how to delete a block of messages at once?

Have you ever deleted multiple files in Windows Explorer at once? Thunderbird works the same way.

Select the first message you want to delete. Then press and hold Shift and select the last message to be deleted. This selects all messages in between the first and the last one. By holding down Ctrl and click on a message you can select or de-select it individually. Then press Del to delete all selected messages.

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Sorry, but that doesn't work for me on my Win 10 laptop. I did what you said and selected the 1st message I wanted to delete. I then pressed the shift key, but when i selected the last message of about 20 I wanted to delete, the only one that got highlighted was the last one

I suggest you try... but you must keep holding the shift key while you use your mouse. Not doing so is the only reason I could think of that this would not work for you.

i did try with the control key and didn't work, but with the SHIFT key it DID work

Thanks alot

i did try with the control key and didn't work, but with the SHIFT key it DID work Thanks alot

Ctrl allows non contiguous selections. Shift selects between the two clicks. Judicious use of both can allow a big list selected using shift to be reduced by mails you want excluded from the action by changing to the Ctrl key.