Thunderbird 128 redesigned card view feedback

[rebootl]

Hello

Generally I like the cards much better than the old table view.

However the latest iteration seems to me to go a bit in the wrong direction.

In the blog post you write: "The new layout is more attractive and makes it easier to scan your email threads and glean information at a glance." To me the opposite is the case. It is hard to exactly pinpoint the cause of this. Here are some ideas:

- There is more lines which make it look more like a card. This however adds also more noise.

- The bold sender name in combination with the dark background.

- There is no clear guidance for the eye on where to look.

- There isn't much empty space within the cards elements.

To me it seems the subject should be the most prominent thing in the card. This is where the eye should be led to look.

Also when grouped by days e.g., the button to toggle the pane is very small. Previously I believe the whole pane was just clickable which made it very easy to fold it up and down.

Thank you, much appreciated

Cem

[Agentvirtuel]

Hello

Cards View https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/thunderbird-115-supernova-faq#w_step-2-turn-on-cards-view
Take a look at https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/wasted-line-in-125-cards-view/m-p/56069

Others https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/poor-interface-in-version-thunderbird-128-1-1esr/m-p/6619...

[DiGeomel]

Have you found a solution to revert back to the old look for messages? I also hate those space-wasting cards!

[ThePillenwerfer]

Click this icon

and choose Table View.

[DiGeomel]

I did that already, but this it not the view I had before... 😢
Is there no way to just get rid of the space-wasting line at the bottom??

[Nerdgasm]

I created my own post because I didn't see this one first. Someone redirected me over to this one so I'm going to just copypasta what I said in my post.

The newer card style for the email list in Thunderbird overall looks good, but the star favorite button being on its own line is creating a lot of wasted space. I have attached a screenshot of one of my cards as an example.

I use Thunderbird on a 1080p portrait monitor. It is showing me 24 full cards in the list at once, which is a fair amount. However when 1/3 of the space is just blank empty besides the favorite star then that's wasted space. If they moved the star up onto the 2nd line, removing the 3rd line then I could have 8 entire more cards in view at once. Alternatively if the email preview could just roll over onto the 3rd line with the star, that would also solve this because it wouldn't be wasted space and I could actually get a better preview of the email.

I have played around with density and font size, but nothing addresses the root of the issue. At this point I'd even settle for just removing the favorite star button altogether to get rid of the blank 3rd line.

[DiGeomel]

I totally agree! For me the cards were just fine before v128! Now I am forced to switch to table view only because of this waste of space! And on top of that, even the folder view is now a bit more ...spacious, like they increased the margin between folders by 1-2 pixels on top and bottom! Seriously, I'm even thinking of downgrading! For me that was one of the main selling points of Thunderbird as opposed to other e-mail clients.

[Nerdgasm]

Not enough to make me downgrade, and table view is horrible for me using it on a portrait monitor with reading pane to the right of the email list.
I'm willing to stay with this version, but it will be so much better if that space in the email card can either just be used or gotten rid of.

[winter_skies]

I completely agree with your stance.
When I saw the new, taller card format, I even thought something was missing and the first line of the email text would eventually be loaded within the blank space.
I agree that it makes no sense to waste so much vertical space.
I suggest to implement a setting to make the card 2- or 3-line tall so everybody can get their favourite way.

[zampanoo]

I also find the (almost) empty third line of a card annoying.

[metafarion]

It looks to me like the third line on each card is being reserved for a thread link IF threading is enabled, but it doesn't make much sense to just leave it that way when threading isn't enabled.  Wastes vertical space.

[Agentvirtuel]

Hello

Take a look at https://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?p=14986732#p14986732 for information purposes

[Atra-Hasis]

Wow! I tried this and it worked like a charm. I'm a green newbie when it come to code mods etc. but with a little ChatGPT help, asking it about how to modify the folders, where to put the code, how to add the chrome folder, and the .css file inside it... Exactly what I wanted to see, it's exactly like the prior version 115. If anyone wants the cards fit to a 2-line height, THIS IS THE SOLUTION!

Thank you kindly Agenvirtuel, you are the best!

