1020351 - Message cannot be saved to sent folder if attachment came from MAPI

Status: RESOLVED INCOMPLETE

(Thunderbird :: Untriaged, defect)

Description

[Herm]

User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:29.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/29.0 (Beta/Release)
Build ID: 20140506152807

Steps to reproduce:

When sending messages with attachments using MAPI, message is not saved to Sent folder.  Messages with attachments created by Thunderbird are saved, but if invoked from another program through MAPI, the message is sent, but cannot be saved to sent folder.  Issue has existed through last several version numbers.


Actual results:

Message is transmitted, but not saved.


Expected results:

Message should be saved to sent folder.

Comment 1

[Khawar Nehal]

This is an issue which has been intermittent for many years. 
Today I noticed it could be related to the security certificate.

I tried the following when the error started. I usually send in the background. So in the foreground I got the message confirm security exception. This is probably the reason people who switch from ssl/starttls sometimes are able to send. 

For the case of extensions. I have blunderdelay and used to have signature switch. The not saved issue was a LOT more if I had signature switch.

Also the signatures or forwarded messages (especially) have links to other images and this is a major issue in the saving or sending for thunderbird. 

To confirm the repeatibility of this, do the following. Close thunderbird. Open compose a new message and send in the foreground. It has a high chance of going. If you forward a message with images of signatures, expect a high chance of the not able to save message to pop up. I think thunderbird is renaming the links and then trying to access them.
This is confounded by the security certificate and the extensions like signature switch also. 

This results in a very hard to reproduce error because there are at least 3 causes which can pop up at any time.

To prove this, compose a new email. Cut out all the signatures to make a blank message and it has a very high chance of being sent and saved.

I hope this helps in finding the pain of a bug. 

-- Khawar Nehal 
http://dubai-computer-services.com

Comment 2

[Herm]

Thank you, Khawar.  I believe the issue you describe is different from the one for which I submitted the bug.  Agreed that when forwarding a message containing images that sending often fails.  If images are deleted, message will send and save.

Also noted Thunderbird has issues using secure connections if any changes to the certificate are made such as creating a new server using the same name, but with a different certificate id.  I have found no good work around for this issue.

The bug I am reporting is created when attempting to forward a file attachment from an external program (spreadsheet, PDF, etc).  In this case, a new message is created and sent, but not saved.  In other words, recepient(s) will receive the message and attachment, but no record of said message will be saved by Thunderbird to the IMAP server.

Comment 3

[Herm]

This issues continues with the latest 36.0a1 builds.  Any known workarounds?  Only "solution" I have found is sending a copy to my own email and then manually moving to the sent folder when received.

Comment 4

[WADA:World Anti-bad-Duping Agency]

(In reply to Herm from comment #0)
> Steps to reproduce:
> When sending messages with attachments using MAPI, message is not saved to Sent folder. 
> Messages with attachments created by Thunderbird are saved,
> but if invoked from another program through MAPI, the message is sent,
> but cannot be saved to sent folder.  Issue has existed through last several version numbers.

Do you enable mailnews.sendInBackground? (see bug 511079, please)

Regardless of sendInBackground or MAPI, "sent mail copy to Sent" is ;
    1. Create nsmail.tmp like file for mail data stream which is sent to SMTP server.
        At this step, if MAPI, attached file data is copied to temp directory first by MAPI interface, then data is read
        and if not MAPI, attached file data is read from original file.
    2. Send mail(pass content of nsmail.tml like one to SMTP server)
    3. Save content of nsmail.tml like one to Sent folder.
So, as far as step 2 is executed successfully, sendInBackground itself nor MAPI itself shouldn't be relevant to problem.

A biggest difference of MAPI : Thunderbird's messenger window is usually not opened when "Send To" is requested by user.
And biggest difference between "local Sent folder" and "IMAP Sent folder" is :
    When IMAP Sent folder, communication with  IMAP server is needed.

When MAPI is requested while Tb's window is not opened, "mail composition window" is opened, and "messenger window" is perhaps internally opened without associated OS level window for address book access job, draft save job, mail send job, because these jobs are job of "main messenger task".
If so, the "main messenger task" is closed immediately after "mail composition and mail send" when invoked via MAPI.
If IMAP Sent folder, and if error occurred upon "sent mail copy to IMAP Sent folder",
  If messenger window already exists, "Retry or Cancel" is asked to user, and is retried if "Retry" is requested.
  If messenger window does not exist, such "recovery from communication error with IMAP server "may fail or may be skipped.

(In reply to Herm from comment #3)
> This issues continues with the latest 36.0a1 builds.

Do you see your problem in any file send via MAPI.
Or intermittent problem?

You say as follows.
> Also noted Thunderbird has issues using secure connections
> if any changes to the certificate are made such as creating a new server using the same name,
> but with a different certificate id.  I have found no good work around for this issue.

Is your IMAP server connection sufficiently stabilized?
Is DNS server access sufficiently stabilized and fast in your environment?

How about "draft save to IMAP Drafts folder of the IMAP account"?
How about "draft save then send, at composition window opened via MAPI"? (DNS search is done at draft save step step)

How about "sent mail copy to Sent folder of other IMAP account"? (for example, free Gmail IMAP or Yahoo! IMAP account)

Do you see your problem with "local Sent folder"? ("Sent "of "Local Folders")

Comment 5

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

Do you see this when using a current version 52?
xref bug 1029880, bug 944052

Comment 6

[Phoenix]

Resolved per whiteboard