Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2009/09/23/mozilla_thunderbird_3_beta_4/

Mozilla cracks on with fourth Thunderbird 3 beta

Search and ye will find

By Kelly Fiveash

Posted in Software, 23rd September 2009 12:43 GMT

Mozilla has pushed out a big update to its Thunderbird 3 beta build, which now comes with a new search feature and improved Gmail integration.

The fourth beta of Thunderbird 3, which is the Firefox browser maker’s desktop email client, is now available for Windows, Mac and Linux users.

Mozilla’s mail client now comes with a “smart” folder feature that compresses several inboxes into one view, which is useful if you have more than one email account needing your attention on a regular basis. The outfit has also added a mail server activity manager to the latest test release.

A new search bar built into the test build comes with the popular auto-complete function that the likes of Google has in its web email app Gmail.

In addition there are better filtering tools in this release that help users track down emails via the search option more briskly.

This beta has been integrated with Windows Vista search results, said Mozilla. Meanwhile, Mac fans can now use Thunderbird 3 to import from Mail.app, read their OS X address book, and access Growl for new mail alerts.

Mozilla, which hasn't gone public about when the final version of Thunderbird 3 will land, has the full lowdown on tweaks to the latest beta here. ®