u/NC-Connector

Hi,

I’m the lead developer of NC Connector for Thunderbird, an open-source add-on for integrating Thunderbird with Nextcloud.

Our team added translations for several languages. They should be usable already, but they have not all been reviewed by native speakers yet, so some wording may still be awkward or wrong.

If anyone here is a native speaker and wants to help improve the translations, we’d really appreciate a quick review:

https://github.com/nc-connector/NC_Connector_for_Thunderbird/blob/main/Translations.md

Small corrections are already helpful. No need to translate everything from scratch.

Contributions in general are also very welcome

Thanks!

[deleted]

I’m the developer of NC Connector, an open-source Thunderbird / Outlook Classic integration for Nextcloud.

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One thing that kept bothering me: when you create a password-protected public share, the password often still ends up in email — either in the same message as the share link or in a separate follow-up email.

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Technically that works, but security-wise it never felt ideal to me. Email is not really a secret-delivery channel.

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So I’ve added optional support for Nextcloud Secrets: instead of inserting the share password as plain text, NC Connector can create a Secrets link and put that into the message instead. The recipient gets the file link and retrieves the password separately via the secret link.

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It is optional, because not every Nextcloud instance has the Secrets app installed, but I think it makes the workflow much cleaner for organizations.

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Homepage: https://nc-connector.de

GitHub: https://github.com/nc-connector .

🎉🎉🎉🎉

I just finished a new feature for NC Connector: centrally managed email signatures through the Nextcloud backend.

Admins can now create one signature template in Nextcloud using variables like {NAME}, {FUNCTION}, {PHONE}, {EMAIL}, etc. These values are automatically filled from each user’s Nextcloud profile.

For fields that are not available in the Nextcloud profile, such as a mobile phone number, admins can add user-specific overrides directly in the backend.

It supports:

Thunderbird

Outlook Classic

TinyMCE template editor

Centralized backend management

User-specific backend overrides for missing profile fields

The goal is simple: define the signature once, keep it consistent across the organization, and avoid manual client-by-client setup.

For more Information, visit https://nc-connector.de

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Classic Outlook is entering its long sunset phase, while Thunderbird is becoming much more relevant again for organizations looking for open, sovereign alternatives.

For the Nextcloud ecosystem, this is a strategic opportunity.

Many organizations will not just ask:

“Which mail client replaces Outlook?”

They will ask:

“How do we keep file sharing, meetings, attachments and daily collaboration workflows under our own control?”

That is exactly where Nextcloud + Thunderbird can become a strong open-source stack.

With NC Connector, ( https://addons.thunderbird.net/de/thunderbird/addon/nc4tb ) I’m trying to close one of the practical gaps:

Nextcloud Talk meetings, secure file shares, attachment automation and centrally managed email signatures directly inside Thunderbird.

Not as a separate browser workflow, but where users actually work: in mail and calendar.

I think there is a bigger story here:

“Nextcloud + Thunderbird: the sovereign open-source mail stack.”

What does Thunderbird’s renewed momentum mean for Nextcloud users?

And how can the ecosystem make the move away from Outlook Classic easier for organizations that want control over their data?

Hi everyone,

NC Connector brings file shares, Talk meetings and attachment rules directly into your email and calendar workflow (Thunderbird / Outlook Classic). I'm considering an extension that I'm missing in my own daily work: centrally managed email signatures, distributed through Nextcloud.

THE IDEA IN SHORT

• Admins maintain signature templates visually in the backend – using the same TinyMCE editor that already configures the Talk and Filelink blocks in NC Connector today. No HTML wrangling.

• Three-tier override model (already exists in the backend for other policies/Templates):

– Default template for all users

– Group templates override the default for NC groups (e.g. dedicated signatures for sales, support, management)

– User overrides for individual exceptions

• Templates use placeholders consistent with the existing template system: {DISPLAYNAME}, {EMAIL}, {PHONE}, {ADDRESS}, {ORGANISATION}, {ROLE}, {HEADLINE}, {WEBSITE}, {PRONOUNS} – strictly limited to fields the Nextcloud profile natively provides.

• Values are pulled from the Nextcloud user profile at client start and inserted automatically.

WHY?

Anyone who has tried to keep email signatures consistent across a 50-person company – with the correct company registration number, an up-to-date logo, and individual direct-dial numbers – knows the pain. The usual solutions are either Exchange-only (transport rules) or paid third-party tools like Exclaimer/CodeTwo. For Nextcloud shops without Exchange, there's not much out there.

WHERE I'M STILL UNDECIDED

- Gaps in the NC profile: Nextcloud has no native field for academic title, no separate first/last name, and no department ect. Is that a dealbreaker, or are the native fields plus a free-form footer good enough? An alternative would be to submit a patch upstream to Nextcloud – more work, but cleaner long-term.

Would love to hear real-world experience, use cases, and criticism – even a "no one needs this, just use $tool" is welcome.

Project site for context: https://nc-connector.de

GitHub Org : https://github.com/nc-connector