| INSTALL MOZILLA THUNDERBIRD EMAIL CLIENT |
In this section I am going to show you how to download and install the email client (program) called Thunderbird from Mozilla (creators of the Firefox web browser). In the next section I will then continue from this section by showing you how to configure thunderbird with an existing email account. Therefore the installation process is in two parts, technically. You may want to install thunderbird as an alternative email client to Windows Mail (the email client built-in to Windows Vista), especially if you do not have Windows Mail or any other email client installed.
Thunderbird is an E-Mail Client (program) that allows you to automatically login to an existing email account in order to then send and receive email, amongst other things. The beauty of this is that you do not need to login to your Web Mail email account (i.e. TalkTalk website email account) in order to send and receive email. Thunderbird is roughly the same as Windows Mail (see the Windows Mail sections) and therefore ideal if you do not have Windows Mail installed and/or if you have seen Thunderbird in action and liked what you seen.
Begin by typing http://www.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/thunderbird/ into internet explorer's Address Bar edit box and then click on its GO button (or press the ENTER keyboard key). This will take you to the Mozilla website where you then need to click on the FREE DOWNLOAD button. Alternatively. Click on the DOWNLOAD NOW button below to begin the same download process. Either way will send you to the Thunderbird Download web page (Fig 1.0).
When you arrive on the Thunderbird Download web page click on the FREE DOWNLOAD link to begin the download process. Doing so will make a File Download security requester appear whereby you have two main choices - RUN (launch/execute) the thunderbird Setup file (Installation Wizard), once it has been downloaded into your computer's Temp folder, or SAVE (Download Only) the thunderbird Setup file into a folder of your choice, for manual installation. In this example just click on the SAVE button to continue. This will give you the flexibility to manually install/reinstall Thunderbird on your computer, and/or on a friend's computer for example, either after the download process or at a later date.
The installation wizard in this example is a whole download, which means the software (thunderbird) and the installation wizard have been built
side-by-side, as one file, for downloading. This is because Mozilla can afford the bandwidth (download units) needed for each download. Many companies
these days have decided it is best to download the installation wizard separately so that it can carry out eligibility checks first - Is your computer
running Windows? Do you have enough Memory and so on. Therefore avoiding a whole download (bandwidth costs to them and you).
Normally you RUN an
installation wizard because you want to download the software straight away. However. There may be times when you want the software downloaded later
and only want the installation wizard saved now (i.e. you might only want to carry out the eligibility checks, perhaps on your computer and a friend's
computer - Remember though. Eligibility checks may need an internet connection and therefore may not be possible otherwise. Hence why it is best to RUN
the installation wizard at the time and not later.
In other words, the SAVEd installation wizard file might not work as mentioned if it needs a constant
internet connection to the software's server throughout the installation process for example). With Mozilla allowing you to download thunderbird as one
file (a whole download) you have the benefit of installing it on multiple computers, with the same downloaded file (i.e. you could download it from an
internet cafe onto your flash drive and then install it on your friend's computer later).
After choosing a folder to save the thunderbird Setup file into and then clicking on the SAVE button (Fig 1.2 above) the Setup file will begin to download (save) into the folder you chose.
At any time throughout the download process and installation process you can click on the CANCEL button, if a CANCEL button is available of course. However. In the case of the installation process, even if you click on a CANCEL button the installation might have gone too far for it to be stopped, cancelled and/or reversed. So think very carefully before deciding to install anything onto your Computer.
When the thunderbird Setup file has been downloaded open the folder it was downloaded into (i.e. the DOWNLOADS folder) and then double click on it (Fig 1.4 above). This will launch (run/execute) its Installation Wizard, which then makes Windows Vista pop up a security requester asking you if you would like to RUN the thunderbird Setup file (Fig 1.5 below) and more precisely its internal installation script (instructions) which are taken care of by the Installation Wizard. If you want to continue with the installation of Thunderbird simply click on the RUN button to continue.
