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Supernova 115* - How to move the 'Menu Bar' above the 'Unified toolbar':
This question has been asked many times, so I'm providing some information on how to put the Menu Bar above the Unified Toolbar.
Moambuepyre
Ñemoĩporã poravopyre
Please check in Thunderbird to see if a setting needs switching on.
- Settings > General
- Scroll to bottom and click on 'Config Editor' button
- In search type : legacy
- look for this line: toolkit.legacyUserProfileCustomizations.stylesheets
- If it is set as 'false' :
- click on the far right arrow type icon to toggle from 'false' to say 'TRUE'
Now Do this: In Thunderbird
- Help > Troubleshooting Information
- in 'Application Basics' - Profile Folders - click on 'Open Folder'
A new window opens showing the contents of your profile name folder.
- Exit Thunderbird now. This is important.
I'm going to give the full instructions because I do not know if people already know how to create and use a userChrome.css file.
- In the 'profile name ' folder create a new folder and call it 'chrome'. The spelling is important - note it is all lower case.
- Then open a simple text editor program such as 'Notepad'.
- Copy all the text between the lines below and paste it into 'Notepad'.
@import url("chrome://messenger/content/unifiedtoolbar/unifiedToolbarWebextensions.css"); /* Position Menu Bar above Unified Toolbar */ #toolbar-menubar { order: -1 !important; }
- Save the file as 'userChrome.css' - note the spelling of this is important - all lower case except the C.
- Save it in the 'chrome' folder. - see attached image as guide.
Check that file really is called 'userChrome.css' and not 'userChrome.css.txt' - it has to be saved as a Cascading Style Sheet (css) and not a text document. So if you see 'userChrome.css.txt' - no problem - just rename it by removing the .txt - you will get ask are you sure as it may effect things - just say yes because you really do want to do it.
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Lunger said
Toad-Hall said
Because the developers do not want to do it. There you go what a simple answerLate reply, but I suppose that's just it. In the ever-growing bug thread:
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1822991
a user named fantasai helpfully linked to this discussion here so people could find this fix. That reply was hidden as "advocacy", which leads me to believe the developers' refusal to fix this is simply ideological.
You may well be correct, but there has been some mention of 'maybe' getting it into the Unified toolbar so people can put it on that toolbar where ever they like. I did respond to that notion saying it would need to be able to be placed above, not on the same one line as offered at the moment. But don't hold your breath. On page one of this question I also mentioned that bug link.
The Menu Bar can be placed on the same line as the Unified bar with this added to userChrome.css (see picture):
/* merge unified, menu bars */ #unifiedToolbarContainer { float: right; width: 75% !important; margin-top: -20px; margin-right: 5px; } #toolbar-menubar { order: -1; }
The second part is already described in this topic. This minimizes the vertical space taken by the toolbars without hiding either of them.
Here's the CSS that I ended up with. On my Windows 10 machine, it looks very close to what it did before the awful 115 upgrade.
#toolbar-menubar { order: -1 !important; height: 24px !important; } .titlebar-buttonbox-container { position: fixed; top: 0px; right: 0px; height: 24px !important; } #tabs-toolbar { order: -1 !important; } #unifiedToolbar { height: 28px !important; }
I agree with so many others that this is not only an unnecessary change, but functionally and aesthetically much worse. I feel like so many changes to this app over the last few years are changes simply for the sake of changes. This is not an acceptable design philosophy, especially for an app as important as e-mail.
I'm feeling like this app has just become a playground for many of the devs, as they clearly have no consideration for the users needs. It might be time for me to switch away to another app that has more respect for their users. Does anyone have any suggestions? I do not mind paying for an app, and I've done in the past (I still miss Eudora).
Moambuepyre
I tried this but my menu is still above everything else, along with everything else broken (like addons I use and loss if email addresses in the columns).
I tried a couple of combos of the CSS file but none worked. This is still the result:
https://www.mediafire.com/view/iwq3duf2y70cjep/Screenshot_2023-12-23_205834.png/file
I would not mind trying some recommended Thunderbird alternatives too.
It's great that this can be done by following Toad-Hall's instructions, but Mozilla has a history of disabling support for userChrome.css based modifications after Firefox or Thunderbird updates. As a result, I for one have given up on such modifications. I'm giving serious consideration to using Betterbird instead because ever since updating to 115 Supernova, I've been doing nothing but fighting the program and trying to restore lost ("deprecated") functionality.
Feature-loss creep completely sucks, and that's what's been going on with Thunderbird. Especially when it comes to the UI and configurability. Change for the sake of change usually only hurts the end user.
John C. said
It's great that this can be done by following Toad-Hall's instructions, but Mozilla has a history of disabling support for userChrome.css based modifications after Firefox or Thunderbird updates.
