As a busy professional, you want access to your email both in your office and on the go. You may use both a local email client and a web-based one. Thunderbird, a free email and RSS client from Mozilla, is many people’s preferred choice. It can manage multiple email, newsgroup, and news feed accounts and identities.

Fortunately, Thunderbird and Gmail work together. If you are using Thunderbird, you can integrate it with your Gmail account. That sounds great! However, some users become frustrated when using both Thunderbird and Gmail, since duplicate messages can appear, leading to confusion and a packed inbox.

Thunderbird and Gmail Working Together

Messages are synchronized between Thunderbird, based locally on your computer, and Gmail, accessible from anywhere on the web. Fortunately, Mozilla offers an add-on you can download to remove duplicate messages.

Once you have downloaded and installed the add-on, right click on the folder containing duplicates. Next, click “remove duplicates.” This action will also remove duplicates from any sub-folders.

Note that you need to use Thunderbird 38 or newer to be compatible with Gmail. Mozilla provides instructions for how to synchronize your accounts. Other add-ons are available to help synchronize your contacts or your calendar.

Once you gain a better handle on email organization, you’ll work more efficiently, with less confusion, and probably experience less stress.

IMAGE: JuralMin / CC0 Public Domain