Restart Thunderbird in Safe mode.

Help > Restart with Addons disabled

Now test: click on Write or Reply - did Write window open in the front in focus. If yes then it is likely that an addon is causing a conflict. You would need to test by gradually enabling addons/extensions until you find the one which is causing the problem.

Hi Toad.

Thanks for the reply.

Unfortunately it still does it. The reply or followup window is opened in the background. I have to access it via the "view" option and pick it from the list.

For what it's worth I'm running the current version of OSX and the latest build of Thunderbird.

Could you run a few more tests and report back on the results of each test.

After clicking on 'Reply', does the 'Reply' window show in the bottom Task bar? If yes: When you click on it in Task Bar to open, does it come to the front? Does using 'Alt' + 'Tab' (use this in Windows OS - not sure if the same for Mac) allow selection to bring to front focus?

This time, instead of clicking on 'Reply': Does 'Cmd' + 'R' work ?

I presume the 'Reply' button you are using is in the message header area. Could you put a new 'Reply' button on the 'Mail Toolbar'. 'View' > 'Toolbars' > select 'Customise' or 'Menu icon' > 'options' > select 'Toolbar Layout' Drag 'Reply' icon onto Mail Toolbar. click on 'Done to close Customise Run a few tests on the Mail Toolbar 'Reply' button to see if it will repeatedly open Reply window correctly.

Please report back on results.

This is a Mac. There is no Task Bar like Windows.

The only way that I can find the response screen is to click on "Window" in the menu bar then select the "write" window.

As for the reply icons, while I can put them on the menu bar they are greyed out when I have the message window open in full screen. The "next" and "next unread" buttons which I've added are available to use, though.

So, these reply buttons are only available if I'm viewing the newsgroup in list mode.

re: As for the reply icons, while I can put them on the menu bar they are greyed out The Reply button on Mail Toolbar should be greyed out until you select to view an email in either the Message Pane or new tab - not a new window. Then it should become enabled. I'm trying to find a solution to opening the Reply window in focus via that new Reply button.

I would suggest you report this as a bug here: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/index.cgi?

Give OS and version of Thunderbird. Give all info on what you do and what happens. Tell them TB Safe Mode did not resolve it. If the 'Reply' button on Mail Toolbar works, they need to know this as well.

Toad, should've made myself clear about this.

I'm talking about newsgroups here, not email.

When I read them I'll double click on the first unread message. It'll open in its own window. And it's in that window that the "reply" or whatever buttons that I need to reply to the group, not as an email, are greyed out.

I tried shrinking the message window but the reply window still opens up behind it somewhere.

Attached is a screen shot of an example.

The "reply to list" button is greyed out.

Clicking on "followup" will open the reply editor in the background.

If I change the view so that there are 3 panes, the newsgroup list in one (left), message list (top) and currently viewed message (bottom), then the editor window will pop up as it should in the foreground.

I've just opened a message. I've just clicked on "followup". The reply editor isn't showing. But clicking on the "Window" menu button it shows it in the list of windows to view.

Could you test to see if hardware acceleration is causing this issue.

Thunderbird > Preferences > > 'Advanced' > 'General' tab

click on 'Config Editor' button. it will tell you to be careful :) In top search type: gfx look for this line: gfx.direct2d.disabled; Value = false Double click on that line to toggle the 'false' to a 'true'

In top search type : layers look for this line : layers.acceleration.disabled; Value = false Double click on that line to toggle the 'false' to a 'true'

re MAC OS X: try setting layers.prefer-opengl = true to see if you can use OpenGL for the hardware acceleration instead.

Close the window - top right X click on OK

Close and restart Thunderbird. Retest 'followup' button. Report back on what you have as settings on those three items.

Hi Toad-Hall.

I just tried the above. There is no gfx.direct listed in the settings. There is the hardware accel one, though, but I didn't change that just yet. Should I without changing the gfx.direct setting?

Also, I'm on my Macbook Air today. It is doing the same thing as the Mini.

Cheers

Martin

Ok, I changed my setting to the non default "openmessages in a new message window. I double clicked on a message in News,mozilla.org:Mozilla.Support.Thunderbird

It opened in a window. I single clicked Reply and the reply window opened over the existing window.

What did I do different, other than use windows?

Matt, when you clicked on "Reply", in my Mac version that means to reply via email directly to the poster.

My problem is when I click on "Followup" it opens a reply window in the background. The "Followup" command is for a reply to the newsgroup.

In my daily build I have followup on the reading pane, but opening in a new windows removes that and replaces it with a reply arrow that does exactly the same ting.

Test to see if cache is causing issue. Set settings in 'Config editor' and report back on results.

• mail.compose.max_recycled_windows; Value = 0

right click on line and select 'Modify' change value to 0 (zero)

Restart Thunderbird and test.