Quick Filtering in Thunderbird
Today we’ve released a new add-on the Mozilla Messaging team has been working on for a little while, the Quick Filter. A new single folder search and filter system that will work alongside our previously released Thunderbird global search.
The Quick Filter add-on is reminiscent of the old quick search system of Thunderbird 2.0 but we’ve improved it in a number of areas. Here’s how it’s changed from the 2.0 days:
Search Message Types
Unread, Starred, Contact, Tags, Attachments are all types of searches you can toggle to turn on.
A Tag search presents the array of possible tags to help you filter down even more.
Filter Results Count
If your search returns a lot of results we let you know the search bar will let you know how many messages match.
And if even if the search query is too strict and there are no results the Quick Filter will display this inline.
Better Search Type Options
The old quick search tended confuse people because the search type settings were hidden in this popup menu:
In the new Quick Filter we’ve brought those options out every time you focus on the search entry so you always know what kind of search you are performing.
Space Saving Options
Last but not least we’ve worked hard to make sure that if you are using the Quick Filter on a smaller screen it converts down to icons only mode automatically.
Note for Techies: This change was made possible by the CSS @media rule
Try it out!
You’ll need to be running Thunderbird 3 and then from the Add-on Manager (Tools -> Add-on) search for “quick filter”.
Give Feedback!
We’re looking for feedback before this lands in Thunderbird as a core feature so any praise and/or comments you have would be greatly appreciated. Leave your comments in the Quick Filter add-on reviews.
Something you might have already noticed is that this is a separate toolbar just for quick filtering but you can show or hide it as you need it. Try out the keyboard shortcut and see how it feels.
Thanks for taking a look!