Thunderbird 3.0.2 Annoying "tables" in quoted text (replies)

[ChrisGreaves]

For some emails from private colleagues and commercial sites I receive emails, and choose reply.

I am annoyed by the quoted text being enclosed in tables; I think "tables" because when I try to select text to be deleted with the mouse, selection handles - small squares - spring up around the text, giving the appearance of nested tables in Word.

Trying to delete all but one or two relevant lines of quotable text drives me nuts - I'm rapidly sinking into the depths of copying all to Notebook, editing in Notebook, then pasting the Notebook contents back. Punched cards would be faster ...

Has anyone discovered a way to reduce the body of a reply to plain (non-table or non-aggregated) text?

(signed) "Frustrated" of Toronto.

[mbarron]

Unfortunately I cannot test... What happens if you change the formatting of the reply from HTML to plain text?

[ChrisGreaves]

... change the formatting of the reply from HTML to plain text?

Good one. I'd looked for this, believing it should be an option, but had not found it. Your response forced me to look under every flat rock (attached JPG).
Setting the switch OFF removes the "table" problem.

1.JPG

Now I'm puzzled.
I can't remember having this problem with the earlier version (Thunderbird Setup 2.0.0.4.exe).

[Bigaldoc]

Very interesting, Chris. Looks like yet another anomaly of Version 3 such as my earlier "complaint" about the missing number of messages in each folder and other things.

I have version 2.0.0.23 and this is what I see on a comparable page to what you showed. I'm able to selectively quote, copy or do whatever to PARTS of the text when I reply to a message. Hmmm....

[viking33]

Very interesting, Chris. Looks like yet another anomaly of Version 3 such as my earlier "complaint" about the missing number of messages in each folder and other things.

I have version 2.0.0.23 and this is what I see on a comparable page to what you showed. I'm able to selectively quote, copy or do whatever to PARTS of the text when I reply to a message. Hmmm....

Al,
Interesting background ( wood grain? ) in your screenshot. How did you get that?
I just now DL & installed Thunderbird 3.03 and trying to get used to the different formats, etc.
I gave Windows Live Mail a try and didn't care for it for a number of reasons but TB seems pretty decent.

[Bigaldoc]

Interesting background ( wood grain? ) in your screenshot. How did you get that?
I just now DL & installed Thunderbird 3.03 and trying to get used to the different formats, etc.
I gave Windows Live Mail a try and didn't care for it for a number of reasons but TB seems pretty decent.

It's a Thunderbird THEME which you can find here, among plenty of others: Browse Nature Themes.

2010-03-03_153813.png

Now, I've a question for you too. In TB 3, do you see the number of messages in each email folder like this:

2010-03-03_154537.png

[viking33]

Interesting background ( wood grain? ) in your screenshot. How did you get that?
I just now DL & installed Thunderbird 3.03 and trying to get used to the different formats, etc.
I gave Windows Live Mail a try and didn't care for it for a number of reasons but TB seems pretty decent.

Now, I've a question for you too. In TB 3, do you see the number of messages in each email folder like this:

2010-03-03_154537.png

Thanks for the link, Al. I'll try some.

No, I don't see any numbers indicated for each folder but then, I haven't delved too deeply into the tweaks and options yet. I'll let you know if I see that. Doesn't look like a default setting.

[Bigaldoc]

No, I don't see any numbers indicated for each folder but then, I haven't delved too deeply into the tweaks and options yet. I'll let you know if I see that. Doesn't look like a default setting.

Yeah, it's one of a couple of reasons I removed 3.0 and went back to version 2! The "take-aways" in version 3 were more than I could put up with. In the WS forum I had a thread where I posted "hacks" I did to 3 to get it to display the number of emails, recognize an important addon (for me!) called "Slideshow" and I then gave up and went back to 2.0.0.23

In Version 2 Options, Advanced, you had to tick this one:

2010-03-03_163416.png

Then you would see this in the left pane of the message window:

2010-03-03_163351.png

[Bigaldoc]

Whilst waiting to see if Bob can shed any light on my question, I went digging, first in the old WS thread where I groused about the problem and THEN to see what the latest is.

I came upon these two addons which BOTH have 3.0.* in their version applicability, so it doesn't appear that they're "built-in" to Thunderbird but maybe the problems can be surrmounted with these two addons.

Slideshow    You can't believe how helpful this is when someone sends you pictures in an email.

Extra Folder Columns    I manage my email folders constantly with these numbers.

I REALLY need these two "feechurs" in Thunderbird.

[ChrisGreaves]

I am annoyed by the quoted text being enclosed in tables;

(days later)
I suspect that my system is starting to fall apart at the seams, and that the "table" business is symptomatic of a general decline in my Thunderbird installation.

This afternoon "Spell Check" started throwing up mis-spelled words such as "panose" (for a moment I thought the world was about to learn of my fetish!), then some "msn" stuff (?!!???), and finally stuff that could only be mine - Style names ("CalenDayNumber")from my Normal.dot template, my having pasted styled text from a Word document.

2.JPG