502702 - will not download mail automatically

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(Thunderbird :: Mail Window Front End, defect)

Description

[Bob Bartlett]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 5.1; Trident/4.0; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.0.04506.648; .NET CLR 3.5.21022; .NET CLR 3.0.4506.2152; .NET CLR 3.5.30729)
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9.1b3pre) Gecko/20090223 Thunderbird/3.0b2

Settings are for the mail to be downloaded immediately upon start up.  It doesn't do that.  I click on get mail and I get the message that there are no messages on the server.  I then click on the individual account and the mail is downloaded (27 messages in fact this time)

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1.Open Thunderbird and it happens every time
2.
3.


Expected Results:  
To download mail automatically as settings are set

Comment 1

[WADA:World Anti-bad-Duping Agency]

POP3? IMAP?
Can you reproduce problem with latest Tb trunk build for next Tb 3?
> http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/thunderbird/nightly/latest-comm-1.9.1/  
> Get win32.zip build. You can test by UNZIP only.

Anyway, get POP3 or IMAP log, and check POP3/IMAP level flow first.
See https://wiki.mozilla.org/MailNews:Logging for getting log.
See Bug 402793 Comment #17 for timestamp of log.

Comment 2

[[:Aureliano Buendía]]

Reporter can you reply to comment #1?

Comment 3

[[:Aureliano Buendía]]

It seems a dupe of bug #492626.

Comment 4

[Thomas D. (:thomas8)]

(In reply to comment #0)
> Settings are for the mail to be downloaded immediately upon start up.

Similar to bug 491161, there seems to be confusion here about the difference between
"Get new messages at startup" and
"Download new messages automatically"
Bob, both need to be checked if you want to see your POP3 mail in your inbox on startup.

> I then click on the individual account and the mail is
> downloaded (27 messages in fact this time)

I can confirm that for smart folders view, and it happens because when using Autoconfiguration for new POP3 account setup, "Download new messages automatically" is not checked by default (bug 516950). But inspite of the setting, messages will be downloaded (bug 516953) when you click on account folder at the bottom, then "read messages" and it'll start downloading.

I think it's safe to duplicate this against bug 516950, which is likely the reason for this bug.

Comment 5

[WADA:World Anti-bad-Duping Agency]

(In reply to comment #4)

Bug 458625 can also produce phenomenon of "will not download mail automatically" described in this bug's bug summary.
> Bug 458625 : "Check for new mail at startup" has no effect without "Automatically download new messages" with pop account

To Thomas D., who closed this bug as DUP of Bug 516950:

What is your base or evidence that this bug is DUP of Bug 516950?
> Bug 516950 : [autoconfiguration] "Download new messages automatically" should be checked/activated/enabled by default (at least for POP3 accounts!)
At least, I can't see phrase relates to "autoconfiguration" in this bug. I can't see response to Comment #2 from bug opener in this bug.
Thomas D., does your DUPing of this bug to Bug 516950 mean that you know detail of original bug report of Comment #0?

Comment 6

[Thomas D. (:thomas8)]

(In reply to comment #5)
> (In reply to comment #4)
> Bug 458625 can also produce phenomenon of "will not download mail
> automatically" described in this bug's bug summary.
> > Bug 458625 : "Check for new mail at startup" has no effect without "Automatically download new messages" with pop account

You are right, bug 458625 is also very similar. But I can only dupe against one bug, not both of them :/

> To Thomas D., who closed this bug as DUP of Bug 516950:
> What is your base or evidence that this bug is DUP of Bug 516950?
> > Bug 516950 : [autoconfiguration] "Download new messages automatically" should be checked/activated/enabled by default (at least for POP3 accounts!)
> At least, I can't see phrase relates to "autoconfiguration" in this bug.

