File Type Selector

File Type Selector is a quick extension for Thunderbird that I wrote. It lets you graphically change the default file extension of saved e-mail. Without it, the default is eml. I wrote it after BuBB1eS asked about how to change the default extension in the #maildev channel in irc://irc.mozilla.org. BuBB1eS also suggested the name.

screenshot

Requirements

Installation

  1. Click here to open the download page (opens in a new window)
  2. Download the file and save it to your Desktop
  3. Open Thunderbird if it isn't already
  4. Open the Tools menu and click on Add-Ons
  5. Click Install
  6. Find the downloaded file, select it, and click Open
  7. When it is finished installing, close all Thunderbird windows and re-open Thunderbird.
  8. To change the default extension, go to Tools -> Add-ons and click on Options/Preferences under File Type Selector

Use

To use it, just right-click the e-mail you want to save, or, if you are viewing it in a separate window, you can go to File -> Save As -> File. It also can (somewhat) force the Save As File command in the compose window to save as a text-only file even if it is in HTML, but some of the style elements are put in the resulting text file.

Changing the Default Type

  1. Open the Tools menu and click on Add-Ons
  2. Click on Options under File Type Selector
  3. Choose the file extension you would like from the following list:
    • E-mail (eml) [Default]
    • HTML (html)
    • Text-only (txt)
  4. You can also force the Save As File command in the compose window to save as text-only (see note above).
  5. Click Close to finish.

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