237470 - message filters are not saved when Message Filter window is not closed prior to quitting Mozilla

Status: RESOLVED INCOMPLETE

(MailNews Core :: Filters, defect)

Description

[Dan Engel]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.6) Gecko/20040313
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.6) Gecko/20040313

In order to get modifications to the message filters to save to the
msgFilterRules.dat file, you have to explicitly close the Message Filters
window.  Simply shutting down the application won't do it.

Reproducible: Always
Steps to Reproduce:
Scenario 1:

1. Start Mozilla
2. Open Message Filters
3. Make modifications to the filters (add, delete, whatever)
4. Close Message Filters window
5. Quit Mozilla
6. Start Mozilla
7. Open Message Filters

Scenario 2:

1. Start Mozilla
2. Open Message Filters
3. Make modifications to the filters (add, delete, whatever)
4. Quit Mozilla
5. Start Mozilla
6. Open Message Filters


Actual Results:  
Under the first scenario, the modifications made in step 3 were not saved. 
Under the second, they were saved.

Expected Results:  
It should have saved the modifications made in step 3, under both scenarios.

I found that moving the code to save the filters from the onClose event to the
onUnload event of the Message Filter window (FilterListDialog.js and
FilterListDialog.xul) seems to solve the problem.

Comment 1

[R.K.Aa.]

*** Bug 234719 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

Comment 2

[Mike Cowperthwaite]

(In reply to comment #0)
> In order to get modifications to the message filters to save to the
> msgFilterRules.dat file, you have to explicitly close the Message Filters
> window.  Simply shutting down the application won't do it.
> Scenario 1:
> 1. Start Mozilla
> 2. Open Message Filters
> 3. Make modifications to the filters (add, delete, whatever)
> 4. Close Message Filters window
> 5. Quit Mozilla
> 
> Scenario 2:
> 1. Start Mozilla
> 2. Open Message Filters
> 3. Make modifications to the filters (add, delete, whatever)
> 4. Quit Mozilla
> 
> Actual Results:  
> Under the first scenario, the modifications made in step 3 were not saved. 
> Under the second, they were saved.

Your Actual Results conflict with the initial report; the initial report would 
indicate that the changes would be saved in Scn.1, not Scn.2.  And in fact, that 
is the result I see, with 1.7b-0312, Win2K.

Comment 3

[Sergei Dolgov]

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=230279

Comment 4

[Mike Cowperthwaite]

*** Bug 277078 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

Comment 5

[Mike Cowperthwaite]

(In reply to comment #0)
> I found that moving the code to save the filters from the onClose event to the
> onUnload event of the Message Filter window (FilterListDialog.js and
> FilterListDialog.xul) seems to solve the problem.

Dan Engel, is there any chance you could provide a patch for this?

Comment 6

[Lesley]

Thunderbord 1.0.6 : keep losing message filters.
Set some filetsr up via Tools->Message Filters.. Close thunderbird down and
reopen it and all message filters are lost.  Not sure if this is same bug or
not. Doesn't matter if you run them first or not.  They just go.

Comment 7

[Lesley]

Well that was a bit of fun (?)

I realised I still had 1.06 installed so went and installed 1.0.7

In the install dir, thunderbird --version showed 1.0.7 but when I restarted
thunderbird, it show 1.06 in the About Window.

Found a message filter window that stayed open and was empty but had got hidden
way below other windows.  This accounts for why the message filters rules
weren't sticking.

Suggest sorting out the focus on the message filter window.  Might be better if
it was modal, i.e. have to close it to get back to doing anything in
thunderbird? Or it is only allowed one instance and that comes up anytime you
select Tools->MessageFilters? (so that you can still open messages to look at
headers and construct the message filters you want to construct)

Comment 8

[David :Bienvenu]

1.07 doesn't have the fix - 1.5beta does.

Comment 9

[Mike Cowperthwaite]

(In reply to comment #8)
> 1.07 doesn't have the fix - 1.5beta does.

This bug is not fixed.  Something did change that made bug 277189 less of a 
problem, but the symptom of this bug (comment 0 & comment 2) is trivial to 
reproduce with 1.5b1-0925.  See also bug 230279 comment 5 -- it has a hint on 
perhaps fixing this.

