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Loss of some emails in one folder

  • 11 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 5 views
  • Last reply by r101gtx

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I changed the name of a folder. Some time later I found that there were only a few emails in that folder where there had been many. I checked my Gmail account and they were there. How do I get them back into my TB folder?

I changed the name of a folder. Some time later I found that there were only a few emails in that folder where there had been many. I checked my Gmail account and they were there. How do I get them back into my TB folder?

Chosen solution

Reinstalling has worked on my laptop.

Do you think having a lot of folders contributes to this problem?

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All Replies (11)

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If you right-click the folder, Properties, Repair Folder, that should force a re-download of the folder.

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Thanks. The problem is actually trickier than this. I have two computers - a desktop and a laptop. The folder in question on the desktop has some emails missing. Trying to repair the folder as you suggest does not cure the problem. On the laptop the folder does not even exist.

Both computers should be the same, surely?

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If the account is IMAP, which it should be if it's accessed on multiple computers, the folder will appear on the laptop if the folder is subscribed. If the messages appear in webmail, create a new folder, copy the messages there, then subscribe to the new folder in TB.

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How do I subscribe to a folder in TB?

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Right-click the account in the Folder Pane, Subscribe..., click Refresh, subscribe (check the box) the folder.

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Doesn't seem to work for me. I've tried unsubscribing some and refreshing them and nothing seems to change. Do you think if I uninstalled and reinstalled TB that would work?

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A bit more detail. On my laptop, when I click on the supposedly renamed folder I get a message saying "the operation did not succeed. The mail server reported that the folder did not exist". Also when I right click on the account/subscribe I get a list of all folders (including the new one, which doesn't show on the folders pane). This list doesn't show the renamed folder, which does show in the folders pane. It's quite a muddle.

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Since the account is IMAP, removing it and re-adding it will force a re-sync with the server, and then you can subscribe to the folders that are shown in webmail.

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Chosen Solution

Reinstalling has worked on my laptop.

Do you think having a lot of folders contributes to this problem?

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I don't think the number of folders is a factor, but the peculiarities of gmail's IMAP implementation might be. The depth of the folder hierarchy is probably more of a limiting factor than the number or size of folders.

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Limits_(Thunderbird)

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The file to which I had changed the name and which was missing a lot of entries (on my desktop) has, overnight, made good the entries. So all is working now. I can't imagine why it took several hours to get both computers to have the same information, though! Never mind eh. All's well that ends well. Thanks.