1185178 - Message pane no longer displays the email message body as it always has before (involving outdated version of Conversations Addon)

Status: RESOLVED INVALID

(Thunderbird :: Mail Window Front End, defect)

Description

[Michael]

I've always had TB configured (for many, many years) to display the message body in the lower message pane when a message was selected from the list in the pane above. Now it's impossible to do, without opening a message up in a new tab in classic view mode. I'm having to roll back to an earlier version because I can't even begin to use TB this way. This latest version is absolutely the worst and unusable for me at all.

Comment 1

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

try disabling the Conversations addon.
If that does not help, what happens if you start Thunderbird in safe mode? https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/safe-mode

Comment 2

[Thomas D. (:thomas8)]

Also try pressing F8 to show/hide the message pane.

This is very unlikely to be a bug. It's wfm.

Comment 3

[Thomas D. (:thomas8)]

This is also a very poor quality bug report (invalid), no steps to reproduce, no actual result.

I believe the summary is misleading because reporter probably just doesn't see the message pane at all. Maybe accidentally pushed F8 on his keyboard without noticing.

I'll close this, feel free to reopen if there's any substance to this beyond support.

Comment 4

[Michael]

(In reply to Wayne Mery (:wsmwk, use Needinfo for questions) from comment #1)
> try disabling the Conversations addon.
> If that does not help, what happens if you start Thunderbird in safe mode?
> https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/safe-mode

NOGO on both counts. I tried both of those first, and still the same problem.

Comment 5

[Michael]

(In reply to Thomas D. from comment #2)
> Also try pressing F8 to show/hide the message pane.
> 
> This is very unlikely to be a bug. It's wfm.

Nope, it's a bug, and a serious one. 

The message pane is showing, it's the content of the body of each and every email that's no longer showing within the pane window.

Comment 6

[Michael]

(In reply to Thomas D. from comment #3)
> This is also a very poor quality bug report (invalid), no steps to
> reproduce, no actual result.
> 
> I believe the summary is misleading because reporter probably just doesn't
> see the message pane at all. Maybe accidentally pushed F8 on his keyboard
> without noticing.
> 
> I'll close this, feel free to reopen if there's any substance to this beyond
> support.

There's really nothing to show, I mean truly nothing to show. The message pane was empty with the exception of only the name of the sender of the email and to whom it was addressed. 

Even if I turned off the Conversation mode, it still appeared the same. Obviously a bug. 

I've done beta testing and software since 1978, and know my way around computers pretty well. I've also been using TB for longer than I can remember, migrating it from older systems to newer systems for at least 14 years now. This is the first time I've seen this happen, with the exception of when there were infections appearing within images quite a while back, and the message reading pane could be toggled closed.

Comment 7

[Michael]

I'm back to running TB v31.7.0, and it's working just fine -- displaying the message reading pane just fine. 

Each time TB has performed an automatic update, it has retained the previous settings, reported on incompatible add-ons and allowed them to be updated rather easily. That is, until this update. 

This one apparently has some inherent bindings that have been broken or don't operate properly. Out of the roughly 200+ emails I have to scan through, I cannot tolerate not being able to easily view message body content, or the brief snippets when selected to delete (within the message pane area), neither of which work properly in the most current release (which really appears to be more of a failed beta). 

Utilizing Malwarebytes and AVG, including scanning all incoming emails.

Comment 8

[Michael]

Until and unless this can be replicated, I doubt anyone will be able to address it as the bug that it appears to be, so I'll continue to not update TB and use 31.7.0, which appears to be the most recent reliable version that still functions properly.

Comment 9

[Michael]

(In reply to Michael from comment #4)
> (In reply to Wayne Mery (:wsmwk, use Needinfo for questions) from comment #1)
> > try disabling the Conversations addon.
> > If that does not help, what happens if you start Thunderbird in safe mode?
> > https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/safe-mode
> 
> NOGO on both counts. I tried both of those first, and still the same problem.

