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Is there a hidden feature in Thunderbird, or an add-on, that allows easily sending replies from the email address to which message was received? Without having

Is there a hidden feature in Thunderbird, or an add-on, that allows easily sending replies from the email address to which message was received? Without having to have those email addresses already added as accounts/identities. And also writing fresh emails from specific emails addresses maybe by easily editing the “from” field. i.e if I had used an email netflix@mydomain.tld to register on Netflix and I am replying to an email received on that then the reply should automatically bo sent from that email. Apple mail allows this by adding such email addresses in advance. I already have almost 20 in the from list. It’s a mess. Couldn’t find any other generic client (iPhone or Mac) that does it.

surewe 5y ago
Yup - "Reply with this identity when delivery headers match". Set it to something like "*@example.com", and you're good to go.
- crossroadsguy 5y ago
  That needs more identities to be added in advance. Just like Apple Mail. I want to avoid that.
  - kelnos 5y ago
    How else would that work, though? Thunderbird doesn't know what SMTP server and credentials to use without you telling it.
    - mkl 5y ago
      It used to work fine with an extension called Virtual Identity. That no longer works (hasn't been updated in a long time, and I'm not sure if it could be made to work again).
    - crossroadsguy 5y ago
      It knows the domain already and SMTP credentials are already saved. I’ve already set creds for abc@domain.tld, xyz@domain.tld and pr course as usual I can reply, send new emails from these addresses. But I should also be able to send emails/reply from pqrs/dfg/john/tom/ram/bond/bill/etc@domain.tld. Of course reply will be automatic but sending new email might just require changing the from field. It can have a setting that “if a from address identified isn’t already added as an identity, it should use the SMTP creds of matching domain”. It won’t work for something like Gmail, Outlook.com (I mean one anyway can’t have catch-all on these domains) but would work great for personal emails. This is what I meant. Because without such a feature - catchall feature is often rendered very limited. Even iCloud+ supports replying - id you’ve to send a fresh mail from a catchall/disposable (or service/provider/business specific) email address you’re out of luck.
      - beagle3 5y ago
        My thunderbird has an option for “modify from …” which lets me write whatever I want. On mobile, can’t check exact text. I do remember I had to reggae a switch in the preferences to make that option appear, don’t remember which one - have been using it for years.
        beagle3 5y ago
        Just checked, it's called "Customize From Address ..."
        dhimes 5y ago
        Cool! Thank you! Works great. Just have to remember to get rid of my signature as it has all my personal contact info lol
        crossroadsguy 5y ago
        Thunderbird has a mobile app as well? The website says it doesn’t.
        5y ago
  - surewe 5y ago
    No it doesn't, you can use a wildcard.
- bennyp101 5y ago
  Holy cow, I too have been looking for this for ages! *@my.domain in there and it works! Thank you!
satya71 5y ago
That’s how always used Thunderbird. I can even switch identities when replying, if I want to do that. Also, you can have multiple identities for the same account, if you have aliases.
- crossroadsguy 5y ago
  I can have identities in Apple Mail but that would mean dozens, hundreds of identities have to be added. Add netflix@mydomain, reddit@, hnyc@, amazon@,… and so on. Except one or two main identities I don’t want to pre-add these emails. Because I’m aware it’s already possible at least in Apple Mail.
  - kingcharles 5y ago
    I do my email address like you. One of the things I was thankful for with Fastmail is that it does this automatically for me (sets the FROM address when I hit reply to whatever the receipt address was). I hate when you hit reply and your mail client sends it from the default address and then the recipient bounces it because it doesn't match anything in their records.
    - crossroadsguy 5y ago
      I have indeed heard about it and it’s on the radar but not having any trial is a bummer. Btw what’s that 600 email (alias?) limit? Also, wouldn’t want to buy a domain just to try. On top of that they don’t allow domains on their starting paid tier (which already costs 4 times current paid mail host) and my email resource usage doesn’t warn more than that. Can you please tell us how the UI is? E.g. You registered on Reddit and just used a random/disposable/freshly thought of email address like “reddit@kingcharles.tld”. Now if you receive an email from Reddit or anybody on the email I guess you can just hit reply and it will be replied from that Email — for this you would have to come back to Fastmail app/dashboard ans add that “reddit@…” as an identity/email or you don’t have to as long as the domain matches (and of course it does, that’s how you received mail in the first place)? And what if you’re not replying? You’re initiating an email to someone but suddenly want to use “another-addr-random@kingcharles.tld”? You can just set it at the time of sending the mail you this email address has to be added as an identity/alias?
mdavidn 5y ago
It’s not Thunderbird, but I do this in Fastmail (web or app) using their “masked email” feature. Replies come from the same alias created uniquely for my Netflix account. https://www.fastmail.help/hc/en-us/articles/4406536368911-Masked-Email https://www.fastmail.help/hc/en-us/articles/4406536368911-Ma...
- AndrewDavis 5y ago
  You can do this without masked email too. I have a wildcard alias setup so *@mydomain.tld are accepted, and I have a wildcard sending identity *@mydomain.tld If you have a sending identity that matches with the address the email was received, on the app and webui it will reply from that address. Disclaimer: I work at Fastmail, but not on the webui or app.
