages into folders, (I aim to keep my Inbox empty) and I keep both sent and removed messages together in those folders. But making Thunderbird do this is something I have chosen to do. Thunderbird doesn't do this by itself, which is why I suspect there is something else at work in your setup.

Hello, Zenos.

May I ask, please, don't be so hard on me.

Someone on the Mozilla Support suggested that the GMail Autosave was doing the duplicating of the emails to Sent and Drafts Folder. This has never happened to me before, and I have been using Mozilla for a long time now, since 2007.

I noticed that there was something wrong this week, when I saw that the emails I had sent were going to the Sent folder, which is right, I noticed that the same emails were being sent to Drafts, and some 0f the emails were duplicated more than 4 times. This is also for the emails received.

Now, this is not funny, as I'm sure you know. I wrote to Mozilla Support, looking for a solution, and it was suggested to me that the GMail Autosave could be the culprit. I don't use GMail at all on the computer.

It would help me, very much, if you, in any way, can offer a solution for this problem.

And I am thanking you in advance for your assistance.

Regards,

Paula

I see lots of messages from unhappy gmail users whose blood is boiling over autosave, so one can understand why it might be mentioned to you.

But if you are really not using gmail, none of this applies to you.

Who is your email provider? If you're unsure how to answer that, you could post your settings here please.

1. In Thunderbird, go to Help|Troubleshooting Information.
2. Clear the checkbox "Include account names".
3. Click "Copy text to clipboard".
4. In your reply to this forum, paste the information from your clipboard into your posting. Ctrl+v is a common shortcut for pasting.

Check it over for anything you don't want to share, but please don't remove the server names. And we won't need the huge swathe of stuff about fonts and printers, in this case. You can select and delete all this.

Hello, Zenos.

Many thanks for your reply. I understand, and I kinow you must also get frustrated with many of us who are just as frustrated about GMail! :-) I have done, as you have asked, forgive me for any extra! I saw that the box for "include account names" was clear.

So, here's the info.

Hoping it helps. Am still trusting you! :-) Paula

 Application Basics

   Name: Thunderbird
   Version: 38.5.1
   User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:38.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderbird/38.5.1
   Profile Folder: Show Folder

             (Local drive)
   Application Build ID: 20151228123010
   Enabled Plugins: about:plugins
   Build Configuration: about:buildconfig
   Memory Use: about:memory

 Mail and News Accounts
   account1:
     INCOMING: account1, , (pop3) pop3.vodamail.co.za:110, plain, passwordCleartext
     OUTGOING: smtp.vodamail.co.za:25, plain, passwordCleartext, true

   account2:
     INCOMING: account2, , (none) Local Folders, plain, passwordCleartext

 Crash Reports
   http://crash-stats.mozilla.com/report/index/bp-4e7f4be7-3c81-478b-b353-7aa562140822 (2014/08/22)
   http://crash-stats.mozilla.com/report/index/bp-2a27f708-ad26-459f-b5a7-d0f3d2140822 (2014/08/22)
   http://crash-stats.mozilla.com/report/index/bp-ffecbc49-2fc8-4375-98ab-3c1fd2140822 (2014/08/22)
   http://crash-stats.mozilla.com/report/index/bp-e64c519c-0f77-4c0a-90f7-3cad52140812 (2014/08/12)

 Extensions

 Important Modified Preferences

   Name: Value

     browser.cache.disk.capacity: 358400
     browser.cache.disk.smart_size_cached_value: 358400
     browser.cache.disk.smart_size.first_run: false
     browser.cache.disk.smart_size.use_old_max: false
     extensions.lastAppVersion: 38.5.1
  
     privacy.donottrackheader.enabled: true
     privacy.sanitize.timeSpan: 0

 Graphics

     Adapter Description: Intel(R) G41 Express Chipset
     Vendor ID: 0x8086
     Device ID: 0x2e32
     Adapter RAM: Unknown
     Adapter Drivers: igdumdx32 igd10umd32
     Driver Version: 8.15.10.2226
     Driver Date: 10-15-2010
     Direct2D Enabled: Blocked for your graphics driver version.
     DirectWrite Enabled: false (6.2.9200.17568)
     ClearType Parameters: ClearType parameters not found
     WebGL Renderer: false
     GPU Accelerated Windows: 0

 JavaScript

 Incremental GC: 1

 Accessibility

   Activated: 0
   Prevent Accessibility: 0

 Library Versions

     Expected minimum version
     Version in use

     NSPR
     4.10.10
     4.10.10

     NSS
     3.19.2.1 Basic ECC
     3.19.2.1 Basic ECC

     NSS Util
     3.19.2.1
     3.19.2.1

     NSS SSL
     3.19.2.1 Basic ECC
     3.19.2.1 Basic ECC

     NSS S/MIME
     3.19.2.1 Basic ECC
     3.19.2.1 Basic ECC

 Application Basics

   Name: Thunderbird
   Version: 38.5.1
   User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:38.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderbird/38.5.1
   Profile Folder: Show Folder

             (Local drive)
   Application Build ID: 20151228123010
   Enabled Plugins: about:plugins
   Build Configuration: about:buildconfig
   Memory Use: about:memory

