Version : 2409.11 stable, NVDA 2021.1 - 2024.3 ;
Thunderbird+G5
for Thunderbird 115 and 128 ESR
Introduction
Thunderbird+G5 is an add-on for NVDA that significantly increases the
efficiency and comfort of using the Thunderbird 115 email client.
It improves your productivity by providing commands that don’t exist
natively in Thunderbird:
- keyboard shortcuts for direct access to the folder tree, message
list and preview pane.
- Seamless navigation between the main window panes using the Tab and
escape keys.
- Shortcuts for viewing and copying message list fields and message
headers without changing focus.
- Direct access to attachments.
- Shortcuts for consultation and direct access to the addressing
fields of the Write window.
- Significantly improved the use of the spell check dialog.
- Easier management of address books and mailing lists
(v.2402.14.00).
- Add-on update menu (v.2402.14.00)
- And many more…
This page documents the keyboard shortcuts offered by
Thunderbird+G5.
Most of these keyboard shortcuts are configurable via the NVDA Menu /
Preferences / Input Gestures / Thunderbird+G5 (TB >= 115)
category.
Main window navigation
Note: The named key (key above Tab) in the remainder of this page
designates the key located below Escape, above Tab and to the left of
the number 1. Its wording varies depending on the language of the
keyboard.
General shortcuts
- Control+(key above Tab): displays the menu of various add-on
commands, including add-on update.
- Shift+(key above Tab): Displays the add-on options menu.
- Control+F1: displays the current page. For some clarification you
can visit
version4 documentation
- F8 to show or hide the preview pane: this command is voiced by the
add-on.
Navigating between main
window panes
These shortcuts are for the folder tree, message list, and message
preview pane.
- (key above Tab): One press places the focus in the message list, two
presses places the focus in the message list then selects the last
message.
- Alt+c: displays the accounts menu then the folders menu of the
chosen account. Since version 2312.14, supports the “unified folders”
mode of the folder tree.
- Control+Alt+c: displays the accounts menu then the unread folders
menu for the chosen account. (2023.11.15)
- Alt+X: displays a menu of all “inbox” folders through all your email
accounts; (2025.06.01)
- Alt+v: displays a menu with unread “inbox” folders through all your
accounts;. (2025.06.01)
This is interesting when you have specific
folders for your personal messages and those of the discussion
groups;
Note: these last three shortcuts can be modified or swapped
via the Input Gestures dialog.
- alt+Home : one press selects the current folder in the folder tree,
two presses displays a menu allowing you to choose the email account to
reach in the tree
- Control+Alt+Home : Same but for folders with unread messages.
(2023.10.31)
- Tab: brings the focus to the next pane and in particular:
From
the list of messages and if the preview pane is displayed: One press:
brings the focus to the body of the message, Two presses: brings the
focus to the banner of the reply buttons and headers of the message.
(v.2404.23)* Escape: returns to the previous PANE, without
detour.
- Escape : returns to the previous pane ; Escape also allows you to
alternate between the folder tree and the message list.
- Shift+Tab: its native behavior has been preserved in this
version.
Navigating through main
window tabs
- Control+Tab with or without the shift key and control+1 to 9: The
add-on intercepts tab changes in order to announce their order number
and the total number of tabs.
Additionally, the add-on gives focus
to the tab’s content when it is first activated. For the first tab, the
focus can be brought to the last message in the message list or first
unread message. Via the options menu / Main window options, you can
check the option titled: Access the first unread message when the first
tab is first activated, otherwise the last message (v.2402.14.00));
- Control+the first key located to the left of backspace: displays a
menu with the list of existing tabs. Press Enter on a menu item to
activate the corresponding tab.
- Alt+the first key to the left of backspace: displays the tab context
menu. This menu is native to Thunderbird.
Note: The label of the first key to the left of backspace varies
depending on the keyboard language.
Message list
Custom vocalization of
rows (2023.11.10)
This custom mode, disabled by default, allows more comfortable
listening to lines in the message list.
You can activate this mode by pressing shift+power2 and selecting
from the menu the item “Oprtions for the main window” then “List of
messages”. In the list of options, check the option “Message list:
Custom vocalization of lines”;
This list of options also contains other customization options that
only work if custom vocalization is enabled.