Comment 10

[Ray Booysen]

*** Bug 311833 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

Comment 11

[Magnus Melin [:mkmelin]]

*** Bug 321701 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

Comment 13

[Christian Tismer]

Sorry about duplicating this thing. I checked some 50 related entries,
but the little bugtracker window to browse this is really hard to use.

I would be happy to help with this. Maybe the effort is huge to find
my way, compared to the little change. I'm used to work on the Python core
and on PyPy, well maybe it is an interesting experience :-)

ciao - chris

Comment 14

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

Christian writes "I tried the latest build, two weeks ago. It did not crash, but ceased on updating my folders, properly. Just no message and no action. In the meantime, I re-installed 2.0.0.6. I will try the trunk, periodically, every two weeks."

Comment 15

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

Dan, Lesley, Is problem now gone on TB 2.0.0.14? 
see bug 230279 comment 40 and 41.

Christian, is your crash still gone?

Comment 16

[Stephen Marshall]

Filters not being saved - TB v.2.0.0.6 - Windows XP sp2 updates current 8-01-2008

The conversation on this bug thread suggests that most people get filter saves but that sometimes filters do not save, for multiple reasons.  

I built filters that did not save when I shut down TB first. I have built filters that saved when I shut down the dialog first, but then did not return after rebooting my computer. I have used the right click "create filter from message", with no changes saved whatever. Once with the "Tools/message filters" dialog open to start with, the line for the filter name with the "enable" box did not appear, and nothing saved. Once without the "tools/message filters" dialog open, it opened when I closed the filter rules box, and the line appeared with enable checked, but it did not save. 

Of those things I could try to find a workaround, at which I am barely a novice,  Since I have lost email and been unable to import it on previous occasions, I am very afraid to do anything under the user interface, for fear of causing crashes or lost email files, and terrified of doing anything with "new accounts", since TB was incompetent to transfer files from one directory to another, and I lost valuable correspondence in the process. 

I have not found any check box or button for "save to file". This bothered me in the first place, and today I found all "msgFilter.dat" files to be empty except for two lines, Ver="8" and logging="off". 

If I could, I would write these files in a text editor. I have found in the bug reports an example of the format of the msgFilter.dat file, but I would not assume I can safely or correctly extrapolate the various options for this file. 

So, two options, that I see: add a "save" button, explain format of file for direct editing. 

Please Help! 

Comment 17

[Stephen Marshall]

Filters not being saved - TB 2.0.0.6 - is error - TB 2.0.016 is correct. 

Additional comments - Reading bug reports is scary! I use open source Mozilla to support the movement, but MS Outlook was easier and more competent! 

Finding bug reports ("Bugzilla"), the second time, wasn't easy (the first time I stumbled on it). To re-find this bug report I had to re-search and re-scan all headers. 

From reading allied web sites and bug reports, it seems Mozilla users trying to solve problems are EXPECTED to have competence in java or at least the programming lingo. Not favorable to increased use by less knowledgeable people. 

Finally - I think - Buttons! MORE! When I first used the filters dialog, it gave me no clue that there might be other locations to control email redirection. Only after the filter program failed to save and I looked for help did I realize I had other controls to set. 

This software is like a campus with no front desk, no information booth, no welcome sign or direction signs that would help a new user get around, and nobody on the campus speaks the user's language. As mentioned previously, I lost important email once because of the destructive nature of TB's account creation process. Where were the warning signs that said "Have you read about creating accounts?" "Have you read about the correct procedure for transfering email files?" I was naive and trusting. I know this community does not set out to hurt people. But I got hurt. Does any body care about how the novice user will experience Mozilla products? I'll bet there are, but I am still waiting for a reply to my concern about destructive mis-handling of email files. Back-linking from the filters dialog to the "tools/options/privacy" dialog, and the "tools/account settings/<account>/junk settings" dialog, would be a supremely friendly thing for a new user!  Buttons! 

Comment 18

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

can you reproduce this (or bug 187151) with latest SM or tB beta version, or nightly build?

 backup profile before using
  http://en-us.www.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/thunderbird/early_releases/
  http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/thunderbird/nightly/latest-trunk/

It works for me with latest trunk

Comment 19

[Joshua Cranmer [:jcranmer]]

RESO INCO per lack of response to previous question. If you feel this change was made in error, please respond to the bug with your reasons why.