  - jmcphers 5y ago
    Fastmail does SUCH a great job managing multiple addresses and domains. My favorite feature is the auto-BCC so that when I'm sending from a joint e-mail address I share with my wife, she always gets a copy.
    - adamcstephens 5y ago
      Thanks, I didn't know this was an option. Turning on now. :)
  - mritzmann 5y ago
    I am a Fastmail customer for 2-3 years. That was the reason, why I switched to you guys!
    - 0ldskool 5y ago
      I've been trying to decide if I should switch from GApps to Fastmail. This is the killer feature I wanted along with unlimited domains, looks like I'll be transferring over soon.
  - 5y ago
gorgoiler 5y ago
I feel like I had this working in Evolution once? In reality I found that 99% of the time I only use aliases for receiving and filtering incoming email. On the one day a month I need to send from netflix@mydomain.com, I just sack up and add it as an account alias. Le sigh. Of course, mutt does this right: https://gitlab.com/muttmua/mutt/-/wikis/MuttFaq/Header#how-to-let-mutt-use-the-to-address-of-a-message-as-the-from-address-in-a-reply https://gitlab.com/muttmua/mutt/-/wikis/MuttFaq/Header#how-t... …but now there’s a new problem in that GitLab’s deep linking seems to be broken. Yay.
Tepix 5y ago
Virtual identity was exactly what you are asking for https://www.absorb.it/virtual-id https://www.absorb.it/virtual-id Unfortunately it seems to have been abandonded
- crossroadsguy 5y ago
  Damn! It indeed is exactly that. And yes, that’s abandoned. But thanks anyway!
emptysongglass 5y ago
Firefox Relay solves this by giving you a replies@relay.firefox.com for the Reply-To. Works great for me for a dollar a month. But of course I understand the desire to selfhost such a solution.
donatzsky 5y ago
You can change the from address to whatever you want when you send an email. In the "From" drop down, you can choose any of your existing addresses or to customise it.
arendtio 5y ago
I would love such a feature too. currently I have to either add a ton of identities or do a lot of unnecessary manual copy and pasting. AFAIK, you can edit the from field for fresh emails, when using the user-defined-from-option below your identities. Nevertheless, when you have a conversation, it would be much easier if there would be an option to use the recipients address.
manol74 5y ago
You don't need an add-on for that. I have a plain TB 91 setup with three identies configured for three different mail servers. When replying I can choose from the identities, and in the drop down there is another option "Customize From Address" which enables editing the address without creating another identity. It's a bit hidden, but should be there without an add-on. Doesn't work for new mails though, in this case the option is there but disabled.
- OJFord 5y ago
  GP (and I) don't want to configure multiple 'identities' though. I (and probably GP) create new email addresses 'on the fly', for a specific shop I order from once say, and if there's something I need to reply to I want (possibly need from their CRM's perspective) to reply from the address they already have for me. Embarrassingly largely for this reason, I wrote my own client. (Good fun though, and not the only reason.)
Anthony-G 5y ago
In case any Mutt users are interested, here’s how this can be accomplished. # When replying to an email, use the To: address of the original email as the # From: address in the reply (requires that the To: address be recognised by # Mutt as being one of my alternate addresses). set reverse_name # Regex to let Mutt know what other email addresses are used by me. alternates @example I had been thinking of writing a script to dynamically create a file of alternative addresses from /etc/aliases but this isn’t necessary. There’s no need to individually list all my alternate addresses as – currently – all name@example.com and name@example.info addresses are me so it is enough to just match the `@example` regular expression. Edit: For composing a new message (not a reply), I have this set: # When composing a message, edit the headers along with the message body. # This should make it easier to see that the correct From address is being used # and to fix this if necessary. set edit_headers
detaro 5y ago
> And also writing fresh emails from specific emails addresses maybe by easily editing the “from” field. that it has.
dec0dedab0de 5y ago
If you don't add them in advance, how could it tell the difference between your addresses, and a mailing list, or if there are multiple addresses.
cassianoleal 5y ago
It feels to me that the problem is that email addresses are considered to be the identity. In your (and mine!) case, the domain is our identity, and the individual addresses are just different inboxes. Email clients need an option for that.
d3nj4l 5y ago
No disrespect to your question - it is fair and reasonable - but why is the top comment on a post about Thunderbird's Matrix integration essentially a tech support question about a completely unrelated thing in Thunderbird?
- uwuemu 5y ago
  Because it's a niche feature barely anyone will use or is interested in using and so they have nothing to say that would be on topic. But, this being HN, people still use the post to piggyback on with their issues or requests regarding Thunderbird in general. Actually, this happens faily often. Each time some popular project gets a post like "php 8 released", "net 6 released", typically, what should be discussed is the theme of the release, new features, changes etc., but what the top posts end up being is just people arguing how php is shit and java/kotlin is better than net yadda yadda. Seems to be natural in open discussions, also happens on Reddit.
mkl 5y ago
I'm just trying this add-on which seems to work, ReplyAsOriginalRecipientUp: https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-US/thunderbird/addon/replyasoriginalrecipientup/?src=search https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-US/thunderbird/addon/reply...