User Account Control (UAC) is a feature of Windows Vista that helps to prevent unauthorized changes to the computer, such as deleting a system file or installing software. When attempting to install Thunderbird the above UAC security requester will appear and automatically block you off, because it wants to know if you are the one attempting to install Thunderbird and not a piece of malicious software for example. In the above case simply click on the CONTINUE button to continue, or on the CANCEL button to cancel the installation process.
After clicking on the CONTINUE button the thunderbird Setup file extracts the installation instructions/components needed by the installation wizard to then guide you through the actual installation of Thunderbird itself. So the thunderbird Setup file in this case is really a compressed (shrunk) file that needs to be decompressed (expanded), like a .zip file. Once it has decompressed the following steps (Figures 1.7 onwards) ensure that Thunderbird is installed and Windows Vista registered.....for later uninstallation, if necessary.
The first, real, step to installing thunderbird begins after the Welcome Message window (above) and License Agreement window (below). Therefore. Just click on their NEXT buttons to continue, remembering to tick the I ACCEPT THE TERMS IN THE LICENSE AGREEMENT license agreement option before clicking on its NEXT button.
Read the License Agreement carefully. Although these tend to contain useless information, they usually explain Copyright issues or Usage issues that
clarify who can use the software and who cannot. So if, for example, you are told that a certain piece of software is Free and/or Free To Use you may
want to clarify this by reading the agreement. Some installation wizards do not allow you to continue, by fading out the CONTINUE button, until you have
read (scrolled down) the license agreement. With Thunderbird, when you have read the agreement, if you agree with it simply put a tick next to I ACCEPT
THE TERMS IN THE LICENCE AGREEMENT before clicking on the NEXT button to continue.
The next window gives you a choice on whether or not you want to customize the installation with regards to picking which Folder thunderbird uses for its
installation files and future updated files and which icons to create (Desktop icon, Quick Launch Toolbar icon and/or Start Menu folder). If you want the
installation wizard to decide these things for you simply leave the STANDARD option set and then click on the NEXT button to continue (continue to
Fig 1.12 below). In this example I will go through the two custom stages by selecting CUSTOM before clicking on the NEXT button.
In Fig 1.10 above, you do not have to BROWSE for a different folder to store the installation files in just because you chose to use the CUSTOM option.
The above BROWSE button is simply giving you the option to change the destination (installation files) storage folder if you want to. If there are any
custom options you do not want to change simply leave them as they are, on their default settings.
By default the options in Fig 1.11 below are all set (switched on/ticked). They are to do with where you want the thunderbird shortcut links putting, if
anywhere. You can have a shortcut link put on the Desktop, in the Start Menu (ALL PROGRAMS) and/or on the Quick Launch Toolbar. If you do not want a
shortcut link creating in one of those places simply untick its option before clicking on the NEXT button to continue.
Regardless if you used the STANDARD option or CUSTOM option, when you click on the NEXT button (Fig 1.9 STANDARD or Fig 1.11 CUSTOM) you will end up on the thunderbird specific installation process above (Fig 1.12). That window shows you a green progress guage as it installs thunderbird specific folders/files inside the destination storage folder (i.e. C:\Program Files\Mozilla Thunderbird\). When the whole installation is complete click on the FINISH button to continue.
Before clicking on the FINISH button you might want to untick the LAUNCH MOZILLA THUNDERBIRD NOW option, if you are not ready to bring an existing email account into thunderbird and more precisely that email account's ISP Server (Pop3 and SMTP) details and User Name & Password. If you are ready though leave that option ticked and click on the FINISH button to continue. Doing so will bring up the following Import window that asks you what email account(s) you want to import - Obviously none! because you have only just installed thunderbird. So click on the NEXT button to continue.
Clicking on the NEXT button launches (runs/executes) the thunderbird Account Wizard which I will show you in the next section. So if you want to continue from this section click on the Thunderbird Email Account Set Up link below, otherwise you can stop here (Thunderbird has been installed already (Fig 1.13 above), so just click on the CANCEL button above instead of clicking on the NEXT button).
Microsoft product screen shot(s) reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation. As stated here by the Microsoft Corporation.