- The “Reading Status” column announces “unread” does not announce the
“read” status;
- The “Status” column, recommended, announces the statuses “New”,
“Answered” and “Transferred”.
Note: If you type the letter “m” to
reverse the status of the message, this column must be present in the
list of messages for the new status to be announced.
- The extension will ensure that “Unread” is only announced once and
that “Read” is never announced.
also read the section Choice and order of columns
Message list shortcuts
- Tab if the preview pane is displayed : One press: brings the focus
to the body of the message, Two presses: brings the focus to the banner
of the reply buttons and message headers. (v.2404.23)
- Escape in the message list: if a filter is active, it is deactivated
and the message list remains selected. Otherwise, this shortcut gives
focus to the folder tree.
- NVDA+up arrow or NVDA+l (laptop) in message list:
One press:
announces the current line of the message list. The NVDA+Tab shortcut
produces the same result but without using this add-on.
Two presses:
displays the details of the line in a text window which allows analysis
of the line using the keyboard. from version 2404.23, this is the
original line if custom vocalization of lines is active.
- Control+right arrow in messages grouped by conversation : selects
the last message in the conversation. This is first expanded if it is
collapsed. (2312.14.00)
- Control+left arrow in messages grouped by conversations : selects
the first message in the conversation. This is first expanded if it is
collapsed.
These last two shortcuts need the “Total” column to
work.
- Spacebar, F4, or Alt+down arrow: Reads a clean or translated version
of the message from the preview pane, without leaving the message
list.
Note: If a message contains more than 75 HTML elements, a beep
will be emitted for each text element retrieved. With a quick press of
the Control key, you can immediately start announcing the incomplete
message. (2401.09.0)
- Scroll lock. : Enables or disables Message Translation mode for
message reading with Space, F4 or Alt+down arrow. Note that the Instant
Translate add-on must be installed and activated. (2401.02.0)
- Shift+Scroll Lock: Enables or disables Showing the translation in a
browseable text window. This mode allows the entire message to be read
in Braille. (2401.02.0)
Note: Message translation is also available
in windows and tabs that display a message.
- Alt+up arrow: places the message in the virtual quote / citations
browser;
- Windows+down or up arrows: reads the next or previous quote. If
Translation mode is active, the quote will be translated
(2401.02.0.
Note: This quote / citation browser can be used from the message
list, message from the separate reading window, from the compose window
and from the spell check dialog.
Announcing,
spelling and copying message list fields
Each row of the list is broken down into several fields corresponding
to the columns. You can compare a field to a cell in an Excel
spreadsheet.
The shortcuts below can be done without changing focus:
- number 1 to 9 of the row above the letters: with the number
corresponding to the row of the column of the message list, the
following actions are available:
One press: announces the value of
the field. For example, depending on the order of your columns, 1
announces the sender and 2 announces the subject.
Two press : spells
the value of the field.
Three presses: copies the value of the field
to the clipboard.
Tip: If you use several folders, apply the same column order to all
of them, so that a number will always correspond to the same column.
Announcing
and copying headers from the preview pane or separate reading
window
- Alt+1 to Alt+6 from the list and the separate reading window:
One press : announces the value of the header,
Two presses : opens
an edit box containing the header value. By closing this dialog with
Enter, this value is copied to the clipboard, which is very practical
for retrieving the email address of a correspondent.
Three presses
: opens the context menu of the relevant header. This is a native
Thunderbird menu.
Attachments
pane in main window and separate reading window
The following shortcuts allow you to announce attachments or select
one in the list.
- Alt+9 or Alt+Page Down :
One press: announces the number of
attachments and the names of all attachments.
If Thunderbird does not
automatically display the attachments pane, the add-on will do so and
Thunderbird will select the first attachment.
Two presses :
If
there is only one attachment, move the focus to it then display its
context menu. (2312.18.00)
If multiple attachments, select the first
attachment in the list. (2312.18.00)
Tag management from the
message list
The shortcuts below allow vocal management of tags without having to
navigate through the Thunderbird context menu.
- Shift+1 to Shift+9: Adds or removes a tag, with vocalization.
- Shift+0: Removes all tags from the selected message.
- alt+0: Announces all tags in the message.