Here are the steps to reproduce:

1) Start up TB and allow it to load, notice that NOTHING but .
2) Attempt to read ANY email from the upper list for each folder and subfolder within the Message Reading Pane. (FAIL)
3) Try switching on or off Conversation mode (FAIL, NO CHANGE)
4) Attempt to run in Safe Mode (FAIL, NO CHANGE)
5) Turn off and on Message Reading Pane (FAIL, NO CHANGE)
6) Re-Boot Computer in Safe Mode to see if there are any errors (NONE in LOG)
7) Download and Re-Install TB 31.7.0 (PERFECT! IT WORKS!)

This way I can utilize both the Message Reading Pane AND Conversation Mode (2.8.1), which helps with a plethora of emails received daily. 

This is what I need an email app to do for me, including the Calendar functions within Lightning 3.3.3 to maintain compatibility with TB 31.7.0.

Right now, even if I were to be providing a screenshot, it wouldn't show anything in the Message Reading Pane but either the list of Conversation messages (without body content) when Conversation Mode is on, or a narrow row for a single message (when Conversation Mode is off), and in both cases displaying ONLY the Sender's email address and to whom it was addressed (normally indicated as "Me" for my personal email addresses administered via TB).

Comment 10

[Thomas D. (:thomas8)]

POP or IMAP account on which it fails?

On Pop, there's a 'Fetch headers only' account setting, is that enabled or not?

Comment 11

[Michael]

Tried it both ways, and neither showed the complete header, which normally includes the subject (or at least the first line of it, with the rest truncated if it's long).

Comment 12

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

1. Please start in safe mode.
2. Check tools | error console
3. click on a message
4. check tools | error console again

what is seen in error console?
(a screen shot of 3 and 4 would be great)

Comment 13

[Michael]

Attachment: TB 31.7.0 Displaying message body in pane just fine

TB 31.7.0 Displaying message body in pane just fine (not in safe mode).

Comment 14

[Michael]

Attachment: TB 38.1.0 upgraded, no longer showing message body in pane

TB 38.1.0 upgraded, no longer showing message body in pane

Comment 15

[Michael]

Attachment: New problem noted in 38.1.0, Inbox has incorrect display

New problem noted in 38.1.0, Inbox has incorrect display

Comment 16

[Michael]

Attachment: Lots of errors in 38.1.0 in normal mode

Lots of errors in 38.1.0 in normal mode.

Interestingly, the line numbers for each reported error changed from line 1 to different line numbers, for the same event timestamp, without modifying, closing the error window, or anything.

Comment 17

[Michael]

Attachment: Same error report in normal mode, after opening initially

Same error report in normal mode, after opening initially.

This ran for way too many pages to include (not sure why it can't be exported for analysis?). 

Notice the errors appear to have all Line 1 indication, which changed later.

Comment 18

[Michael]

Attachment: Safe mode 38.1.0, displaying message body in pane w/error

Safe mode 38.1.0, displaying message body in pane w/error. 

While this works, I don't see running TB 38.1.0 in safe mode as a viable option for ongoing operations. This obviously appears to be one of at least two bugs within 38.1.0.

Comment 19

[Michael]

Attachment: Normal mode 38.1.0, incorrect display, lots of errors

Normal mode 38.1.0, incorrect display, lots of errors.

Displaying conversations in normal mode also does not show the message body. I have to right click on the message above and select Open in New Window to see the message itself. 

Switching back to 31.7.0 until this can be fixed, and keeping auto update turned off.

Comment 20

[Michael]

I want to state that I've loved TB for many, many years, and even recommended it to lots of people. I prefer it over MS Outlook, and always have. 

The main thing is, it ALWAYS worked. Plain and simple. It did what it was intended to do, through all updates until the present one. 

That error with the Inbox display is also something I hadn't noticed before, where it shows lots of items other than just Inbox messages in the upper display.

