326181 - reply with template filter action for templates with attachments (OpenOffice docs) sends garbage

Status: NEW

(MailNews Core :: Filters, defect)

Description

[Bugzilla]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.0.1) Gecko/20060111 Firefox/1.5.0.1
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.0.1) Gecko/20060111 Firefox/1.5.0.1

Component:  Message Filters / Templates
Occurrance: happened 500+ times

Templates with attachments are sent inline instead of attachements.

I have a list of about 500 emails in my contracts/consulting related Inbox (from technical recruiters that I had not responded to) that I wanted to respond (in bulk) so I decided to do the following:

1) Create a template (inside thunderbird) with a response about my
  a) current situation / availibility
  b) Create another OpenOffice Text/Word document with my contact information
  and resume.
  c) attach this word doc to my email template

2)  Once the template was created, I went to the email account and created a Message filter that would:
   a) Send this to everyone on the list that was To: <my email address>


I spent a great deal of time working on the template.

3)  I selected my Inbox and hit [Run Now] that would run the filter once on all messages in the Inbox.

4)  This was supposed to be a one time thing, that I could respond to over 500 email addresses and then turn off the template.

The problem is that it did not work.  The attachment that was attached to the template email (an Open Office doc) did not arrive as an attachment.  It arrived at the end of the email response (inline and not as an attachment) in a bunch of jumbled letters like this (follows below):

---
The attachment (Word doc created in open office, simply was attached to the
end of my email as jumbled text and the recipient could not nothing with it.  

I fully expected them to be able to click on the attachement and have it launch Word and open the document in word but instead they got a lot of jumpled mess.

At the end of my email it appeared something like this, instead of an attachment.

..........
end of my email

Roger........
--------------060402010507030107010504 Content-Type: application/msword; name="Feb2006_RogerSimmons_Cover.doc" Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64 Content-Disposition: inline; filename="Feb2006_RogerSimmons_Cover.doc" 0M8R4KGxGuEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOwADAP7/CQAGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAAAAHAAAAAAA AAAAEAAAAgAAAAEAAAD+////AAAAAAAAAAD///////////////////////////////////// //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

---
I got back 500 more emails saying the attachment did not come through and
to resend.  I thought my idea of creating a one time filter was simple and would work but instead it has now created more work for me to figure out how to do this, or possibly use another email client for this one time.

The email template that I created looked just fine with a paperclip on the side and all (before sent).  I fully expected the email (template) to arrive with a word doc attachment that could be opened and read/printed.  This did not work.

Roger
[e-mail]


Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1.  See details
2.
3.

Actual Results:  
See Details

Expected Results:  
Expected that the template would arrive to recipients just as I see it in my templates folder.  An email message with a paperclip indicating an attachment (OpenOffice word doc)

Sent the template as it existed in my Templates folder

Comment 1

[Magnus Melin [:mkmelin]]

Confirmed using Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.8) Gecko/20060207 Thunderbird/1.5 ID:2006020704

It seems Content-Type of the sent mail is always set text/plain, to but I guess it should be Content-Type: multipart/mixed; .... or something

Here is the start of a mail:
-- snip --

Subject: test (was: testing)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-15; format=flowed
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
--------------030401080404060904070603
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-15; format=flowed
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

hello

--------------030401080404060904070603
Content-Type: application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text;
 name="test_v4.odt"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64
Content-Disposition: attachment;
 filename="test_v4.odt"

UEsDBBQAAAAAAF2gRzRexjIMJwAAACcAAAAIAAAAbWltZXR5cGVhcHBsaWNhdGlvbi92bmQu
b2FzaXMub3BlbmRvY3VtZW50LnRleHRQSwMEFAAAAAAAXaBHNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAAAABD
b25maWd1cmF0aW9uczIvUEsDBBQAAAAAAF2gRzQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAJAAAAUGljdHVyZXMv


-- snip --

Comment 2

[Bugzilla]

If this is a simple fix like changing an auto-response/Message filter of outgoing templates with attachements from Content-Type of text/plain, to Content-Type: multipart/mixed; .... or something

Can I get a quick patch?  I need to respond to a lot of people with an
attachment that they can open.