I've found that I've not needed to alter a load of 'userChrome.css' in the past and I've been using it for well over a decade, but in this instance, it's due to a complete rewrite of the code using html instead. This means for the long distance future it's not going to change. Anything that has been modified will be staying that way. There will be more alterations to any code which has not as yet been updated and as new functionalities are added. So once people have adjusted the code, it should end up being in situ for a very long time. It would have been better for the developers to have got it right in the first place and maybe the 'Menu Bar' will get incorporated into the Unified Toolbar at some point, so allowing it to be easily put at the top via an esy Customise option - but don't hold your breath as that would need the Unified toolbar to operate over more than one line and I'm not inclined to think the developers are loving that idea at the moment. Besides they have a lot of other work to get sorted first.
NotKnowEverything said
I tried this but my menu is still above everything else, along with everything else broken (like addons I use and loss if email addresses in the columns). I tried a couple of combos of the CSS file but none worked. This is still the result: https://www.mediafire.com/view/iwq3duf2y70cjep/Screenshot_2023-12-23_205834.png/file I would not mind trying some recommended Thunderbird alternatives too.
Please do not post links to files - they are not always accessible - upload image fles to this question in forum. You need to upload some images because if you have done it all correctly then it works. So clearly, something is not quite right.
- Post image which shows you have set up the Config Editor legacy setting.
- post image which shows you have the 'chrome' folder in correct location
- post image which shows you have 'userChrome.css' file in correct location - make sure data has column showing details - name, modified date, type, size
- post image which shows the contents of the actual 'userChrome.css' file.
If the developers think that they know what is best for the users, then it's time to get rid of the developers, whether paid or volunteers. Like it or not, they are there to provide a product which meets the needs of users as effectively as possible. I have spent over two hours this morning trying to get rid of "full" headers and back to the normal.. I have come to the conclusion having read all sorts of solutions and still not found the toolbar with the view option, that it is easier to switch from Thunderbird.
I write as someone with 27 years of computing experience (starting with input and ouput via punched card!) involving, program specificatioms and writing, specifying systems and overseeing their introduction and operation to nationally distributed Oracle based databases and I have never come across the idea that it is developers who decide what users have to put up with.
Gordon Whitehead said
If the developers think that they know what is best for the users, then it's time to get rid of the developers, whether paid or volunteers. Like it or not, they are there to provide a product which meets the needs of users as effectively as possible. I have spent over two hours this morning trying to get rid of "full" headers and back to the normal.. I have come to the conclusion having read all sorts of solutions and still not found the toolbar with the view option, that it is easier to switch from Thunderbird. I write as someone with 27 years of computing experience (starting with input and ouput via punched card!) involving, program specificatioms and writing, specifying systems and overseeing their introduction and operation to nationally distributed Oracle based databases and I have never come across the idea that it is developers who decide what users have to put up with.
There is an issue with the Menu Bar which I did not like, so I created question with a solution for other people to use. That means I get sent an email everytime someone posts a comment. People only need to post a comment if they have a problem which is relevant to my question and solution and I'll try to help. What is the point of telling me about your feelings about developers - this is not a chat forum.
re : I have come to the conclusion having read all sorts of solutions and still not found the toolbar with the view option,
Are you saying you have not even enabled the 'Menu Bar' ? This topic is all about the position of the 'Menu Bar' in the UI, but your query is all about enabling the 'Menu Bar' and then fixing the full header issue.
Your query is off topic, but I'll provide info on this occasion. You really need to ask your own question when you have a problem and not jump into a completely different question.
- Click on the menu app icon
- it is located on the 'Unified Toolbar' on the right side and it has 3 horizontal lines.
- Select 'View'
- Select 'Toolbars'
- Click on 'Menu Bar'
This will enabled the 'Menu Bar' the Menu Bar will contain 'File, Edit, View, Go, Message. Events and Tasks, Tools, Help Then you can select:
- 'View' > Headers' > 'Normal'
Moambuepyre
Toad-Hall said
This question has been asked many times, so I'm providing some information on how to put the Menu Bar above the Unified Toolbar.
Are you kidding? Not all users have nerd's skill, and much others don't want to mess with TB engine files, so: give us the standard menu back!
I'd downgraded my TB to last previous release and I will not upgrade to futures versions until this problem will be fixed and the standard menubar will be recovered.
Moambuepyre
ggallozz said
Are you kidding? Not all users have nerd's skill, and much others don't want to mess with TB engine files, so: give us the standard menu back! I'd downgraded my TB to last previous release and I will not upgrade to futures versions until this problem will be fixed and the standard menubar will be recovered.
I'm just another user like you offering my free unpaid time to offer assistance. I'm not an employee of Mozilla nor Thunderbird and developers do not spend time reading Support Forum issues. So no i'm not kidding, it's the only method available if you want the Menu Bar above the Unified Toolbar. You only need the following skillset and being a nerd is not one of them and you do do not have to create the code as it's already supplied.
- Ability to follow instructions
- Ability to create a folder
- Ability to Copy and paste into a simple text editor like Notepad.
- Ability to save a file
I appreciate not everyone feels comfortable doing what's required as it does mean going into areas many people would never normally go, but it's a lot easier than you imagine. The issue has been reported to developers as a bug report and a lot of people want the choice. Unfortunately, at the moment, it seems they are not going to do anything which I'm not happy about either, so I do understand your feelings on this topic. This is the bug report for anyone whose interested: