Introduction to Thunderbird
Thunderbird is a stand-alone
mail/news client based on the Mozilla codebase.
Package Information
To enable the Enigmail extension
to the Thunderbird mail client,
you'll need to download the tarball shown below. The Enigmail extension allows users to access the
authentication and encryption features provided by the GnuPG package. The Enigmail extension will not
operate correctly unless you have GnuPG-1.4.7 or
GnuPG-2.0.8 installed.
Thunderbird Dependencies
Required
GTK+-2.10.13, libIDL-0.8.8, and
Zip-2.32
Note: libjpeg should have been
installed before GTK+ and should
exist on your system. If for some reason you haven't installed
libjpeg, you should remove the
--with-system-jpeg option from the
.mozconfig file created below.
Recommended
NSS-3.11.7 (if you will be installing any other
package that utilizes NSS/NSPR, such as Firefox, SeaMonkey, Evolution, or OpenOffice)
Optional
UnZip-5.52 and libgnomeui-2.18.1 (to build the gnomevfs
extension)
User Notes: http://wiki.linuxfromscratch.org/blfs/wiki/Thunderbird
Installation of Thunderbird
The configuration of Thunderbird
is accomplished by creating a .mozconfig file containing the desired
configuration options. A default .mozconfig is created below. To see the entire
list of available configuration options (and an abbreviated
description of each one), issue ./configure --help. If you are
going to use system-installed versions of the NSS and NSPR
libraries, ensure you uncomment the two lines near the bottom of
the file. You may also wish to review the entire file and uncomment
any other desired options. If you would prefer to download the file
instead of creating it by typing or cut-and-pasting, you can find
it at
http://anduin.linuxfromscratch.org/files/BLFS/6.3/thunderbird-2.0.0.12-mozconfig
(the file must be installed in the root of the source tree
mozilla directory, and named
.mozconfig). Create the file by
issuing the following command:
cat > .mozconfig << "EOF"
# This file contains the options used in the Thunderbird build. You may
# need to specify additional options for your specific build needs.
# Use the information provided by running './configure --help' to
# help you determine if you need to add any additional options.
# Some additional options can be added by uncommenting the examples
# in this file or adding options by inserting a line containing
# 'ac_add_options --some-option-you-need'.
# Use the default settings specified in the source tree
. $topsrcdir/mail/config/mozconfig
# Create an object directory and specify to build the package in that
# directory. If desired, modify the location of the object directory
# to a directory inside the source tree by removing '../' from the
# line below.
mk_add_options MOZ_OBJDIR=@TOPSRCDIR@/../thunderbird-build
# Specify the installation prefix. If you would prefer Thunderbird
# installed in a different prefix, modify the line below to fit
# your needs. You'll also need to modify some of the instructions in
# the BLFS book to point to your desired prefix.
ac_add_options --prefix=/usr
# These options are used so that the Thunderbird binaries are linked to
# the system-installed copies of the specified libraries instead of
# the source tree code which may not be the most recent versions.
ac_add_options --with-system-zlib
ac_add_options --with-system-png
ac_add_options --with-system-jpeg
ac_add_options --enable-system-cairo
# This option causes the installed binaries to have the official
# Thunderbird name embedded in them. Due to license restrictions, you
# may not distribute binaries created using this option.
ac_add_options --enable-official-branding
# This option specifies to include support for rendering the HTML
# <canvas></canvas> tag in the Thunderbird mail client.
#ac_add_options --enable-canvas
# This option is used so that the debugging symbols are removed from
# the installed binaries during the installation process. Comment out
# this option if you may have a need to retain the debugging symbols
# in the installed binaries. Note that this can substantially
# increase the size of the installed binaries.
ac_add_options --enable-strip
# This option is added so that test libraries and programs are not
# built. These would only be required for debugging purposes.
ac_add_options --disable-tests
# This option is added so that the Mozilla Installer program is not
# built or installed. The program is not required for a BLFS
# installation of Thunderbird.
ac_add_options --disable-installer
# This option is used to disable the a11y support in the Thunderbird
# binaries. Comment out this option if you require a11y support.
ac_add_options --disable-accessibility
# This option is used to enable source tree included LDAP support in
# the Thunderbird binaries.
ac_add_options --enable-ldap
# This option is used to enable support for rendering SVG files in the
# Thunderbird mail client. Uncomment the line below to enable the option.
#ac_add_options --enable-svg
# Uncomment this option if you desire support for dual-monitor
# display of Thunderbird using the X-Window Xinerama libraries.
#ac_add_options --enable-xinerama
# Complex scripts such as Thai can only be rendered in Thunderbird with
# the help of Pango. This option significantly slows rendering, so only
# use it if necessary.
#ac_add_options --enable-pango
# These two options enable support for building Thunderbird with
# system-installed versions of the Network Security Services (NSS)
# and Netscape Portable Runtime (NSPR) libraries. Uncomment both
# lines to enable support for system-installed NSS/NSPR.
#ac_add_options --with-system-nss
#ac_add_options --with-system-nspr
# This option identifies the default binary directory of the Thunderbird
# installation and is used to locate Thunderbird's installed files. This
# option is not required for end-user use, and is only used for
# development purposes. Due to PDF line length limitations, the command
# below is modified. If you need to use the command below, change the
# ... to /usr/lib.
#ac_add_options --with-default-mozilla-five-home=.../thunderbird-2.0.0.12
EOF
Compile Thunderbird by issuing the
following commands:
cat >> layout/build/Makefile.in << "EOF" &&
ifdef MOZ_ENABLE_CANVAS
EXTRA_DSO_LDOPTS += $(XLDFLAGS) -lX11 -lXrender
endif
EOF
sed -i "s/^ enum$/& xptinfo_enum_1/" \
xpcom/reflect/xptinfo/public/xptinfo.h &&
make -f client.mk build
This package does not come with a test suite.
If you're building the Enigmail
extension, issue the following commands:
tar -xf ../enigmail-0.95.6.tar.gz -C mailnews/extensions &&
( cd mailnews/extensions/enigmail && ./makemake -r ) &&
make -C ../thunderbird-build/mailnews/extensions/enigmail &&
make -C ../thunderbird-build/mailnews/extensions/enigmail \
XPIFILE=enigmail-0.95.6.xpi xpi
Install Thunderbird by running the
following commands as the root
user:
make -f client.mk install &&
install -v -m644 ../thunderbird-build/dist/public/ldap-private/* \
/usr/include/thunderbird-2.0.0.12/ldap &&
install -v -m644 ../thunderbird-build/dist/bin/isp/{movemail,rss}.rdf \
/usr/lib/thunderbird-2.0.0.12/isp &&
rm -rvf /usr/lib/thunderbird-2.0.0.12/defaults/isp
If you built Thunderbird utilizing
system-installed NSS and NSPR libraries, the thunderbird-ns*.pc pkgconfig files are broken as they point to
the wrong directories where the actual libraries and interface
headers are located. Issue the following commands as the
root user to replace the broken
files with symbolic links to known good files:
ln -v -sf nss.pc /usr/lib/pkgconfig/thunderbird-nss.pc &&
ln -v -sf nspr.pc /usr/lib/pkgconfig/thunderbird-nspr.pc
If you did NOT build
Thunderbird utilizing
system-installed NSS and NSPR libraries, issue the following
commands as the root user to
install the NSS interface headers:
install -v -m755 -d /usr/include/thunderbird-2.0.0.12/nss &&
cp -v -Lf ../thunderbird-build/dist/{private,public}/nss/*.h \
/usr/include/thunderbird-2.0.0.12/nss
If you built the Enigmail
extension, issue the following commands as the root user to install the .xpi file:
install -v -m644 -D ../thunderbird-build/dist/bin/enigmail-0.95.6.xpi \
/usr/lib/thunderbird-2.0.0.12/xpi_store/enigmail-0.95.6.xpi
If you want to install Enigmail
globally so that all users who run Thunderbird will have access to the extension,
issue the command shown below. Note that this procedure starts an
instance of Thunderbird and you
must have an X server running. Issue the following command as the
root user:
/usr/bin/thunderbird -install-global-extension \
/usr/lib/thunderbird-2.0.0.12/xpi_store/enigmail-0.95.6.xpi
Global installation of other extensions can be done using the same
basic method as the Enigmail
extension. See the “Configuring
Thunderbird” section below for information about
configuring Enigmail for
individual users if you did not not install it globally.