surewe 5y ago

Yup - "Reply with this identity when delivery headers match". Set it to something like "*@example.com", and you're good to go.

crossroadsguy 5y ago
That needs more identities to be added in advance. Just like Apple Mail. I want to avoid that.
- kelnos 5y ago
  How else would that work, though? Thunderbird doesn't know what SMTP server and credentials to use without you telling it.
  - mkl 5y ago
    It used to work fine with an extension called Virtual Identity. That no longer works (hasn't been updated in a long time, and I'm not sure if it could be made to work again).
  - crossroadsguy 5y ago
    It knows the domain already and SMTP credentials are already saved. I’ve already set creds for abc@domain.tld, xyz@domain.tld and pr course as usual I can reply, send new emails from these addresses. But I should also be able to send emails/reply from pqrs/dfg/john/tom/ram/bond/bill/etc@domain.tld. Of course reply will be automatic but sending new email might just require changing the from field. It can have a setting that “if a from address identified isn’t already added as an identity, it should use the SMTP creds of matching domain”. It won’t work for something like Gmail, Outlook.com (I mean one anyway can’t have catch-all on these domains) but would work great for personal emails. This is what I meant. Because without such a feature - catchall feature is often rendered very limited. Even iCloud+ supports replying - id you’ve to send a fresh mail from a catchall/disposable (or service/provider/business specific) email address you’re out of luck.
    - beagle3 5y ago
      My thunderbird has an option for “modify from …” which lets me write whatever I want. On mobile, can’t check exact text. I do remember I had to reggae a switch in the preferences to make that option appear, don’t remember which one - have been using it for years.
      - beagle3 5y ago
        Just checked, it's called "Customize From Address ..."
        dhimes 5y ago
        Cool! Thank you! Works great. Just have to remember to get rid of my signature as it has all my personal contact info lol
      - crossroadsguy 5y ago
        Thunderbird has a mobile app as well? The website says it doesn’t.
        5y ago
- surewe 5y ago
  No it doesn't, you can use a wildcard.
bennyp101 5y ago
Holy cow, I too have been looking for this for ages! *@my.domain in there and it works! Thank you!

