How do I use the forward and back buttons in my Thunderbird email program? They are grayed out!

First of all, check if you are opening links in a new tab or browser window. The back and forward buttons only work if you have visited several sites / pages in one browser window. Multiple tabs may look like one browser window but technically they are all separate windows.


If that is not the case, the Number of pages in the session history may have been set to zero. To check that, select "Edit" -> "Preferences" -> "Navigator" -> "History". Check what it says under "Number of pages in session history". If the value for that is "0" (zero), this is the reason for the back and forward buttons being greyed out. The value (number) determines, how many previously visited (in one session and one browser window/tab) pages will be accessible via the back and forward buttons, i.e. if it's at 20, you can go back and forward 20 steps. Please note that you will have to restart Mozilla before changes to this setting take effect.

You answered the question as if referring to a browser such as FIREFOX. I am talking about FORWARD & BACK buttons in my THUNDERBIRD email program, not a browser.Can anyone else help?

Yup my bad I pasted the wrong thing..
After some digging ctrl H is your friend I found the original link I meant to paste.

http://sillydog.org/forum/sdp_85870.php
A funky theme could cause that behavior. Look through this thread you may find what you are looking for

Thanks for the link: http://sillydog.org/forum/sdp_85870.php I still haven't been able to resolve the issue, but I see others are having the same problem. It must be a bug in the software.

Its a bit of a chore but you can file the bug here http://www.mozilla.org/support/thunderbi...

I know this may be a dumb question but you have to open an email and then the forward button will be enabled, after looking at another email then the back button will be enabled.

I did not resolve this issue yet, but decided to reward the points to "ozzie" since he did lead me in the right direction. I found out others were complaining about not being able to use the forward and back buttons in the Thunderbird email client also. It most likely is a bug in the software, but I don't really need to use the buttons any way. Sometimes in "COMPUTERVILLE" you just have to move on and learn to live with the situation. Thanks again!

I've been using Thuderbird for a few months, now...having the same problem. Today...I figured it out...all on my lonely.

Thunderbird doesn't have a bug...it's just that Mozilla doesn't really explain its software that well.

Anyway...I was going through my Trash, in Thunderbird, and decided to turn the Message Pane on: View/Layout/Message Pane. After selecting one of the e-mails I wanted to view...low and behold, the Forward and Back Buttons were no longer grayed out.

So...in answer to your question...they work, but you have to have Mesage Pane enabled...and you have to physically click an e-mail in the folder before it works.

Hopefully this has resolved your issue...

Can I get ozzie's points? LOL!

Some people suggest removing and adding the Back/Forward buttons from the toolbar - or replacing them with the Previous/Next buttons (right-click on the toolbar and select Customize). This however did not work for me (I'm using Ubuntu 9.04 and TB 2.0.0.23).
The only thing that worked for me is by using the B and F keys. Pressing those keys on your keyboard will step through the messages as I expected the buttons would do. Perhaps this will be sorted out in a later version of TB.