• Install Thunderbird.

• Set up accounts

  • Add email account with IMP/POP3 server and SMTP server.
  • Add sigunature, reply-to address, organization.

• Account settings (Edit > Settings (Linux), Tools > Account Settings (macOS))

  • Server Settings: set emails to be checked sufficiently frequently, e.g. every 2 minute for work-related accounts.
  • Copies & Folders: set sent emails to be bcc-ed to oneself for the purpose of verifying successful sending.
  • Composition & Addressing: choose "place my signature below my reply", Add LDAP address server.
  • Junk Settings: disable "adaptive junk mail controls for this account";

• Preferences (Edit > Preferences (Linux), Thunderbird > Preferences (macOS)):

  • Display:
    • Add tags: 'ToDo', 'ToLearn', 'ToDelete'.
    • Formatting:
      • Proportional: serif;
      • Size: 24;
      • Use UTF-8 as default character encodings for incoming and outgoing emails;
      • Check "When possible, use the default character encoding in replies";
  • Advanced:
    • Reading & Display: Automatically mark messages as read after reading for 2 seconds.

• Set up message filters.

  • Ideally recover them from a backup using the add-on "Thunderbird Message Filter Import/Export Enhanced", or
  • Re-create them manually following a previously made note of what they were and how they were set up.

• Set up saved search folders. Ideally recover them from a backup or a note of what they were and how they were set up.

• Install add-ons

  • Enigmail
  • Expression Search/Google Mail UI
  • Extra Folder Columns
  • Lightning, connect to Zimbra Calendar
  • Markdown Here
  • Thunderbird Message Filter Import/Export Enhanced
  • TT DeepDark theme

• Set up calendars, the Today Pane

• Set up contacts, contact groups.

• Set up address book. Restore the address book 'Personal Address Book' data by importing previously backed up address book data, using the menu item Window > Address Book (macOS) Tools > Import

  ... (Linux).

• Set up personal dictionary.

  • Navigate to the profile directory (~/.thunderbird/XXX/ for Linux and ~/Library/Thunderbird/Profiles/XXX/ for macOS);
  • Create a symbolic link from a back-up personal dictionary data file persdict.dat to this path. C.f. http://kb.mozillazine.org/Dictionaries#Personal_dictionary

• Profile directory and data

C.f. http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder-Thunderbird

All the emails data, message filters, and some other configuration data are saved in the Thunderbird profile directory (~/.thunderbird for Linux and ~/Library/Thunderbird/Profiles/).

Sometimes data can be recovered from using the profile directory and data from some other computer.

• Open the frequently viewed folders as their own "sticky" tabs.