196713 - mail window fails to open if install over previous version of Mozilla with certain add-ons

Status: RESOLVED INVALID

(SeaMonkey :: MailNews: Message Display, defect)

Description

[Jason Clinton]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.3) Gecko/20030308
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.3) Gecko/20030308

If certain XUL+JavaScript Mozilla enhancements were installed in previous
version, then the Mail+News window will not launch. Clicking the icon
establishes the window ID and runs some JavaScript but no CPU time it being
consumed and the 'Window' menu shows unnamed windows in the list.

Reproducible: Sometimes

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Install 1.3 release canidate over 1.3b.
2. Attempt to launch Mail + News
3. Mail + News never appears

Actual Results:  
Mozilla continues to work but never displays Mail + News. Because a 'phantom'
window process was created by the JavaScript, then application never closes
after the last window is closed and the user is forced to kill the mozilla process.

Expected Results:  
Show Mail + News.

Comment 1

[Jason Clinton]

Two suggested fixes/work arounds:

Force users to uninstall previous versions of Mozilla before installing a new
one. (This fixed it for me.)

or

Allow the Mozilla tray icon to "Exit Mozilla" even if windows are still open (a
la File -> Exit in any Mozilla window). This is a nicer way of cleaning up these
kinds of JavaScript errors as opposed to forcibly killing Mozilla.

Comment 2

[R.K.Aa.]

resembles bug 144027

Comment 3

[R.K.Aa.]

Reducing severity. Not a blokcer and the "workaround" is to follow the
Installation notes.

Comment 4

[David Baron :dbaron: (⌚️UTC-4, no longer working on Mozilla)]

"certain XUL+JavaScript Mozilla enhancements" is a bit vague.  If you actually
want someone to be able to recreate this bug, it would help if you said what the
enhancements are (and where to get them).

Comment 5

[Jason Clinton]

Sorry. I had Enigmail, Mouse Guesters, Pie Menues, Calendar and a custom skin
installed when I upgraded.

Comment 6

[Asa Dotzler [:asa]]

Jason Clinton, please don't set flags if you don't know how to use them. Thanks.

Comment 7

[Jason Clinton]

I don't know if you meant that as an insult or what, but _you_ SPECIFICALLY
ASKED that regular users (like me) set the blacking1.3? flag:

From Mozillazine:
"by ASA DOTZLER | ... If you want to help make Mozilla 1.3 the best release to
date, please grab one of the builds linked below, use it, abuse it, and let us
know if you find any nasty problems. To alert drivers to a bug that's bad enough
to block the 1.3 final release, find or file the bug and set the bug flag
"blocking1.3?" (this field lives just under and to the left of the Cc: list)..."

Try a little more tact next time you chastize one of your users for attempting
to do exactly what you asked him to. Excuse me for trying to help!

Comment 8

[R.K.Aa.]

Your help is welcome. But click "View Bug Activity".
(The "blocking1.3?" flag isn't the same as the "blocking1.3+" flag)

Comment 9

[Jason Clinton]

Gecko is not guaranteed to be the same between releases and thus, extentions
interactions with the shipped behavior are outside the scope of work that
moz.org has defined.