Status Bar Has Disappeared in TB

Ramona:

The status bar at the bottom of my TB screen disappeared when I use one of my profiles. I may be calling this bar by the wrong name, but I'm referring to the bar that appears immediately above the startbar in Win 98 SE. In TB, it contains the online/offline icon on the left, text description of the task ststus being performed, and number of read & unread messages on the right.

The bar appears normally under my other TB profile and with all other applications. I don't know what was done to remove it, and only under this one TB profile, but how do I get it back?

 

Check View|Toolbars|Status bar. Check or unchecked

 

Bob,

To better understand Thunderbird, I have listed some links that have a wealth of information on the Mail Client:

http://www.nidelven-it.no/articles/introduction_to_thunderbird

http://www.mozilla.org/support/thunderbird/
http://texturizer.net/thunderbird/faq.html
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Thunderbird
http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/

 

Ramona:

I will read through the links you provided. In addition to the status bar not appearing, attachments on incoming messages cannot be seen below the message itself.

 

Bob,
so you have status bar checked, and don't see it? I, rarely, get attachments, but I think that they should show up in the Status bar.

 

Westside:

Correct: the View>Toolbars>Status Bar is checked but the status bar does not appear. I do get a lot of legitimate attachments -- this prevents you from seeing them below the normal message pane & requires double clicking the message to see the attachment. Naturally, you also lose all sense of processing status without the bar being visible.

I will get through Ramona's suggestions on Monday. Hopefully I'll run across the explanation and solution along the way.

 

Bob,
I found an interesting post, with apparent reply at Mozillazine.org It reports the same problem as your with Win98SE, but not in WinXP. I lost track of things with you. Did you use an aviary nightly? If so, download the TB1.0.6 to be installed. You can use the same profile. If it solves your problem, it may be a Win98SE thing with a nightly.

 

Bob,

You do understand that the Aviary Nightly Releases are Beta don't you? You aren't using an official Release of Thunderbird. Version 1.0.6 is the latest Official Release. For the most part the Aviary releases are fairly stable, however there can be problems...

 

Ramona & Westside:

I have not yet used the nightlies and I do understand they are beta. I have TB 1.0.6 installed and that is where the status bar problem exists. I don't believe I'm dealing with a Win98SE issue: the other profile is displaying the status bar correctly now on the same machine under W98SE, and the problem profile displayed it sorrectly on the same machine under W98SE from installation until whatever happened a few days ago.

 

Ran into an interesting dilemma looking for a solution to this thread.

1st ... would like any participants to load Thunderbird using (Safe Mode) option. (Using version 1.0.6)
When I did this, my "Status bar" was NOT displayed.
Checked my view setting, it was "Ticked" .. so I unticked it.
Noticed the top of a bar/line disappeared directly above the "Taskbar ".
Re-ticked "Status Bar view" bar/line reappeared. It appears the top edge of the Status Bar is there, but is hiding underneath the "Taskbar ". In this "Safe Mode" view I could not adjust the Taskbar" or the Status Bar into proper view.
Can anyone else duplicate this view / display problem?

IF the above is a issue in TB / Safe Mode, the next step is directed to BirdieBob.
Whatever link you are using to load Thunderbird, "Right click" on the link and select "Properties ". In the "Target view" do you see -safemode at the end of the path line??

 

Bob,
if you use both profiles with the same installation, I would rule out the program, and create a new profile. I stumbled on that information from Mozillazine, but no explanation was offered. But, if the name is the same in this and their forum, it seems to be our own JSS3rd. This is from Feb.2004, but these were nightlies. I have looked around, and have not found any place where the Status bar could be hidden or displayed.

 

Dennis,

win xp home sp1 - TB 1.0.6

SAFE MODE - View>> toolbars..show status bar [x] = shows status bar
SAFE MODE - View>> toolbars..show status bar [ ] = does NOT show status bar

Same in normal MODE

The only way I can replicate the "status bar' NOT showing is if I select "resize" button ( upper right corner - second button) AND reduce the vertical size while selecting a message folder.....

not much help I guess

regards:captjlddavis

 

Dennis & Bob

Just for grins, check the "resize" button toggle it when status bar is not visible.....

regards:captjlddavis

 

Bob,

Try these workarounds, one at a time, so you will know which, if any, might correct the problem:

Have you installed a theme, or extensions? If so, delete/uninstall both the theme and extensions, and see if your Status Bar is viewable.

When you mouse over the area where the Status Bar should be, do you see anything?

With TB closed:
Try renaming the Chrome folder (Xchrome) located here:
C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\profilename\xxxxxxxx.xxxxxxxx\chrome

Restart TB and see if your Status Bar is viewable.

If none of the above help, then I would definite take Westside's suggestion of creating a new Profile.

 

Hello Everyone:

The elusive TB Status Bar has been re-established! After following the other suggestions without impact, I created a new profile that included display of the Status Bar. Prior to doing that, I ran through these options:

1. Dennis: There was no "-safemode" at the end of the shortcut target line used to load TB.

2. captjlddavis: Toggling the Minimize / Maximize button did not produce the status bar.

3. Ramona: I went through the workarounds in the order you recommended:

a. Themes & Extensions: I had installed 3 extensions and no themes. I uninstalled the extensions and there was no change.

b. Moving Mouse over area where Status Bar should be: Nothing appeared other than the double vertical arrow when passing over the top of the Start Bar. Dragging the arrow up increased the size of the Start Bar only and the Status Bar did not appear above, below or in the expanded Start Bar area.

c. Rename Chrome: Closed TB and went c:]Windows\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\profile name\chrome. Renamed Chrome to xChrome & re-launched TB, but the Status Bar did not appear.
​

Finally, I created the new profile as Westside had recommended and the Status Bar was present. Before bringing the mail & address books from the back-up, I copied the prefs.js file in from the back-up, re-launched TB and the Status Bar was gone once again. I suppose that means the file was corrupted and probably the source of the problem. I then went ahead and created a (final) new profile and deleted that experimental one.

So, we can chaulk this up as another issue resolved through creation of a new profile (as was the case with the Send Progress Box) but with no clear understanding of how or why the issue came about in the first place. If anyone has any further ideas, please pass them along.

Once again, thank you all for your time & input -- I appreciate the help.

Best regards,

 

Glad you got it, but this one perplexed me, because I found no indication of toolbar controls, or status bar in the prefs.js file. You must have been a gremlin-in-residence.

 

Bob,

An FYI for you. When creating a new Profile, this is a list of files that you should NOT copy from the old Profile:

Cache Folder
chrome/*.jar file
downloads.rdf file
localstore.rdf file
prefs.js file
xul.mfl file

Reusing these files could cause the browser to either crash, or to malfunction.

 

Ramona:

Thank you maam! I hereby retract by earlier assumption that the pref.js file was probably corrupted. I also remain in the dark about what did happen.

 

Bob,

Your statement was 100% correct. Your prefs.js file was corrupt, thereby causing the problem.

 

Ramona:

Correction: I now stand by my ealrier assumption that the prefs.js file was corrupted.

Thanks.