I can test patches / help code if needed.  I have a couple of test machines that I could install test builds on to test with.

Comment 3

[Bugzilla]

If this is a simple fix like changing an auto-response/Message filter of outgoing templates with attachements from Content-Type of text/plain, to Content-Type: multipart/mixed; .... or something

Can I get a quick patch?  I need to respond to a lot of people with an
attachment that they can open.

I can test patches / help code if needed.  I have a couple of test machines that I could install test builds on to test with.

Comment 4

[David :Bienvenu]

that's odd - I'll see if I can reproduce this.

Comment 5

[David :Bienvenu]

this is not trivial, but I think I can fix it. The trick is getting the original content type, and then passing that through to the code that constructs the new message. We're also trying not to change any interfaces, which makes it harder. I think I can hijack a deprecated interface for now...

Comment 6

[David :Bienvenu]

OK, that approach hit a bit of a dead end - the message sending code doesn't like you messing with the content type. I think what I need to do is use the same code that Send Later uses.  It constructs a file containing the message and uses nsIMsgSend::SendMessageFile. That way, the mime code and the msg compose code won't mess with the message.

The alternative is to load the template message in a hidden compose window, and tweak the subject and recipient, and send it from there. That's probably the most correct way of doing it, because then any kind of post processing like signing or encyrption will work on the correct message contents.

Comment 7

[luigii]

This is exactly the problem I have.

But, if the template with the attachment is sent manually, that is, one double clicks on the template message with the attachment, completes the TO: address, and clicks Send, the attachment is sent normally.

It must be something in the filter processing that is causing the problem!

luigii

Comment 8

[luigii]

I have the same problem with SeaMonkey 1.0.

Luigi

Comment 9

[Magnus Melin [:mkmelin]]

Can we fix this for thunderbird2? If not, then somehow disable the feature.

Comment 10

[Magnus Melin [:mkmelin]]

*** Bug 351755 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

Comment 11

[Scott MacGregor]

Moving off bugs that didn't make the deadline for Thunderbird 2. 

Comment 14

[David Lethality]

This bug is, sadly, still alive and well in v. 2.0.0.5. I cannot send an auto-reply template with a .pdf file attached- when I do, the attachment is decompiled into code within the message body as described by the original whistle-blower on this bug.

I work at a real estate company and must be able to respond to information requests with auto-reply templates. These templates contain .pdf information packets that correspond to the property ID found in the incoming e-mail's subject line. In other words, I create many templates, each one a response to its own particular property ID association. 

Is it possible to do this via a command string placed in the message body, one that instructs Thunderbird to attach a file to the outgoing auto-reply? I was using PMMail to do this very thing until my host, sbcglobal.net, dropped support for the program due to SSL security. In PMMail, the command string to attach a file is placed at the end of the text in the message body, and it looks like this: $a.<driveletter>:\attachments\somefile.pdf$

I am surprised this is not a more frequented bug topic... but I'd greatly appreciate any attention to this matter, if only a guesstimate on the time frame for repair!

Comment 15

[luigii]

Just updated to Thunderbird version 2.0.0.6 (20070728) and tested for this bug. It is still there more than 18 months after it was first reported!

Comment 17

[David Ascher (:davida)]

This is a rare enough use case that I don't think it would block tb3.  Moving to wanted.

Comment 18

[Roderick]

I've confirmed this bug exists in version 2.0.0.17 (20080914) in both Windows XP and Ubuntu 8.04.

Strangely enough I noticed this happens if you use POP but it actually worked semi-properly for me if I used TB with gmail in IMAP mode.

Comment 19

[luigii]

This bug still exists in Thunderbird version 2.0.0.19 (20081209) in Windows XP. 
The problem occurs when using both POP and IMAP modes with gmail.

It occurs also in Eudora 8. It behaves just like Thunderbird! It is a fake Eudora.

But in the genuine Eudora 7.1 using filters to auto reply with a template (stationery in Eudora) with an attachment works perfectly. 

