Do you mean you have to open the selected message in a new tab?

No, I have just clicked on the message without opening it. If I open the message it becomes read But I dont need to open every message eg reply acknowldgements which iit is a waste of time to open

Simply selecting a message does NOT mark it as read. If you have the Message Pane enabled, and you click a message in the list, that message gets selected, opened and displayed in the Message Pane. If the Message Pane is disabled, then you have to double-click a message to open it (in a new tab). If you single-click it, it get's selected, but it remains unread because simply selecting a message does not count as opening that message. If you wish to mark a message as unread, you can do so by pressing the M key on your keyboard, or you can use the right-click menu. You can select multiple messages and mark them as read without having to open them. Thunderbird is working exactly as it's supposed to.

Thanks The messsage pane is the key. I disabled it by accident. Now I have enabled it and it now behanvces as I expect

I have a similar problem with Thunderbird 115.0a1 (2023-06-02) (64-bit): The Message List is displayed and the Message Pane is displayed where the chosen message is displayed. When I click on a message in the Message List, it is displayed in the Message Pane. It's status in the Message List should immediately change from Unread to Read. Much of the time it does this. But there are times when it takes 10 seconds or more to change from Unread to Read. I go through the list of new emails quickly, so I want the status to change immediately. I don't want to have to wait for 10 seconds or more for TB to change the status. I am using the "Automatically mark messages as read Immediately on Display" setting, so the message should go from Unread to Read immediately, but it often does not occur immediately. I can click on the "Read Status" dot to change the status, but I should not have to. Thank you.

First, I have been using Mozilla forever and love the product. I'm not against change, but at 73, I'm not a great fan of wondering where something has moved to in the latest update or changing the icon for email. I have ver. 115.2.3 (64 bit) and I generally use the letter 'N' to move to the next unread messages. Before this update, messages would immediately change the 'message read status' to 'read.' Now, it seems like I'm waiting for a server 'handshake' for that to happen. It results in having to go back and look at the message again. My message pane is open and I have "Automatically mark messages as read Immediately on Display" set. I only have 5 mbs on my internet, so if I have to handshake with advertisers, it's gonna take forever. Thanks for all you do. ~ Swamphox

Thunderbird v 115.4.2 (64-bit) Mac OS X: Sonoma 14.0 (23A344)

My experience with Thunderbird is that, INSTANTANEOUSLY or within one second of me selecting a message and viewing it in the "preview" pane (lower right), the settings on the message in the folder list change from "Read" to "Unread." This behavior is both expected and desired (for me).

However, since a recent update to Thunderbird, for messages from the following senders (at least, but I am sure there are others), the message status does not from "Read" to "Unread" unless I view it for 10 continuous seconds:

• Office Depot <rewards@e.officedepot.com>
• American Express <americanexpress@member.americanexpress.com>
• Kroger Savings & Sales <email@e.krogermail.com>

I cannot find any settings regarding this behavior and, as I implied, this is a new behavior.

Where (EXACTLY) are the settings that might be mishandling this functionality?

As of version 121.0a1, I am seeing the correct behavior. When I click on a message in the "Subject" list, that message subject immediately changes from bold type to regular type, indicating that it has been "read".

I've had the same problem I believe since the previous update. There are some emails that after clicking on them and having them come up in the preview window, act as per my default settings and go to "read" status in 2 or 3 seconds. The problem is that some emails in the same or different accounts do not change immediately, and may take 10 seconds or more to change, and a few will not change and I have to force them. I do appreciate the "m" key option I didn't know about, but the main problem still exists in that the program is not doing what I've set as a default.

I'm currently running Thunderbird 115.3.1 (64-bit) Estimated 9K emails in over 20 folders, 12 email accounts Processor: AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 945 Processor 3.01 GHz Installed RAM 12.0 GB System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor Microsoft Windows 10 Pro Version 10.0.19045 Build 19045 BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. 3401, 5/20/2010 Two monitors on extended mode Samsung 32" 1080P (LftHd) Samsung 32" 4k (RtHd, Main)