 Mail and News Accounts
   account1:
     INCOMING: account1, , (pop3) pop3.vodamail.co.za:110, plain, passwordCleartext
     OUTGOING: smtp.vodamail.co.za:25, plain, passwordCleartext, true

   account2:
     INCOMING: account2, , (none) Local Folders, plain, passwordCleartext

 Crash Reports
   http://crash-stats.mozilla.com/report/index/bp-4e7f4be7-3c81-478b-b353-7aa562140822 (2014/08/22)
   http://crash-stats.mozilla.com/report/index/bp-2a27f708-ad26-459f-b5a7-d0f3d2140822 (2014/08/22)
   http://crash-stats.mozilla.com/report/index/bp-ffecbc49-2fc8-4375-98ab-3c1fd2140822 (2014/08/22)
   http://crash-stats.mozilla.com/report/index/bp-e64c519c-0f77-4c0a-90f7-3cad52140812 (2014/08/12)

I located your earlier question and the person asked if you were using gmail as your issue sounded similar.

• https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1108734

Thanks for info. It seems you are using POP mail account, so you are not using folders on the server like IMAP does.

Is your POP mail account shown in the left Folder Pane with it's own folders? OR Is it set up as a deferred account using another Inbox. In other words have you set it up as a 'Global Account' so that all incoming mail goes to the 'Local Folders' Inbox?

Many thanks for your reply, Toad-Hall.

No, there's nothing like Global Account, or anything like that.

It looks like POP has its own pane, with all the various things associated with it.

When you send a message: Whilst typing the email, auto save will probably have created a copy in the 'Drafts' folder. When you actually send, it should put a copy in the 'Sent' folder and delete the copy in the 'Drafts' folder. Currently you are seeing multiple drafts for the same email as if the auto save is not updating the original draft, but creating a new one.

If the email was sent to a group of people and you were one of those recipients. If you chose 'Reply-all' then you need to check whether your email address was included in the email address headers. If your email address was included then this would explain why you get a copy in the Inbox as well. So, the question is: Do you get a copy in the Inbox if you write a new Write message which does not have your email address in any TO/Bcc field ?

Hello, Toad-Hall. Am wondering if I shouldn't tell you how this problem started. How I normally do things. When I send an email, I send to one individual, and not to groups. Before January, 2016, everything was fine, until last week, when I saw that Drafts is showing something, and I know that I don't have any drafts at all, because I would check that I have sent all the emails out. In other words, the email I had sent out to one person went to Send, and to Drafts as well. In Drafts, that same email that I have sent to one person, repeated itself every few minutes, usually two times, and some others over 4 times each, within the space of 5 minutes. I realised that I now have to delete my email I have sent out, as well as the one/s in Drafts. And this is double work. The emails I get from recipients are addressed to me only. Once in a blue moon will I get an email showing other email addresses on the same email. In which case, I would rather reply to the person who sent me the email, and not to the rest. When I write a new email, I do so in the "Write" section, unless, of course, that email warrants a reply from me. No, I don't get copy in Inbox. Am sorry in mentioning the Inbox, because I am upset. Now, I am "stumped," so to speak, and wondering how this whole thing started. Am hoping that this will show you what is happening. Regards, Paula

re : I know that I don't have any drafts at all, because I would check that I have sent all the emails out.

Let's check the current setup for Drafts etc, so helpers know the current settings. Right click on mail account name in Folder Pane and select 'Settings' then select: Copies & Folders' for the pop mail account

Drafts and Templates section Keep message drafts in: This is what should be selected. Select: 'Drafts folder on' pop mail account name. Confrm you have that selection and not 'Other' option. click on 'OK'

Then check your auto save options. 'Tools' > 'Options' > 'Composition' > 'General' tab or 'Menu icon' > 'Options' > 'Options' > 'Composition' > 'General' tab

It is usual to have the auto-save selected. Is the auto save option selected ? How many minutes is it currently set to auto save on ? Usually, it is set to 5 mins.

click on OK to close options.

RE: Drafts folder Please do the following. Make sure there are no emails in Drafts - delete anything in that folder. Right click on 'Drafts' folder and select : 'Compact'

RE: Write window What is the usual Write window mode. Is this window in full screen mode completely covering the entire desktop or smaller showing as a window ?

Hello, Toad-Hall. Many thanks for coming back to me.

Email settings Have checked, and everything is just as you have mentioned, including the 5 mins. option on Autosave. Done.

Drafts: I have selected Compact, as you have suggested. Done.

Write Window: this window is minimised.

Anything else I need to do?

Regards, Paula

To make sure the indexing file is ok, please do this: Right click on 'Drafts' folder and select : 'Properties' click on 'Repair Folder' click on OK

Now that the Drafts folder has been completely cleared, compacted to remove marked as deleted emails and reindexed, please report back on results.

Hello, Toad-Hall.

Have done as you have requested. The Drafts folder is clean.

Thought I had lost everything in the Inbox, and I managed to get everything back! :-)

I have no emails to write at present, and will report back, should there be any problem.

Many, many thanks for all your help. It really and truly greatly appreciated! Been a long journey, but worth it, though.

Have an absolutely wonderful day, and the very best for the future.

Best Regards, Paula

PS: I would like to take this opportunity to say Thank You to Zenos, for all his help too, and to wish him all the best.