Thunderbird 91.0.2: option to disable the Windows Task Bar unread mail badge added

Thunderbird 91.0.2 is the latest version of the open source email client. It introduces support for disabling the unread mail badge on the Windows taskbar and includes several fixes.

Thunderbird is available in two different versions currently: Thunderbird 91.x, which is only available as a direct download currently or as an upgrade from a Thunderbird 91.x installation, and Thunderbird 78.x, the previous version of the mail client.

Thunderbird 78.x installations will get options to upgrade to Thunderbird 91.x from within the client in the future, but not at this point.

Thunderbird 91.0.2

Thunderbird 91.0.2 is available as a direct update on systems with a Thunderbird 91.x installation or as a direct download from the official Thunderbird website.

The current version is displayed when you select Help > About  Thunderbird. If the menubar is not displayed, tap on the Alt-key to display it. Note that Thunderbird will run a check for updates when you select the item in the menu.

Thunderbird 91 introduced several new features, such as easier setups for accounts, native support for Apple Silicon, mail redirects, and an unread mail badge on the taskbar.

The badge on Thunderbird's icon on the taskbar displays the number of unread emails. Up until now, Thunderbird users could not turn off the mail badge in the client itself. Windows users on Windows 10 may disable badges in the Settings directly, or by using a small taskbar layout instead of the default one.

The new version introduces an option to turn off the badge. Here is how you do that:

1. Select Tools > Preferences to open the Thunderbird options.
2. Scroll all the way down and activate the Config Editor button in the tab that opens.
3. Search for mail.biff.show_badge.
4. Double-click on the name to set the preference to False.
   1. A state of False means that the badge is not displayed on the taskbar.
   2. A state of True means the badge is displayed (default option).
5. Restart Thunderbird.

Thunderbird won't display a badge on the taskbar anymore when the preference is set to False.

The second improvement in Thunderbird 91.0.2 adds colored tags to the mail filter editor.

Here are the remaining changes (mostly fixes) in the new release:

• OpenPGP and attachments context menus are hidden when not applicable.
• Fixed account creation issues when setting up accounts manually.
• Fixed auto-complete for recipients favored the primary email address for contacts.
• LDAP performance improvements.
• Recommendation Addons extensions had no clear option to view details in a browser.
• Status checkmark for View > Calendar > Calendar Pane > Show Calendar Pane was reversed.
• URLs using mid: in calendar invites did not open linked mail messages.
• unspecified theme and UX fixes.

Now You: do you use Thunderbird 91 already? What do you think of unread mail badges?

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