538125 - email account auto-configuration : doesn't work with @gmx.fr IMAP configuration

Status: RESOLVED INVALID

(Thunderbird :: Account Manager, enhancement)

Description

[Pierre-Aurélien Georges]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; Intel Mac OS X 10_6_2; fr-fr) AppleWebKit/531.21.8 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.4 Safari/531.21.10
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; Intel Mac OS X 10.6; fr; rv:1.9.1.5) Gecko/20091204 Thunderbird/3.0

I have got an email address which is @gmx.fr when adding this email account in Thunderbird, the auto-configuration dialog box proposes me pop.gmx.net with POP protocol with SSL/TLS. But I want to use IMAP and this is supported by my email provider. So I click on "Modify" (should rather be called "advanced" or "manual settings" because after clicking on "modify" there's no more any auto-configuration feature available. Everything inside this section must be manually typed. If I switch from POP to IMAP, port number is not automatically updated, for example. If I switch from SSL/TLS to none, that's the same, port number is not automatically updated), I select IMAP and then click on "re-test configuration". Thunderbirds then automatically switch to STARTTLS (But I didn't want to change from SSL/TLS : SSL/TLS was previously selected by default, and it is available with POP3 and with IMAP on imap.gmx.com) and now gives "imap.gmx.fr" (woaw, cool, but the server URL should be updated without having to click on re-test configuration).
I click again on "modify" to switch from STARTTLS from SSL/TLS and then click "re-test". Now the port number as been correctly updated (cool), but it should be updated without having to click on re-test, and Thunderbird finally finds the correct parameters after a while : imap.gmx.com (and not .fr) IMAP 993 SSL/TLS... Woaw, that was terribly complicated for a so-called "auto-configuration" process...

Sometimes it also automatically switch back from IMAP to POP3 when I click on "re-test" (unwanted behavior !!!), but I could not reproduce this bug here (this is sporadic)

Reproducible: Always




There are 2 things to consider : 
1) when several options are available on a server (both IMAP and POP for example or both SSL/TLS and STARTTLS), a possibility should be given to the user to EASILY select between these available connection methods. (without having to click on "modify", then change from POP to IMAP, then click on "re-test", etc. Woaw... 3 clicks just to change one parameter !
2) when the auto-configuration fails, user must manually define some (or all) parameters, for example, when IMAP availability is not detected because it uses a non-standard port number. In such cases, user's given information can be used as "hints" to help the auto-configuration process. If the user type in a custom port number, thunderbird can try to test this port to detect what it is. (perhaps even without having to click on "re-test")
I have the feeling that both things are ambiguously melted under the "modify" button, and that's not good (king of counter-intuitive and not easy to use for persons with low computer skills)
"Modify" should means "choose between availables options (such as : POP or IMAP, when both are available on a server). There's no need for a button for that. Just display drop down lists on the main dialog box with available options automatically detected on the server.
And all things from point 2 should be under a "advanced / manual config" button, with all drop down lists showing all possible options (even if they were not detected on the server)

Comment 1

[Ben Bucksch (:BenB)]

This has nothing to do with gmx.fr or IMAP, but it's about the UI of the config dialog. I agree with the observations and sentiments, but they should be formulated more clearly.

Comment 2

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

aleca, is covered in any recent work?

(In reply to Ben Bucksch (:BenB) from comment #1)

... it's about the UI of the config dialog.
I agree with the observations and sentiments, but they should be formulated more clearly.

Not gonna happen from the reporter - he's gone.

Related to bug 1149101, bug 1656082 ?

Comment 3

[Ben Bucksch (:BenB)]

Most of 2) is already the case, I would say.
And 1) is mostly pointless, because most ISPs have only one config, and for the few ISPs which have several, our ISPDB says which config is preferred.
Not a useful suggestion anymore.

INVALID