Gocalization of
the deletion of messages (2025.06.01)
The add-on differs the vocalization of the following message after
deleting a message to overcome a Thunderbird bug.
For this, a prior adjustment is necessary.
- Alt+Delete: Displays a dialogue that allows you to enter the two
deadlines between supporting the Delete key and selecting the following
message. This period may be modified according to the speed of your PC.
With a Core i7 G6 to 4 GHz, this period can be set over 25ms.
This delay is especially important in the event that the tree
structure is in unified file mode.
Vocalization
of shortcuts a, c, j and m of the message list
From version 2023.11.10, these marking shortcuts are no longer
vocalized by the add-on. NVDA immediately announces the change in
content of the line concerned.
Quick message filtering
(2023.11.10)
letter f: ergonomic alternative to Control+Shift+k to display or
reach the quick filter bar. This shortcut is configurable in the command
gestures dialog.
Note: The focus must be in a non-empty message
list. Press Escape to deactivate the active filter.
To directly access the filtering results from the keyword input
field, press down arrow.
When a filter is active, a sound resembling hissing is played each
time the message list gains focus. This is especially useful when you
switch windows or tabs and then return to the message list later.
If this sound bothers you, you have two options:
- Open the Shift+(key above Tab) menu and in the Deactivations
submenu, check the option:
List messages: Don’t play a sound when
the list is filtered and gets focus.
- Open the Shift+menu (key above Tab) then press Enter on the item:
Open sounds folder.
This folder will open in File Explorer,
There you will find the filter.wav file.
You can replace this
file with another as long as your file has the same name: filter.wav.
When done, restart NVDA.
- Alt+end or Alt+(second key from left backspace): From the message
list or quick filter bar: announces the total or filtered number of
messages, the number of selected messages if there is more than one and
the filter expression if a filter has been defined. This information
comes from the quick filter bar and no longer from the status bar.
From another tab or window: announces the status bar.
- When the message list receives focus,A hissing sound is heard when
fast filtering is active.
SmartReply
version 2 : reply to mailing lists with control+R
To reply to messages from certain mailing lists, such as those hosted
by Google Groups, it is necessary to press Control+Shift+L or
Control+Shift+R, whereas the usual shortcut is Control+R.
SmartReply solves this inconvenience by allowing you to press
Control+R in all cases. Additionally, it announces the recipient’s name
as soon as the “Write” window opens.
By default, SmartReply is assigned to the shortcuts Control+T and
Control+Shift+T. You can replace these keys with Control+R and
Control+Shift+R via the Input gestures configuration dialog in NVDA.
It works as follows:
- Control+T replies to the sender of a normal message and to the group
for a mailing list message, even if the list is configured so that
Control+R replies to the message author
- Control+Shift+R replies to All for a normal message or to the author
of a mailing list message.
Note that lists hosted by groups.io, such as those related to NVDA,
are not recognized as mailing lists by Thunderbird.
v
Choice and order of
columns (2023.10.31)
This procedure is native to Thunderbird 115 but it is explained here
because it is poorly documented.
- Press Shift+tab from the message list to move to the list of column
headers.
- Use the left and right arrows to select a column.
- When you reach the special column “Choose columns to display”, press
enter on it.
- In the menu, check or uncheck columns then press Escape to close
this menu. As a reminder, it is recommended to uncheck the “Reading
Status” column and check the “Status” column.
- Back in the list of column headers, press left arrow to a column to
move.
- Then press Alt+left or right arrow to place it in the desired
location. This will be correctly vocalized.
- Repeat these operations to move other columns.
- When column arranging is complete, press Tab to return to the
message list.
folder tree: quick
navigation (2023.10.31)
Some commands display a menu containing folders in the tree structure
to allow navigation by initial letters. For performance reasons, the
script does not display subfolders of collapsed branches.
Additionally, if the name of an account or folder ends with a hyphen,
it will not be included in the unread folders menu.
It is therefore advisable to exclude accounts and folders by closing
little-used branches or by renaming accounts to add a hyphen to the end
of their name.
Since version 2312.14.00, “Unified Folders” mode is supported.
In this mode, all account names must contain the @ character. To rename
an account, select it in the tree, press the Applications key then press
Settings in the context menu. Then tab to the “Account Name” field.