It took me a while to figure out how to import my address book into Eudora 7.1. 
The procedure detailed in the Eudora 7 manual did not work.

It has been almost 3 years since this bug was first reported. 
How much longer will it take to fix the problem?

Comment 20

[earlpiggot]

Every other time, I try to convince people to move away from TB, and I come across bugs like these standing alive for so many years.

People at mozilla messaging, are you really planning making TB a robust efficient mail tool, that professionals can use? Or is it going to stay a toy among people who like experimenting?

This bug needs immediate fix, as it reduces productivity for a lot of us.

Comment 21

[Clint Priest]

I don't know that ragging on people who are doing this for nothing is the best way to elicit a positive response.  I don't work on this software myself but do experience the issue.  You should realize though that those who are developing this program are doing this in their spare time, they have full time jobs they work at as well.  Be a little appreciative.

Comment 22

[Vincent]

This bug still exists in TB 3.0 (20091204).

Comment 23

[Iman Mohamadi]

I'm not gonna use Thunderbird anymore if they don't fix this problem. this is a huge bug and needs to be fixed soon. I use templates with attachments a lot and this is really a big problem for me.

Comment 24

[cd]

Bug still alive in TB 3.1.7

Comment 25

[Roberto]

Using:
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9.2.13) Gecko/20101207 Thunderbird/3.1.7

I hope this is a little help in bug resolving.
I see that problem is in a few lines inside the "bad" message.
The bad message contains:
""
To: MyName <[e-mail]>
Subject: Accordo Integrativo (was: manda 007)
Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
--------------010809050308040309020201
""

and it should be:
""
To: MyName <[e-mail]>
Subject: Accordo Integrativo (was: manda 007)
Content-Type: multipart/mixed; 
 boundary="------------010809050308040309020201"


This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
--------------010809050308040309020201
""
Obviously, the boundary value is my random boundary value, but it is the same up and down.
As you see, the difference is only in Content-Type and boundary lines.

I found this clue matching one good and one bad message.
Then I saved the bad one to a file with extension eml.
I edited the eml file with the right values and pasted it inside an email reader like outlook express or thunderbird and the attachment was OK!

Comment 26

[Starko]

this bug has been known for at least 5 years?!?!?!
I have been Thunderbird fan from day one... Now that i started my own business i don't want to use other email client!!!
Please realize that proper handling of images and attachments in auto response templates is a must have for many professional users. 
1. Can it be fixed at all?
2. What are the obstacles that prevent you from fixing it?
3. Any idea on how long it will take?

Comment 27

[Scott Reimers]

I would like to offer a bounty to fix this bug.  Is there anyone on the Thunderbird team who can give me an idea as to how much a fair bounty would be?

Comment 28

[Scott Reimers]

I can confirm it is still alive and well in versions 9.X and 10b4... 

Thank you to the person who mentioned Eurdora 7.1 as an alternative.  This will allow me the functionality I need until this bug is fixed.   Obviously however, if I ever want to upgrade past Windows XP, I will need another tool.

Thus I would still like to see about that bounty.  :-)

Comment 30

[Ben]

May I echo the gratitude to the Mozilla volunteers for their assistance in keeping "Thunderbird" up to date and compatible (with the majority of needs) of those who use it on a day to day basis. 

I do feel that the team have let us down by not resolving an issue where the answer has already been provided by Roberto (Comment 25) in January 2012 and when this issue was originally reported in 6 February 2006. There have been no announcements within this post to ensure that the bug is properly fixed. 

I am concerned that on 16 October 2008 this bug was moved to the "wanted" category - seemingly a downgrade of the issue  despite the fact that users have made their feelings known in relation to the importance of the issue, see comment by Scott Reimers (Comment 27). 

The work has been done, the fix has not been implemented. This issue should now be urgently re-categorised to a priority category by the team so that this issue can be resolved in full. 

To clarify: 

Mozilla templates will not carry attachments in a decipherable manner when the send functionality is triggered by a filter. 

Mozilla template will not allow for images to be displayed inline as part of this template when the send functionality is triggered by a filter. 