I tried to explain reasons for duping against bug 516950 in my comment #4. Autoconfiguration is probably the (indirect) cause of this bug, because it doesn't set "download new messages automatically" by default. Often people only look at "Get new messages at startup" and they think that's enough for getting messages in your inbox, but it is not. I have reason to believe reporter is not aware of the difference between the two settings because of this sentence in comment #0:
> Settings are for the mail to be downloaded immediately upon start up.
That's very fuzzy, and mixes up two different settings. Someone who understands the two settings would write:
Both "Get new messages at startup" and "Automatically download new messages" are checked/enabled/activated.

But the main reason why I duped against Bug 516950 is the sequence of events reported afterwards, which was exactly what I had just experienced and described in Bug 516950 and Bug 516953:
> I then click on the individual account and the mail is
> downloaded (27 messages in fact this time)
Please read my comment #4 where I explain the relationship.

I think this is what happened in comment #0:

> Settings are for the mail to be downloaded immediately upon start up
1) I suspect reporter has these settings (which we should have asked him, really)
(x) Check for new messages at startup
( ) Automatically download new messages
That's the main cause of the problem, and with some probability, bug 516950 might be the reason.

> It doesn't do that [download new messages]
2) Therefore, at startup he won't see any new messages. However, TB has correctly CHECKED for new messages, but witout downloading (because of 1).

> I click on get mail and I get the message that there are no
messages on the server.
3) [You got me here, I cannot explain this step. Maybe reporter mixed up the order of step 3 and 4]

> I then click on the individual account and the mail is
downloaded (27 messages in fact this time)
4) Because of Bug 516953, when you click on the account's folder at the bottom of "smart folders" view, then "read messages" (not "Get Mail!"), TB will download messages even though "Automatically download new messages" is OFF.
[You got me here again, I might have to close my bug 516953 because to this day, I maybe had a wrong concept of "read messages" - I thought it's just for viewing inbox folder, but apparently it downloads messages, too]

> can't see response to Comment #2 from bug opener in this bug.
Yes, that's another reason why I closed this bug as duplicate: reporter hasn't answered for more than 2 months, so perhaps is not very interested any more.

> Thomas D., does your DUPing of this bug to Bug 516950 mean that you know detail of original bug report of Comment #0?
I only read comment #0 carefully and tried to understand/interpret it and draw conclusions. I suspect the other bugs are likely to fix whatever underlying problem of this bug. But it has turned out some of the conclusions might be wrong, so if you feel this should stay open (unconfirmed/new) or duped against some other bug it's fine with me.

> See Bug 402793 Comment #17 for timestamp of log.
Can you help me, is there a way to get a POP3 log where each line has a time stamp in front of it? I don't understand that comment, I think it's for programmers who want to make the app write (output) a line into the log.
What do I have to change in the batch-file below to get timestamps in the log?

set NSPR_LOG_MODULES=pop3:5
set NSPR_LOG_FILE=C:\pop3.log
C:\Programme\Shredder\thunderbird.exe -safe-mode -p Trunk

Comment 7

[WADA:World Anti-bad-Duping Agency]

(In reply to comment #6)
> > See Bug 402793 Comment #17 for timestamp of log.
> (snip), is there a way to get a POP3 log where each line has a time stamp in front of it?
  set NSPR_LOG_MODULES=pop3:5 => set NSPR_LOG_MODULES=pop3:5,timestamp
As I wrote in the Bug 402793 Comment #17, timestamp parameter is effective with Tb trunk(next Tb 3) only.

Comment 8

[WADA:World Anti-bad-Duping Agency]

(In reply to comment #6)

I see. I imagined situation that user defined account by Tb 2 then started to use Tb3.0b2. But, if account is defined by Tb 3, Bug 516950 occurs, then Bug 458625 happens. I think DUPing to Bug 516950 is reasonable.

Comment 9

[Bob Bartlett]

I just downloaded TB3 b3 and it still has the same problem on my computer.  I have download messages automatically and Check for messages at startup.
At startup messages are not downloaded automatically.  I had 41 messages waiting to be downloaded.  Could this be unique to my computer or are others seeing this problem?

Comment 10

[David :Bienvenu]

this is fixed in b4, which is coming out soon.