Add-ons
MinimizeToTray Reanimated 1.4.11 Requires Restart
by Ysard
MinimizeToTray Reanimated is an application mainly dedicated to Thunderbird to allow its minimization in the systray in one click. It is the update of MinimizeToTray Revived, which is not maintained anymore since the recent versions of Thunderbird.
![[Warning]](https://addons.thunderbird.net/static/img/developers/test-warning.png?b=58a99cbb-667a0970)
Permissions
About this Add-on
Context:
MinimizeToTray Reanimated is an update of MinimizeToTray revived (MinTrayR) (Here is the old source code repository), which is no longer maintained since August 2016, which makes the addon unusable on recent versions of Thunderbird.
Indeed, on Thunderbird 60, addons not marked as compatible are disabled (Some can be easily re-enabled by changing the value of the following Thunderbird setting: extensions.strictCompatibility).
Frequent issues:
On some systems (Windows or GNU / Linux and maybe MacOS), Thunderbird can enter a reinstallation loop: at each opening, the addon is reinstalled and does not appear in the addon manager list.
This problem is not resolved because the cause is still not identified.
In this case please download the version under development (* dev.xpi) that corrects this problem on Github:
https://github.com/ysard/mintrayr/releases
Made work/Changes:
Future - About Thunderbird:
Future - About this extension:
This extension is named Revived because its future is rather uncertain.
Indeed, the code is poorly documented and difficult to maintain for people who are not the authors.
The addon uses technology from the early days of the Thunderbird project, which hinders its progress, and that's why Mozilla is currently rewriting many things from scratch in Firefox. Thunderbird will follow Firefox one day or another in this process.
Thus, legacy extensions use APIs that are very/too powerful and dangerous for the security of
users.
The MinimizeToTray Reanimated update does not present a priori any loss of functionality compared to past versions, but it is impossible to guarantee this in the medium term.
When the new APIs will arrive in Thunderbird, it will be time to think about new applications more in line with current technologies.
Alternatives:
For GNU/Linux users, desktop environments are rich and easily support customizations. You will find the AllTray utility, compatible with Gnome, KDE, and Xfce (see this excellent tutorial).
This software can minimize any application in the systray by replacing for example, their shortcuts like this:
For Windows or Mac users:
I have no idea of an alternative.
Advanced technical aspect:
The application uses native code that must be compiled on each platform (Linux 32/64bits, Windows 32/64bits).
The generated application is loaded by JavaScript code. But the support for this feature is about to be removed (See CTypes in WebExtensions).
Addons can no longer be unpacked into the profile directory and now remain in zip archive state (See Remove support for installing unpacked extensions).
This causes several problems including the impossibility to load the native application without using a little hack invisible to the user, but that will not last long with future updates.
The addon still requires a restart of Thunderbird after installation, which again puts it in danger according to the rules for legacy extensions that are still tolerated.
Finally, it seems to be unwise to invest more development time in an application in a final phase of support.
Support & source code
The source code is publicly available on GitHub.
questions, bug reports and source code improvements (mostly) are open on the GitHub issues.
License
This extension is under the Mozilla Public License, version 2.0.
MinimizeToTray Reanimated is an update of MinimizeToTray revived (MinTrayR) (Here is the old source code repository), which is no longer maintained since August 2016, which makes the addon unusable on recent versions of Thunderbird.
Indeed, on Thunderbird 60, addons not marked as compatible are disabled (Some can be easily re-enabled by changing the value of the following Thunderbird setting: extensions.strictCompatibility).
Frequent issues:
On some systems (Windows or GNU / Linux and maybe MacOS), Thunderbird can enter a reinstallation loop: at each opening, the addon is reinstalled and does not appear in the addon manager list.
This problem is not resolved because the cause is still not identified.
In this case please download the version under development (* dev.xpi) that corrects this problem on Github:
https://github.com/ysard/mintrayr/releases
Made work/Changes:
- This is a global update of the addon to make it as compatible as possible with Thunderbird 60+.
- The update followed the change notes in the API of Thunderbird since the version 57.
- The minimization feature when closing Thunderbird with Alt+F4 is fixed.
Future - About Thunderbird:
- Thunderbird does not currently intend to remove the support of legacy extensions as Firefox did.
See Add-ons Guide. - Support for WebExtensions is not yet implemented in Thunderbird 60, and will not be before Thunderbird 63, which gives
to developers an extra chance to be prepared for the migration. - Legacy extensions will still be supported in Thunderbird 63.
Future - About this extension:
This extension is named Revived because its future is rather uncertain.
Indeed, the code is poorly documented and difficult to maintain for people who are not the authors.
The addon uses technology from the early days of the Thunderbird project, which hinders its progress, and that's why Mozilla is currently rewriting many things from scratch in Firefox. Thunderbird will follow Firefox one day or another in this process.
Thus, legacy extensions use APIs that are very/too powerful and dangerous for the security of
users.
The MinimizeToTray Reanimated update does not present a priori any loss of functionality compared to past versions, but it is impossible to guarantee this in the medium term.
When the new APIs will arrive in Thunderbird, it will be time to think about new applications more in line with current technologies.
Alternatives:
For GNU/Linux users, desktop environments are rich and easily support customizations. You will find the AllTray utility, compatible with Gnome, KDE, and Xfce (see this excellent tutorial).
This software can minimize any application in the systray by replacing for example, their shortcuts like this:
/usr/bin/alltray/usr/bin/thunderbird -sFor Windows or Mac users:
I have no idea of an alternative.
Advanced technical aspect:
The application uses native code that must be compiled on each platform (Linux 32/64bits, Windows 32/64bits).
The generated application is loaded by JavaScript code. But the support for this feature is about to be removed (See CTypes in WebExtensions).
Addons can no longer be unpacked into the profile directory and now remain in zip archive state (See Remove support for installing unpacked extensions).
This causes several problems including the impossibility to load the native application without using a little hack invisible to the user, but that will not last long with future updates.
The addon still requires a restart of Thunderbird after installation, which again puts it in danger according to the rules for legacy extensions that are still tolerated.
Finally, it seems to be unwise to invest more development time in an application in a final phase of support.
Support & source code
The source code is publicly available on GitHub.
questions, bug reports and source code improvements (mostly) are open on the GitHub issues.
License
This extension is under the Mozilla Public License, version 2.0.