Lastly may I finish on a positive note by thanking the team for their dedication and assistance overall to ensuring that Mozilla programs meet the majority of the day to day needs of the user. 

Benjamin-Elijah Gareth
Bournemouth, England.

Comment 31

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

assuming this is 100% reproducible. Please let us know if that is incorrect

Comment 32

[Jeff Boen]

@Comment 31:
Yes, this is 100% reproducible. I even have an inactive mail filter that I enable and test each time a new version of Thunderbird is released. I just tested it seconds ago with version 15.0.1. I have a template which includes an inline graphic. When the filter sends a response using that template, the graphic is encoded and the recipient receives a block of encoded text:

"This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --------------020108050006020203060706 Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit   --------------020108050006020203060706 Content-Type: image/gif; name="600x64.gif" Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64 Content-ID: Content-Disposition: inline; filename="600x64.gif" R0lGODlhWAJAAMQAAAAAAP///+318fP59qjPurnZyMHdzsXf0cfg08vi1s3k2OLv6KLMta7T v67SvrTWw7XWxLvayb/czObx6+z18NHm2tTn3Nbp3tzs4+Du5trr4ejy7PP49fn8+v///wAA ACH5BAEAAB4ALAAAAABYAkAAAAX/YBBkBsGcaKqubOu+KhQpmWjfuEiacO//LhktR7TtIAhOD...  "

Comment 33

[Ben]

This is an issue that many people are experiencing and in terms of professionalism makes Thunderbird and unviable product compared to Microsoft Outlook. It is highly frustrating. With all of the more advanced features that Thunderbird is capable of, one would rightly expect this issue to have been sorted a long time ago. 

Having looked back though the report history the team responsible for Thunderbird development were, a number of years ago when this issue was first reported, of the opinion that they would not fix it. Surely it is not difficult to resolve this issue and it seems sad that they will not rather than can not.

Comment 34

[apasnuy]

Are you kidding me? Five years old bug in а "must have" feature? Guy's, who had posted here, would it be ok to quietly re-report the bug?

Comment 35

[apasnuy]

Yes, I think it should be re-reported. Look at such bug's flags as "wanted-thunderbird3" - they have been expired and old as mammoth ****. It's no reason to post here. Even if bug status changes - the mainstream developers will not see this thread, because this bug-tracking system acts different than GIT, and I'm guarantee that it allows to loose some commits/fixes/branches by developers. 
So, please guys, somebody, re-report it, because I can't. it's 5 a.m. now.

Comment 36

[apasnuy]

Y-e-e-e! I was right! there is moderators answer in other thread http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?p=10162439#p10162439
that confirms that we need re-report this bug because it's in the old thread related to the old release.

Comment 37

[apasnuy]

Somebody have done this re-report. Look here https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=21210

addon awailable too.

Comment 38

[Magnus Melin [:mkmelin]]

No need to re-report. The bug is not for a particular version and is assumed to apply to latest tip unless someone has other info.

Comment 40

[Cast]

Hello
Still nothing???

Comment 41

[adhabi]

This is still reproducible with Thunderbird 91.5.0 (64-bit) on Linux Mint 19.3.

Comment 42

[Anje]

Attachment: 102.14.0 and 117.0b3.jpg

This bug is still operating in versions 102.14.0 and in beta 117.0b3

People use auto reply and choose to include an attachment.
Attachment may be a form for completion etc.

Compose in Write, attach file and save as template.
Create Message Filter to reply using the template.
Filter works and email is sent.
Sending options are to send using Both html and Plain text.

The copy of Sent email is showing the formatting error.
The received email is identical to the sent email.

The image shows example of problem.
Template and Mesage Filter
Example of email sent/received content as user sees it
It's source view

The new supernova needs to have this fixed.

Comment 43

[Anje]

We are still getting complaints in the Support Forum:
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1420961

Comment 44

[Anje]

There does not seem to be much movement for this bug despite the repeated requests over the years.

I've created this as a new bug 1848659 as it needs to get into the beta supernova fix list. This has gone on for too long and many business people use auto replies with attachment forms requiring completion.