satya71 5y ago

That’s how always used Thunderbird. I can even switch identities when replying, if I want to do that. Also, you can have multiple identities for the same account, if you have aliases.

crossroadsguy 5y ago
I can have identities in Apple Mail but that would mean dozens, hundreds of identities have to be added. Add netflix@mydomain, reddit@, hnyc@, amazon@,… and so on. Except one or two main identities I don’t want to pre-add these emails. Because I’m aware it’s already possible at least in Apple Mail.
- kingcharles 5y ago
  I do my email address like you. One of the things I was thankful for with Fastmail is that it does this automatically for me (sets the FROM address when I hit reply to whatever the receipt address was). I hate when you hit reply and your mail client sends it from the default address and then the recipient bounces it because it doesn't match anything in their records.
  - crossroadsguy 5y ago
    I have indeed heard about it and it’s on the radar but not having any trial is a bummer. Btw what’s that 600 email (alias?) limit? Also, wouldn’t want to buy a domain just to try. On top of that they don’t allow domains on their starting paid tier (which already costs 4 times current paid mail host) and my email resource usage doesn’t warn more than that. Can you please tell us how the UI is? E.g. You registered on Reddit and just used a random/disposable/freshly thought of email address like “reddit@kingcharles.tld”. Now if you receive an email from Reddit or anybody on the email I guess you can just hit reply and it will be replied from that Email — for this you would have to come back to Fastmail app/dashboard ans add that “reddit@…” as an identity/email or you don’t have to as long as the domain matches (and of course it does, that’s how you received mail in the first place)? And what if you’re not replying? You’re initiating an email to someone but suddenly want to use “another-addr-random@kingcharles.tld”? You can just set it at the time of sending the mail you this email address has to be added as an identity/alias?

mdavidn 5y ago

It’s not Thunderbird, but I do this in Fastmail (web or app) using their “masked email” feature. Replies come from the same alias created uniquely for my Netflix account. https://www.fastmail.help/hc/en-us/articles/4406536368911-Masked-Email https://www.fastmail.help/hc/en-us/articles/4406536368911-Ma...

AndrewDavis 5y ago
You can do this without masked email too. I have a wildcard alias setup so *@mydomain.tld are accepted, and I have a wildcard sending identity *@mydomain.tld If you have a sending identity that matches with the address the email was received, on the app and webui it will reply from that address. Disclaimer: I work at Fastmail, but not on the webui or app.
- jmcphers 5y ago
  Fastmail does SUCH a great job managing multiple addresses and domains. My favorite feature is the auto-BCC so that when I'm sending from a joint e-mail address I share with my wife, she always gets a copy.
  - adamcstephens 5y ago
    Thanks, I didn't know this was an option. Turning on now. :)
- mritzmann 5y ago
  I am a Fastmail customer for 2-3 years. That was the reason, why I switched to you guys!
  - 0ldskool 5y ago
    I've been trying to decide if I should switch from GApps to Fastmail. This is the killer feature I wanted along with unlimited domains, looks like I'll be transferring over soon.
- 5y ago

gorgoiler 5y ago

I feel like I had this working in Evolution once? In reality I found that 99% of the time I only use aliases for receiving and filtering incoming email. On the one day a month I need to send from netflix@mydomain.com, I just sack up and add it as an account alias. Le sigh. Of course, mutt does this right: https://gitlab.com/muttmua/mutt/-/wikis/MuttFaq/Header#how-to-let-mutt-use-the-to-address-of-a-message-as-the-from-address-in-a-reply https://gitlab.com/muttmua/mutt/-/wikis/MuttFaq/Header#how-t... …but now there’s a new problem in that GitLab’s deep linking seems to be broken. Yay.

