1818065 - IMAP: Advanced Search messages cannot search body, because `body` field is missing

Status: UNCONFIRMED

(Thunderbird :: Search, defect)

Description

[Andrei Boros]

User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; Win64; x64; rv:109.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/109.0

Steps to reproduce:

Edit->Find->Search messages
In this dialog I can specify multiple search criteria.

Actual results:

The option for searching message body does not exist. Sometime since TB-68 it has been removed.
Customize does not help, because it stipulates only custom headers.

Expected results:

The search messages function is a half-cripple if it cannot also search the body of the messages.

Example criteria I needed today, which works in TB-68, but not in TB-102.8:
From: contains email_address
Body: contains some_string

Please restore this lost functionality. Thank you.

Comment 1

[Magnus Melin [:mkmelin]]

It is available, but not always. It depends on the account type and/or if you select the search server side.

Comment 2

[Andrei Boros]

My context (both 68 and 102 version tests):

• IMAP account
• performing search on local

Comment 3

[Andrei Boros]

Additional details:

• TB 102, IMAP account
• the "body" option for search becomes available only if in account settings I check under "Synchronization and storage":
  [x] keep messags in all folders in this account
  or
  I check at least one folder using the "Advanced" button.

Regardless of the "disk space" settings.

Comment 4

[Andrei Boros]

Attachment: Synchronization and storage

My sync settings and UI

Comment 5

[Andrei Boros]

Attachment: Search messages - available options

Comment 6

[Andrei Boros]

Given the fact that under "Synchronization and storage" the sections are enabled always, the UI lets me to believe that all sections apply, thus if I have "keep all messages" unchecked" but I have "synchronize the most reset ... 1 week(s)" checked my understanding is that an OR logic applies.

If I am mistaken and the logic is AND, then if neither "keep all messages" nor at least one folder under "Advanced" is checked, then the next section about disk storage should have the UI disabled, as it does not apply.

Under current situation, since the intended functionality is unclear to me, I cannot say if this is indeed a bug (ie the body option should be available for those messages at most 1 week old that should have been synchronized), or it is an UI issue for "Synchronization and storage" (because AND logic applies yet the UI doesn't reflect this.)
Based on an authoritative answer, I may pursue with this issue or close this issue as invalid and open a different issue for the UI "Synchronization and storage".

Thank you.

Comment 7

[chrizilla]

(In reply to Magnus Melin [:mkmelin] from comment #1)

It is available, but not always. It depends on the account type and/or if you select the search server side.

When the body field is unavailable, it might be better to display it grayed out rather than hiding it, so that users don't think it's a bug.

Ideally Thunderbird would also tell users somewhere, why the field is unavailable and what they must change to make it available. But that's probably difficult to implement.