250698 - make nsIMsgCopyService.CopyFileMessage useful for arbitrary folders

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(MailNews Core :: Feed Reader, defect)

Description

[Myk Melez [:myk] [@mykmelez]]

It would be useful to be able to use nsIMsgCopyService.CopyFileMessage() to copy
new feed stories into folders, since that method supports IMAP as well as
local/POP folders, but a call to that method eventually calls
nsImapProtocol::OnAppendMsgFromFile(), which expects messages to be destined for
the Sent, Templates, or Drafts folder and marks them read by default.

The fix for bug 198087 modified nsImapMailFolder::GetCurMoveCopyMessageFlags()
to override this default for the Drafts folder to make drafts more noticable. 
We should override the default for other folders as well.

Comment 1

[Myk Melez [:myk] [@mykmelez]]

Attachment: patch v1: defaults to unread for folders besides Sent and Templates

This patch changes the default read state for messages copied from files to
IMAP folders to "unread" and then overrides that default for the Sent and
Templates folders (previously the default was "read" and the default got
overridden for the Drafts folder).  With the patch applied, composed messages
copied to the Drafts, Templates, and Sent folders continue to get marked
unread, read, and read, respectively.  Messages copied to other folders,
however (f.e. in the latest development version of Forumzilla) get marked
unread.

Comment 2

[Myk Melez [:myk] [@mykmelez]]

Comment on attachment 152734 [details] [diff] [review]
patch v1: defaults to unread for folders besides Sent and Templates

David, can you take a look at this patch?

Comment 3

[David :Bienvenu]

I'm not sure I understand - I can copy news feed messages into imap folders, and
they don't get marked read in the imap folder. Why do you want to use
CopyFileMessage instead of CopyMessages? It seems like more of a hassle to get
your messages into a file than it would be to directly copy them out of the
local folder they're already in...

Comment 4

[Myk Melez [:myk] [@mykmelez]]

(In reply to comment #3)
> I'm not sure I understand - I can copy news feed messages into imap folders,
> and they don't get marked read in the imap folder. Why do you want to use
> CopyFileMessage instead of CopyMessages? It seems like more of a hassle to get
> your messages into a file than it would be to directly copy them out of the
> local folder they're already in...

CopyMessages only works on messages that are already in a local folder.  I'm
talking about copying feed messages directly into IMAP folders after downloading
them instead of writing them to a local folder first.

The requirement that feed stories be downloaded into a local folder is a
significant limitation of the current feed reading implementation, since many
users live in IMAP accounts and don't use their Local Folders account for
anything.  The current implementation prevents such users from getting feed mail
where they get their other mail and forces them to use Local Folders, which eats
up five lines of their folder pane with unnecessary special folders (Drafts,
Templates, etc.).

If the feed reading feature were to use CopyFileMessage to write feed messages
into folders instead of writing them to a local folder via addMessages, it would
let users download feed messages into any folder of their choosing, whether
local or IMAP, remove this limitation and dependency on the Local Folders account.

CopyFileMessage works great for copying feed messages into folders, except for
one problem: the messages get marked read when copied into IMAP folders.  That's
a general bug, not specific to feed reading, since CopyFileMessage is designed
to let you copy messages into any folder, but OnAppendMsgFromFile assumes you're
copying them into Sent, Templates, or Drafts (since that's what it's been used
for in the past) and does the wrong thing when you copy them into any other folder.

OnAppendMsgFromFile should not make that assumption and should do the right
thing when messages are copied into other folders, not only for feed reading but
for any other enhancement that wants to copy messages from files into arbitrary
folders in the future.

Comment 5

[David :Bienvenu]

Comment on attachment 152734 [details] [diff] [review]
patch v1: defaults to unread for folders besides Sent and Templates

OK, thx, I just wanted to make sure I understood what you were doing...

Comment 6

[Myk Melez [:myk] [@mykmelez]]

Comment on attachment 152734 [details] [diff] [review]
patch v1: defaults to unread for folders besides Sent and Templates

Seth, does this look good to you?

Comment 7

[Myk Melez [:myk] [@mykmelez]]

Comment on attachment 152734 [details] [diff] [review]
patch v1: defaults to unread for folders besides Sent and Templates

Seth says sr=seth

Comment 8

[Scott MacGregor]

fix checked in (branch and trunk). Sorry it took a while Myk. The trunk has been
closed for a smoketest blocker until tonight.