Folder tree Shortcuts
- NVDA+up arrowor NVDA+l (laptop) : announces the name of the selected
folder. NVDA no longer does this on its own.
- Space on unread folder: sets focus on the first unread message in
the message list.
- Enter or Alt+up arrow: displays a menu of all folders in the account
to which the selected folder belongs.
- Control+Enter or Alt+down arrow: displays a menu of unread folders
for the account to which the selected folder belongs.
In both cases,
the last menu item displays the accounts menu. You can press the
spacebar to choose an account from there.
- Shift+Enter: displays a menu containing all accounts and folders in
the tree.
- Shift+Control+Enter: displays a menu containing all unread accounts
and folders in the tree.
Remarks :
For these last two commands, some time will pass before the menu is
displayed because the script must go through the entire tree to build
the menu.
Instead, use one of these two little tips:
- Press Alt+Home twice quickly to display the accounts menu,
Choose an account then press Enter.
A new menu containing the
folders for this account will open and you can use a letter to activate
one.
- Press Control+Alt+Home twice quickly to display the accounts menu
with unread folders,
Choose an account then press Enter.
A new
menu containing the unread folders of this account will open and you can
use a letter to activate one.
Closing windows and tabs
- The Escape key closes the separate message reading window and the
composing window. See the relevant options.
- Control+Backspace: also used to close tabs and windows. When editing
text, this shortcut deletes the previous word.
Compose window
The shortcuts in this window concern the addressing fields and the
attachments pane.
- Alt+1 to Alt+8:
One press: announces the value of the addressing
field or the attachments pane,
Two presses : places the focus on the
addressing field or the attachments pane.
- Alt+pageDown: Same as Alt+3 for the attachments pane.
- Notes:
the announcement of the attachments pane with Alt+3 cites
a numbered list of file names and their total size,
When the focus
is in the attachment list, the escape key returns to the message
body.
- Alt+up arrow: places the message being written in the virtual quote
/ citation browser;
- Windows+vertical arrows: announces the next or previous line in the
citation browser; This allows you to listen to the message you are
replying to without changing windows.
- Windows+horizontal arrow: goes to the next or previous quote without
changing windows.
Spell check dialog
At the opening of this dialogue,The add-on automatically announces
words and their spelling. This can be disabled in the compose window
options.
The following shortcuts are available from the replacement word
editing area:
- Alt+up arrow: spells the misspelled word and the replacement
suggestion.
- Alt+up arrow when double-pressed: announces the sentence in which
the misspelled word is found, thanks to the virtual citation browser
which automatically initializes in this context.
- Enter: press the “Replace” button, without leaving the editing
area.
- Shift+enter: press the “Replace all” button.
- Control+Enter: Press the “Ignore” button.
- Shift+control+Enter: press the “Ignore all” button.
- Alt+down arrow: Bring the focus to the list of suggested words
(2024.12.10);
- Alt+up arrow from the list of suggested words: Bring the focus to
the input field of the replacement word (2024.12.10);
- Enter from the list of suggested words: replaces the mispelled word
by the word selected in the list (2024.12.10);
- Shift+Enter: replaces all the occurrences of the mispelled word by
the word selected in the list (2024.12.10);
- Alt+enter from the edit field: adds the word declared as mispelled
to the dictionary ;
- Control+Space: Click directly on the Close or send button. This is
convenient to quickly close this dialogue, especially when there are
mispelled words (2025.02.10);
Address book,
easier management (v.2024.02.07)
The add-on improves address book announcements and provides you with
keyboard commands that allow you to organize address books and mailing
lists via virtual drag and drop.
Improved ads
- Tree of address books and mailing lists: the extension also
announces the type of an element: address book or list of the parent
address book,
- contact list: pressing space announces the detailed contact file,
pressing twice announces and copies the file to the clipboard.
Note:
if this list is in “Table presentation” mode, uncheck this case via the
“List display options” button which is located above the list of
contacts.
Order Summary
Tab from the address book and mailing list tree: accesses the
search field in the book or list selected in the tree.
