Thunderbird - Stop Opening Next Message

Thunderbird will automatically open the next email when you archive or delete. This can be annoying if you are like me and want to leave some emails sitting in your inbox marked as unread so that you will act upon them later. The following workaround will prevent thunderbird automatically opening the next message and then marking it as read.

Switch Off Message Pane

Go to view -> layout and make sure message pane is unticked. Alternatively, pressing F8 should toggle it on/off.

Change Archive/Delete Behaviour

Go to Edit -> Preferences

In the search box search for "close message" [1]

Ensure the "Close message window..." option is selected [2].