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I just installed a fresh Ubuntu Mate 20.04.4 LTS but Thunderbird is resisting my attempts to install version 78(.14 currently). It seems like Ubuntu only provides one version (the latest) through the software "boutique" (which doesn't actually tell you what versions it has of various software until after you install them).

Is there a straightforward way to install 78.14?

(BTW. just migrating from Windows...)

adr
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    If you want Thunderbird 78, you must download it from Mozilla yourself and follow their install instructions. Since Firefox is always updated to the latest to close a bunch of published vulnerabilities (CVEs), and since Thunderbird and Firefox have historically shared a great deal of code, historically Thunderbird has been updated with Firefox. That pairing ended with the release of Ubuntu 22.04. – user535733 May 08 '22 at 18:09
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    If you're new to Linux from Windows, don't install specific versions of software. It's a bad idea. That's not how package management works in Ubuntu. Use the package version in repositories unless you absolutely must have a different version. In that case you will need to quickly become proficient with fixing problems and managing software and dependencies. See: Why don't the Ubuntu repositories have the latest versions of software? – Nmath May 08 '22 at 18:37
  • The first comment is technically the closest to an answer. Thank you both for your advice. I ended up taking the path of least resistance. – adr May 09 '22 at 12:41

2 Answers2

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If you do not have a specific - and very good - argument / reason to need an old Thunderbird:

Then do install the one provided by sudo apt install thunderbird
(type that in a Terminal / Shell / at the Bash prompt).

This will (currently) install version 91.8.1 if I'm not mistaken, it will also be auto-updated when new versions or updates become available; depending only on how you set the update options [1].

Note: I would not expect it to cause any problems, even if using it for any files you have saved.

Note2: As a beginner Ubuntu / Mate user you will have the least problems if you restrict software installs to be via apt (as above), System software or any other means that uses ppa:s or *.deb files. Opinion: snap-package -installs seems flaky IMO, that might have changed after I stopped using them though.
And one more opinion of mine; Everything else is for advanced and experienced Linux users.

[1] hit the Win-key, type updater and Software updates will appear, click on it, it checks for updates and then; click Settings ... to set options. (Assumption: Mate works the same as "Ubuntu")

Hannu
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    Technically this does not actually answer the question, but I appreciate the advice. – adr May 09 '22 at 12:38
  • It might not be a direkt answer to your question, but it indicates the true nature of the problem; and a viable solution to that. :-) Why not tell why this very specific version is of interest; there might appear another way to tackle it. – Hannu May 09 '22 at 19:17
  • One reason that a person may want to install Thunderbird 78 instead of 91 is that add-ons like AttachmentExtractor Continued don't work in 91 due to an unresolved Thunderbird bug – gene_wood Jun 21 '22 at 20:00
  • As a fresh Linux user you do not need more hassle than necessary, "unmanaged" software software is something to avoid until you know what to expect. – Hannu Jun 27 '22 at 16:35
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As @user535733 indicated in the comment above, you can download the archive from thunderbird.net, extract it and run the binary

  • Download the x86_64 version of 78.14 : https://download.mozilla.org/?product=thunderbird-78.14.0-SSL&os=linux64&lang=en-US
  • Unpack the .bz2 archive : unp thunderbird-78.14.0.tar.bz2
  • cd thunderbird
  • ./thunderbird
  • Under Preferences ... General in the Updates section set Allow Thunderbird to to Check for updates, but let me choose whether to install them. Otherwise it will auto update to a newer version and upgrade your profile (which can't be downgraded).

You're now running version 78.14 and it won't update to a new version.

If there was a .deb file for Thunderbird 78.14 you could use that but I've not found one.

gene_wood
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