Tab from search field: Goes directly to the contacts table by
skipping the “List display options” button. This remains accessible with
shift+Tab from the contacts table; .
escapes:
- From the address book tree, bring the focus to the “Create a new
address book” button in the button bar above the tree. From one of these
buttons, the escape key brings the focus to the tree;
- From the search field, bring the focus to the address book
tree;
- From the contacts table, bring the focus to the search field;
Control+Applications or key above Tab: opens a context menu
including: Access the tree of address books and mailing lists, Access
the contacts table, New address book, New contact, New list , Import.
Aside from the first two, these items come from the Address Book
toolbar.
letter “a” from the contacts table: drags and drops the selected
contacts to the distribution list or address book defined as
destination. The first time you press this key, you are asked for the
destination via a menu. Then you won’t be asked for the destination
again until you change the source list or address book.
letter “d” from the contacts table: displays the menu of lists
and destination address books.
Tip: You can also use navigation keys on a web page. The letter “e”
takes you directly to the search field and the letter “t” takes you to
the contacts table.### Example 1: Creating a mailing list in the
Personal Address Book
- Go to the address book tree and select “Personal addresses”. A new
list is created only in the selected address book, it is not possible
from “All address books”;
- Press Control+Applications or the key above Tab and in the menu,
press Enter on: New list;
- In the dialog that opened, enter the name of the list, for example :
My family,
You can add contacts via this dialog but for the example,
close this dialog via the OK button;
- Back in the address books and lists tree, you notice a new element
named: My family, list of Personal addresses,
Select “Personal
addresses”;
- Press Tab to enter a search keyword or Tab to the Contacts table or
use the Control+Applications menu or key above Tab;
- In the contacts table, select one or more contacts via the standard
method of Control+Space, Control+down arrow, Control+Space, etc;
- Press the letter a to drag and drop them into the mailing list. The
first time, the menu of possible destinations will be displayed. Select
the “New list name” item then press Enter. The next time you press the
letter a, the same destination will be used without displaying this
menu.
- At the end of the drag and drop operation,a beep will be played and
focus will be given to the search box.
- Enter a new word, press Tab, select contacts then press the letter a
again to add them to the list “New list name”;
- Go to the address book tree and select “Collected addresses”;
- Tab to the contacts table;
- Select one or more contacts;
- Optionally press the letter “d” to preselect a new destination;
- Back in the contacts table, press the letter “a” to drag and drop
selected contacts to the destination address book;
- Once done, the focus is given to the search field. Optionally enter
a name then repeat operations 2 to 5.
To access this menu, you can press AltGr+Shift+key above the Tab key
or do the following:
- Go to the main Thunderbird window,
- Press the key above the Tab key,
- In the context menu, press up arrow to select the Update item then
press Enter,
- A new context menu then offers you the choice between: Check for an
update, enable or disable automatic updates and Install version YYMM.DD
where YYMM.DD is the version available for download. The latter may be
more recent than that available in automatic update.
External complements
add-on
Start With inbox for Thunderbird 115 (2023.10.31)1
When Thunderbird starts, this add-on automatically selects:
- the “Incoming Mail” folder of the account of your choice in the
folder tree.
- The last message in the incoming mail folder of the chosen
account.
- The first unread message in the incoming mail folder of the chosen
account.
Facility :
- in Thunderbird, open the “Tools” menu then validate on: Add-ons and
themes;
- On the Module Manager page, place yourself in the search box. In
navigation mode, you can press the letter e to reach it quickly;
- write: Start with Inbox then press Enter;
- manually select the “Start with inbox :: Search :: Modules for
Thunderbird” tab for example. then press the 3 key or quotation mark
until you reach the level 3 title titled by the name of the module you
searched for;
- With the down arrow, scroll down to the “Add to Thunderbird” link
then press Enter on it;
- Follow the procedure then restart Thunderbird;
- If everything went well, Thunderbird will open on the main tab and
give focus to the message list;
Set Start with Inbox options:
- Return to the “Add-ons Manager” tab;
- If necessary, leave the search field to place yourself in navigation
mode;
- Press key 3 as many times as necessary to reach the level 3 title
entitled “Start with Inbox in the list of installed modules;
- Then validate on the button: Module options. This opens a new tab
titled: Start with Inbox, Settings;
- Set the options then restart Thunderbird.