Storage locations

This document applies to Quicktext v6.6 or later.

Overview

Quicktext organizes templates, scripts, and associated files (images, attachments, text snippets) in storage locations. Each storage location is a self-contained unit that holds template definitions, scripts and - if supported - associated files. You can have multiple storage locations active at the same time.

There are three types of storage locations:

Type	Support for associated files	Source
VFS	Yes	A virtual file system, either the default internal Quicktext storage or a storage provided through an external VFS provider (WebDAV, local home folder, ...)
Import	No	Fetched from a remote URL
Managed	No	Pushed via enterprise policy

The default internal Quicktext storage is created automatically when the Add-on is first installed.

Note: Data in the default internal Quicktext storage is static. Files uploaded to it are not connected to local files on the user's computer and are not updated when local files change. This is sufficient for most users, but if Quicktext needs access to live data that can change on a regular basis, an external VFS provider or the URL-based variants of the respective tags (IMAGE=URL, ATTACHMENT=URL) must be used.

VFS storage

A VFS storage is an independent virtual file system. The default internal Quicktext storage works out of the box and requires no setup. An external VFS provider Add-on can be installed to use alternative backends (for example a cloud service). Quicktext will detect installed VFS providers and offer them as additional storage locations.

Certain tags can reference resources within the same storage location:

• TEXT - Include the body of another template
• SCRIPT - Execute a script
• VFSFILE - Insert the content of a text file into the message body
• IMAGE=VFS - Embed an image inline in the message
• ATTACHMENT=VFS - Attach a file to the message

For example, a company logo stored in the storage location can be embedded in every outgoing email:

[[IMAGE=VFS|/quicktext/images/logo.png]]

Additionally, templates can use external scripts provided by separate Add-ons (e.g., the Quicktext Community Scripts Add-on). See WebExtension script support for details.

Imports

An import is a read-only storage location whose templates and scripts are fetched from a remote URL. Imports are useful for distributing shared templates across a team without requiring enterprise policy.

Imports can be added in the Quicktext Manager under the Imports tab. Each import needs a URL pointing to a JSON file that contains templates and scripts in the same JSON format as the config files used in a VFS storage location.

They are fetched automatically at Thunderbird startup and re-fetched every 6 hours. If a fetch fails, the previously loaded data is preserved until the next successful fetch.

Managed storage

Managed storage is a read-only storage location pushed to Thunderbird via an enterprise policy. It is intended for organization-wide templates that should be available to all users without manual setup.

Managed storage entries cannot be modified or removed by the user. They appear automatically in the Quicktext Manager when the policy is active.

Administrators can also define managed imports (read-only URL imports) through the same policy mechanism. See Centrally manage configurations and templates for setup instructions.

Limitations of imports and managed storage

Because imports and managed storage locations are not backed by a VFS, the VFSFILE, IMAGE=VFS, and ATTACHMENT=VFS tags are not available in their templates. Use the URL-based variants (URL, IMAGE=URL, ATTACHMENT=URL) instead.

Note: Cloud-based VFS providers (such as WebDAV) can overcome this limitation: they allow a company to distribute VFS-backed templates that can use associated files. An IT department can use enterprise policies to install a VFS provider Add-on alongside Quicktext, but the user still has to manually connect to the storage location (e.g., entering credentials). There is currently no way to automate this step.

Moving data to a different storage location

All file paths used in templates (e.g., in IMAGE=VFS or ATTACHMENT=VFS tags) are absolute paths within the storage location. This means the same templates will work in any VFS storage without modification, as long as the folder structure is preserved.

This is particularly useful when migrating from the default internal Quicktext storage to an external VFS provider — for example, to regain access to live data that updates on a regular basis. The process is as follows:

1. Install an external VFS provider Add-on (e.g., WebDAV).
2. In the Quicktext Manager under the Storages tab, click Add storage. This opens the VFS file picker.
3. In the file picker, set up the provider storage (this may need credentials, the flow is controlled by the provider).
4. Right-click the quicktext folder in the internal Quicktext storage and select Copy. Then switch to the provider storage and use Paste here (as shown in the screenshots).
5. Select the default.json file in the provider storage to complete the setup.

The new storage location will work out of the box, since all paths in the templates are absolute within the storage and resolve the same way in any storage.

Once the data has been verified in the new storage location, the internal storage can be disabled.

Adding files to a storage location

Files can be added to a VFS storage location through the Quicktext Manager. On the Templates tab, use the Add Variable menu to insert a VFS image or VFS attachment tag. This opens the VFS file picker, where you can use the +Files button to upload files from your local file system into the storage.

This is particularly important when the Migration Wizard reports templates that could not be migrated automatically. A common case is when the file path in a template is not a fixed string but is constructed dynamically — for example using a script:

[[IMAGE=FILE|C:\signatures\[[SCRIPT=TimeOfDay]].png]]

where the TimeOfDay script returns morning, day, or evening depending on the current time. Since the file path is not known at migration time, the automatic migration cannot copy these files for you.

In this case, you need to:

1. Upload all referenced files manually — in this example morning.png, day.png, and evening.png — into the storage location using the +Files button in the file picker.
2. Update the template to use VFS paths instead:

[[IMAGE=VFS|/quicktext/images/[[SCRIPT=TimeOfDay]].png]]

Working with multiple storage locations

When multiple storage locations are active, Quicktext reveals an additional hierarchy level: Each storage location's templates and scripts appear as a separate section. The order of storage locations can be adjusted in the Quicktext Manager under the Storages tab. Imports are listed below the other storage locations.