535529 - Possible data loss during the deletion of a profile

Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 302087

(Thunderbird :: General, defect)

Description

[Giuseppe Tino]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.1; it; rv:1.9.1.6) Gecko/20091201 Firefox/3.5.6 (.NET CLR 3.5.30729)
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.1; it; rv:1.9.1.5) Gecko/20091204 Thunderbird/3.0

The problem is described in this example:

If you choose as profile folder the folder “important documents” and then you delete the profile, thunderbird delete all the files stored in that folder and not only the profile ones (so there is a data loss not only respect the e-mails but of any important document that was stored in that folder).
I want to underline that it’s true that thunderbird displays a warning telling what it will delete, but in any case it starts a procedure very different from the one the user desires, it asks if you want to delete the folder but the user launched the command with a clearly different purpose, that is to delete the profile.
I’m not saying that the function deleting the profile doesn’t work correctly or that there’s a lack of warning messages, I’m just pointing out the questionable protocol that this function follows.
This doesn’t concern the subjective idea relative to the attention the user must apply during the execution of this task but it’s objectively against every usability directive or human computer interaction or software quality principle.


Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1.Start thunderbrd -p
2.From the profile windows select "create new.."
3.Select "next"
4.Set a profile name
5.Click on "select folder"
6.Navigate to the folder where you want to put the profile (for example "documents and settings")
7.Click on finish
8.Reopen Thunderbird -p
9.Select the profile created before and click on "delete profile.."
10. Click on delete file (Because you want to delete the file relative the profile)
Actual Results:  
Thunderbird delete all the files and subfolder contained in "document and settings". :|   

Please read the details that I put to understand exactly what is the problem that I point out.

Expected Results:  
Thunderbird delete only the files relative to the profile that I have decided to delete.

SUGGESTION:
When a user create a new profile thunderbird could ask to select the folder where are contained all the profiles (actually ask for the folder that will contain only the profile that is being create) and create in the profile in a subfolder with the profile's name.

Example: If i create a profile named "MYProfile" and select the folder "document and settings" actually tb use this structure:
..\document and settings\<files of the profile>
whit this change it create this structure
..\document and settings\MYProfile\<files of the profile>

Comment 1

[[:Aureliano Buendía]]

Ciao Giuseppe.
If I understand well your question, I think that you have make a wrong step in point 

>6.Navigate to the folder where you want to put the profile (for example
>"documents and settings")

because when you custumize your profile folder you should to point complete path to profile (I mean \documents and settings\urbc123.giuseppe).
If you only choise "documents and settings" TB thinks that you want store your data in  "documents and settings"

In others word, when you choice to "browse folders" you should to set the folder of your profile, and not the folder where the folder of your profile will stored!

For me this is Invalid, but this could be a start point to change this behavior if for most users the steps are confused.

Comment 2

[Ludovic Hirlimann [:Usul]]

Bryan thoughts ?

Comment 4

[[:Aureliano Buendía]]

Cleanup *dupeme* whiteboard flag from bugs that are marked as Resolved Duplicate!