215671 - import mail failed to import mail messages, but the error message is not helpful

Status: RESOLVED EXPIRED

(MailNews Core :: Import, defect)

Description

[ISHIKAWA, Chiaki]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.4) Gecko/20030624
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.4) Gecko/20030624

I have been using netscape 4.xx series under linux for some years.
Lately seeing that mozilla mail component seems to have
stabilized and is rumored to have good spam filter,
I have been experimeting with mozilla mail.

I tried to "import" netscape e-mails into
mozilla.

However, when I tried import, it failed but
I have no idea why. The error message is not quite helpful.

I did the following.

[Tools] -> [Import] menu entry,
I chose mail as import object
[x] mail
 ...

then mozilla showed
  Please select the program from which you would like to import:
  Communicator 4.x
  ...empties rows ...
  Import Local Mail from Communicator 4.x.

Then I click on  [Next]
 
The error message appears

 An error occured importing mail from Communicator 4.x
 Unable to create folder to import mail into

 [<Back] [Finish]

At this point, [<Back] button does nothing.
I can click on it. But nothing happens.
Clicking on [Finish] simply dismisses the error message window,
and I am back to square one.

I have NO IDEA WHY
the said foler could not be created.
I wonder if something like the following could be shown
with the error message.

 - The name of the folder which mozilla tried to create.

 - The ABSOLUTE PATHNAME of the folder which corresponded to
   the folder.

 - The reason WHY the creatio of the folder failed.
    (path invalid?, permission error?, no more space?, etc..)

There is no way a user can try to fix the situation
with the terse error message now.



Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Invoke mozilla mail.
2. Click  Tool button from menu bar. 
3. Click Import.
4. After seeing netscape 4.x as available e-mail, click next.
5. I get the error message described as above.

Actual Results:  
We get the error message but no indication of
why it failed.

Expected Results:  
I hoped to see
e-mail messages imported into mozilla.

At least, a more descriptive message window would have
been helpful.

Comment 1

[Asa Dotzler [:asa]]

*** Bug 174504 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

Comment 2

[Asa Dotzler [:asa]]

bug 142537?

Comment 3

[Gervase Markham [:gerv]]

This is an automated message, with ID "auto-resolve01".

This bug has had no comments for a long time. Statistically, we have found that
bug reports that have not been confirmed by a second user after three months are
highly unlikely to be the source of a fix to the code.

While your input is very important to us, our resources are limited and so we
are asking for your help in focussing our efforts. If you can still reproduce
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If it is not a problem any longer, you need take no action. If this bug is not
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Thank you for your help in this matter.

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Comment 4

[Gervase Markham [:gerv]]

This bug has been automatically resolved after a period of inactivity (see above
comment). If anyone thinks this is incorrect, they should feel free to reopen it.