![[Note]](../images/note.png)
Note
You should run /usr/bin/thunderbird once as
the root user (or any user with
write privileges) to create some necessary additional files in
the /usr/lib/thunderbird-2.0.0.12
directory.
Command Explanations
'EXTRA_DSO_LDOPTS' += -lX11 -lXrender
...: Building the layout backend will break when
the canvas element is enabled without adding these two required
libraries.
sed -i "s/^ enum$/&
xptinfo_enum_1/" ...: This command is used to fix
an anonymous enum in an external/public interface header file.
make -f client.mk
...: Mozilla products are packaged to allow the use
of a configuration file which can be used to pass the configuration
settings to the configure command. make uses the client.mk file to get initial configuration and
setup parameters, then depending on the target parameter
(build or install), either runs the
configure script and
compiles the package or installs the package.
( cd mailnews/... &&
./makemake -r ): This command is used to
recursively create Makefiles in the
enigmail directory.
make -C ... xpi: This
command builds the Enigmail
.xpi file which is used to install
Enigmail.
install
.../{movemail,rss}.rdf: These commands are used to
install two mail extensions inadvertantly left out of the
installation script or installed to the wrong location.
Configuring Thunderbird
Configuration Information
No specific configuration is required as long as the thunderbird script is in the
user's path. If Thunderbird is
installed in a non-standard location, then make a symlink to the
thunderbird script
in the /usr/bin directory.
If you don't have privileges to install extensions globally, or
you prefer to not install global extensions, you can configure
Thunderbird on an individual
user basis for access to extensions. For example, if you built
the Enigmail extension and did
not install it globally, it can be installed on an as-needed
basis for each user of the system who may use Thunderbird. It is accomplished through the
Thunderbird “Tools” menu. Choose the “Extensions” – “Install” option and fill in the
“Look in:” field with
/usr/lib/thunderbird-2.0.0.12/xpi_store. You'll
then see the enigmail-0.95.6-linux-????.xpi file listed.
Choose this file and click on “Open”, then click on “Install now”. The Enigmail extension will install and you will
be prompted to restart Thunderbird.
If your Window or Desktop Manager does not allow you to configure
a default browser, you can add a configuration parameter to
Thunderbird so that a browser
will start when when you click on an Internet/intranet/local URL.
The procedure to check or modify any of the configuration
parameters is quite simple and the instructions here can be used
to view or modify any of the parameters.
First, open the configuration dialog by opening the
“Edit” drop-down menu.
Choose “Preferences” and
then click on the “Advanced” icon on the top menu bar. Choose
the “General” tab and
click on the “Config
Editor” button. This will display a list of the
configuration preferences and information related to each one.
You can use the “Filter:”
bar to enter search criteria and narrow down the listed items.
Changing a preference can be done using two methods. One, if the
preference has a boolean value (True/False), simply double-click
on the preference to toggle the value and two, for other
preferences simply right-click on the desired line, choose
“Modify” from the menu and
change the value. Creating new preference items is accomplished
in the same way, except choose “New” from the menu and provide the desired
data into the fields when prompted.
The configuration preference item you need to check so that
Thunderbird uses a specified
browser is the network.protocol-handler.app.http
which should be set to the path of the desired browser, e.g.,
/usr/bin/firefox.
![[Tip]](../images/tip.png)