Comment 21

[Kent James (:rkent)]

All of the evidence in this bug points to this being the known issue with the Conversations addon, perhaps it does not properly remove itself. The addon site has these comments:

"*** Version Compatibility ***
Thunderbird 38: please make sure you are running the latest (2.9.1) version of the addon and restart Thunderbird -- Thunderbird will let you upgrade to 38 without updating Conversations, hence giving you a broken setup"

Are you running version 2.9.1?

If you still can't get his to work, I suggest that you start with a new profile.

Comment 22

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

right - do you get a newer version if you check for updates at tools | addons?
And attachment 8637368 [details] shows it best

(note - Safe mode is just a test, nothing more)

Comment 23

[Michael]

I made sure I updated all add-ons, etc. after the update to TB 38.1.0 (I think it was Lightning 4.1, and Conversations also updated, as I recall). 

Right now, everything's stable again running TB 31.7.0, with Lightning 3.3.3 and Conversations 2.8.1 working just fine.

I believe Kent is suggesting the creation of a new profile? 

I'm not sure if it's easily seen but I've managed numerous email accounts for my personal and business use (10 email addresses currently), in addition to archiving over a decade of emails to even more email addresses (about another 8 email addresses) that are no longer active. 

As I shared previously, I've moved the TB Profile file from computer to computer, which is a feature I like very much. I don't see myself creating yet another profile at this point just to be able to have 38.1.0 function properly. 

I also noted there wasn't mention of the display of Sent messages within the Inbox, shown in Attachment 8637368 [details]. That appears to be a bug, too.

Comment 24

[Thomas D. (:thomas8)]

Michael, TB safe mode (i.e. TB running just itself with all addons disabled), as shown in your attachment 8637371 [details], shows no error at all. You can even re-enable the Lightning calendar addon and things will still be fine.

Whereas it's clear from all the screenshots with problems that you are using Conversations Addon when the problems occur.

So it's pretty clear that the symptoms seen are NOT Thunderbird bugs, but problems of addon incompatibility or bugs in the addon.

> I made sure I updated all add-ons, etc. after the update to TB 38.1.0
> (I think it was Lightning 4.1, and Conversations also updated, as I recall).

Sorry but "As I recall" is not sufficient. On that TB 38 installation which you claim is broken, you need to verify without any doubt that you're actually running the latest version 2.9.1 of the Conversations Addon AND have *restarted* Thunderbird after that. Verifying the version is only possible on the addons tab of TB 38:
Tools > Addons > Extensions > Conversations Addon > Version number. Screenshot welcome.

So Kent's comment 21 is very correct and key for examining the issue:

(In reply to Kent James (:rkent) from comment #21)
> All of the evidence in this bug points to this being the known issue with
> the Conversations addon, perhaps it does not properly remove itself. The
> addon site has these comments:
> 
> "*** Version Compatibility ***
> Thunderbird 38: please make sure you are running the latest (2.9.1) version
> of the addon and restart Thunderbird -- Thunderbird will let you upgrade to
> 38 without updating Conversations, hence giving you a broken setup"
> 
> Are you running version 2.9.1?
> 
> If you still can't get his to work, I suggest that you start with a new
> profile.

Comment 25

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

(In reply to Michael from comment #23)
> I made sure I updated all add-ons, etc. after the update to TB 38.1.0 (I
> think it was Lightning 4.1, and Conversations also updated, as I recall). 

Which is much appreciated.  

> As I shared previously, I've moved the TB Profile file from computer to
> computer, which is a feature I like very much. I don't see myself creating
> yet another profile at this point just to be able to have 38.1.0 function
> properly. 

yes, no need to create another profile. just update your version of conversations

> I also noted there wasn't mention of the display of Sent messages within the
> Inbox, shown in Attachment 8637368 [details]. That appears to be a bug, too.

Hopefully updating conversations will help that issue as well.  

It's worth noting something equally odd about that screen shot, you are in Unified folder view and the unified *Sent* folder shows only one account - and yet you appear to have 8 accounnts.