Tepix 5y ago

Virtual identity was exactly what you are asking for https://www.absorb.it/virtual-id https://www.absorb.it/virtual-id Unfortunately it seems to have been abandonded

crossroadsguy 5y ago
Damn! It indeed is exactly that. And yes, that’s abandoned. But thanks anyway!

emptysongglass 5y ago

Firefox Relay solves this by giving you a replies@relay.firefox.com for the Reply-To. Works great for me for a dollar a month. But of course I understand the desire to selfhost such a solution.

donatzsky 5y ago

You can change the from address to whatever you want when you send an email. In the "From" drop down, you can choose any of your existing addresses or to customise it.

arendtio 5y ago

I would love such a feature too. currently I have to either add a ton of identities or do a lot of unnecessary manual copy and pasting. AFAIK, you can edit the from field for fresh emails, when using the user-defined-from-option below your identities. Nevertheless, when you have a conversation, it would be much easier if there would be an option to use the recipients address.

manol74 5y ago

You don't need an add-on for that. I have a plain TB 91 setup with three identies configured for three different mail servers. When replying I can choose from the identities, and in the drop down there is another option "Customize From Address" which enables editing the address without creating another identity. It's a bit hidden, but should be there without an add-on. Doesn't work for new mails though, in this case the option is there but disabled.

OJFord 5y ago
GP (and I) don't want to configure multiple 'identities' though. I (and probably GP) create new email addresses 'on the fly', for a specific shop I order from once say, and if there's something I need to reply to I want (possibly need from their CRM's perspective) to reply from the address they already have for me. Embarrassingly largely for this reason, I wrote my own client. (Good fun though, and not the only reason.)

Anthony-G 5y ago

In case any Mutt users are interested, here’s how this can be accomplished. # When replying to an email, use the To: address of the original email as the # From: address in the reply (requires that the To: address be recognised by # Mutt as being one of my alternate addresses). set reverse_name # Regex to let Mutt know what other email addresses are used by me. alternates @example I had been thinking of writing a script to dynamically create a file of alternative addresses from /etc/aliases but this isn’t necessary. There’s no need to individually list all my alternate addresses as – currently – all name@example.com and name@example.info addresses are me so it is enough to just match the `@example` regular expression. Edit: For composing a new message (not a reply), I have this set: # When composing a message, edit the headers along with the message body. # This should make it easier to see that the correct From address is being used # and to fix this if necessary. set edit_headers

detaro 5y ago

> And also writing fresh emails from specific emails addresses maybe by easily editing the “from” field. that it has.

dec0dedab0de 5y ago

If you don't add them in advance, how could it tell the difference between your addresses, and a mailing list, or if there are multiple addresses.

cassianoleal 5y ago

It feels to me that the problem is that email addresses are considered to be the identity. In your (and mine!) case, the domain is our identity, and the individual addresses are just different inboxes. Email clients need an option for that.

d3nj4l 5y ago

No disrespect to your question - it is fair and reasonable - but why is the top comment on a post about Thunderbird's Matrix integration essentially a tech support question about a completely unrelated thing in Thunderbird?

uwuemu 5y ago
Because it's a niche feature barely anyone will use or is interested in using and so they have nothing to say that would be on topic. But, this being HN, people still use the post to piggyback on with their issues or requests regarding Thunderbird in general. Actually, this happens faily often. Each time some popular project gets a post like "php 8 released", "net 6 released", typically, what should be discussed is the theme of the release, new features, changes etc., but what the top posts end up being is just people arguing how php is shit and java/kotlin is better than net yadda yadda. Seems to be natural in open discussions, also happens on Reddit.

mkl 5y ago

I'm just trying this add-on which seems to work, ReplyAsOriginalRecipientUp: https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-US/thunderbird/addon/replyasoriginalrecipientup/?src=search https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-US/thunderbird/addon/reply...