[DiGeomel]

Can you please post the complete solution here so that we don't all go through ChatGPT to get to the final answer? Thanks! 🤗

[Agentvirtuel]

Hello

If you wish to test

[is="thread-card"] {
height: 50px !important;
}

.thread-card-row:first-child {
grid-area: sender;
}

.thread-card-column:nth-child(2) {
grid-template-columns: 1fr auto;
grid-template-areas:
"sender sender"
"subject icons";
}

Copy/paste the code into Notepad
Save
Type: All files
userChrome.css

Create a chrome folder
Move userChrome.css to your chrome folder

Go to your profile folder https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-where-thunderbird-stores-user-data

Move your chrome folder to your profile folder

Go to Configuration Editor https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/config-editor
Search a preference name toolkit.legacyUserProfileCustomizations.stylesheets
To edit a boolean preference (true/false value), click on the Toggle button to set its value to true

And restart Thunderbird

For information purposes https://www.userchrome.org/how-create-userchrome-css.html similar

[DiGeomel]

Thank you, it worked fine, although I think in previous versions of Thunderbird cards were more compact.

[Atra-Hasis]

Here's my ChatGPT instructions complete:

a user in one of the forums suggested putting this code "in a userChrome.css file and it would shrink the card view to two lines. Would this work? I have the code.

ChatGPT said:

ChatGPT

Yes, modifying the userChrome.css file can allow you to customize Thunderbird's appearance, including shrinking the card view to two lines. However, using a userChrome.css file involves some setup. Here's how you can proceed:

Steps to Enable and Use userChrome.css in Thunderbird:

1. Enable the Use of UserChrome.css:

   • Open Thunderbird.
   • Click the ≡ Menu button > Settings.
   • Go to the General tab.
   • Scroll down and find the Config Editor (under "Advanced" settings).
   • In the Config Editor, search for toolkit.legacyUserProfileCustomizations.stylesheets.
   • Set it to true by double-clicking or using the toggle button.

2. Locate Your Thunderbird Profile Folder:

   • Click the ≡ Menu button > Help > More Troubleshooting Information.
   • Under the Application Basics section, find the Profile Folder and click Open Folder.

3. Create the chrome Folder and the userChrome.css File:

   • In the profile folder that opens, create a new folder named chrome (if it doesn't already exist).
   • Inside the chrome folder, create a file named userChrome.css (ensure the extension is .css).

4. Add the Code to the userChrome.css File:

   • Open the userChrome.css file with a text editor (e.g., Notepad or VS Code).
   • Paste the code you have into the file.
   • Save the file.

5. Restart Thunderbird:

   • Close and reopen Thunderbird for the changes to take effect.

Notes:

• Be cautious when using code from forums; always verify that it’s safe and matches your version of Thunderbird.
• If the changes don’t take effect or cause issues, you can remove or comment out the code in the userChrome.css file.

If you’d like, share the code, and I can help verify if it looks appropriate for shrinking the card view to two lines.

4o

You said:

in step 3, bullet 2, what type of file do I create, and how do I create this file? Should I create a text document and append it with .css?

ChatGPT said:

ChatGPT

Yes, you can create a plain text document and save it with the .css extension to make it a userChrome.css file. Here's how:

Creating the userChrome.css File:

1. Navigate to the chrome Folder:

   • Open the profile folder and locate the chrome folder you created in Step 3.

2. Create a New File:

   • Right-click inside the chrome folder and select:
     • On Windows: New > Text Document
     • On Mac: New Folder or File > Text Document (or create it in a text editor like TextEdit, ensuring it’s in plain text mode).
     • On Linux: Create it using your file manager or a text editor.

3. Rename the File:

   • Rename the new file to userChrome.css. Be sure to:
     • Remove any .txt extension.
     • If you don’t see file extensions, enable them by:
       • On Windows: Go to View > Show > File name extensions in File Explorer and enable it.
       • On Mac: File extensions are shown by default, but verify that the file isn’t being saved as .css.txt.

4. Edit the File:

   • Open the file in a plain text editor (like Notepad on Windows or TextEdit in plain text mode on Mac).
   • Paste the provided CSS code.
   • Save the changes.

Verifying the File Type:

• Make sure the file is not userChrome.css.txt (which can happen if file extensions are hidden).
• To confirm, check the file properties:
  • On Windows: Right-click > Properties > Look at the "Type of file."
  • On Mac/Linux: Right-click > Get Info or Properties > Look at the file type.

Let me know if you need help with any of these steps!

4o

You said:

wow, worked like a charm!!, Thank You!!

ChatGPT said:

ChatGPT

You're very welcome! 🎉 I'm so glad it worked for you! If you have any other questions about Thunderbird or anything else, don't hesitate to ask. Enjoy your streamlined email experience! 😊📧

[Smith222]

Thunderbird 128 Feedback — The redesigned card view offers a cleaner, more organized experience. Easy-to-navigate cards improve visibility and streamline workflow. Users can tag friends for direct sharing of relevant Bloxstrap download links, making collaboration even smoother and faster.

[DiGeomel]

What's your point? Why are you just pasting the release notes?