540533 - Address book contacts having [Display Name <email@address>] in Email Field cause problems (scenarios e.g. sync with google or imported vcfs)

Status: RESOLVED WORKSFORME

(Thunderbird :: Address Book, defect)

Description

[Bernhard Donaubauer]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; Konqueror/4.3; Linux) KHTML/4.3.1 (like Gecko) SUSE
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; de; rv:1.9.1.5) Gecko/20091130 SUSE/3.0.0-1.1.1 Lightning/1.0b1 Thunderbird/3.0

Enter a new contact with emailaddress of this kind:

    Hans Mueller <[e-mail]>

Select the new entry in the table

Right click - choose "write" in the context menu

Mail editor opens. The addressfiels contains
    Hans Mueller <""Hans Mueller <hmueller\"@test.com>">

-------

Autocompletion in addressfields produces the same result.

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
Enter a new contact with emailaddress of this kind:

    Hans Mueller <[e-mail]>

Select the new entry in the table

Right click - choose "write" in the context menu

Mail editor opens. The addressfiels contains
    Hans Mueller <""Hans Mueller <hmueller\"@test.com>">

-------

Autocompletion in addressfields produces the same result.
Actual Results:  
Addressfield containing:
    Hans Mueller <""Hans Mueller <hmueller\"@test.com>">


Expected Results:  
Addressfield containing:
    Hans Mueller <[e-mail]>

Comment 1

[Ludovic Hirlimann [:Usul]]

(In reply to comment #0)
> User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; Konqueror/4.3; Linux) KHTML/4.3.1
> (like Gecko) SUSE
> Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; de; rv:1.9.1.5)
> Gecko/20091130 SUSE/3.0.0-1.1.1 Lightning/1.0b1 Thunderbird/3.0
> 
> Enter a new contact with emailaddress of this kind:

Where in the address book ?
 
>     Hans Mueller <[e-mail]>
> 
> Select the new entry in the table

Table ?

Comment 2

[Bernhard Donaubauer]

Attachment: snapshot 1

snapshot 1

Comment 3

[Bernhard Donaubauer]

Attachment: snapshot 2

snapshot 2

Comment 4

[Bernhard Donaubauer]

Attachment: snapshot 3

snapshot 3

Comment 5

[Bernhard Donaubauer]

> Where in the address book ?

1) Choose the menu entry "file/new/address book"
2) Enter a name for the addressbook i. e. "test"
3) Add a contact to this addressbook with an emailaddress in the form
   familyname givenname <[e-mail]>

    see attachment "snapshot 1"
4) select the new contact in the addressbook
5) right click the contact choose "write" in the context menu
    see attachment "snapshot 2"
6) see the wrong address at the top of the email editor
    see attachment "snapshot 3"

Comment 6

[Mark Banner (:standard8) (afk until 21st July)]

So the email field is intended only for the email address and not the display name as well.

The creation code for the email address in the write/compose window is then obviously getting confused as it is expecting just an email address rather than a display name as well.

Not sure the best way to prevent this, but it certainly isn't a common case.

Comment 7

[Bernhard Donaubauer]

Attachment: snapshot 4

snapshot 4

Comment 8

[Bernhard Donaubauer]

But this form is valid, isn't it? I know and use this kind of emailaddress for many years.

From the english wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email_address

> To indicate whom the message is intended for, a user can use the "display name"
> of the recipient followed by the address specification surrounded by angled
> brackets, for example: John Smith <[e-mail]>.


I try to explain why it makes sense. I work an a solution to give our employee
in the field information about their customers and the people that work there. Sometimes there is just one email address for several persons. So I use this
syntax to make the address unique und more verbose.

Example:
Fritz Huber <[e-mail]>
Erwin Maier <[e-mail]>

BTW. if you click the email address on the "detail area" (see snapshot 4) TB uses the address in the correct way. Only the autocompletion und the "write" context menu use it incorrectly.

Comment 9

[Mark Banner (:standard8) (afk until 21st July)]

(In reply to comment #8)
> But this form is valid, isn't it? I know and use this kind of emailaddress for
> many years.

The form is valid for sending emails, it is not an email address.

> > To indicate whom the message is intended for, a user can use the "display name"
> > of the recipient followed by the address specification surrounded by angled
> > brackets, for example: John Smith <[e-mail]>.

The email address here is "[e-mail]". The display name is "John Smith". There are two separate fields in the address book for those two items.

> I try to explain why it makes sense. I work an a solution to give our employee
> in the field information about their customers and the people that work there.
> Sometimes there is just one email address for several persons. So I use this
> syntax to make the address unique und more verbose.

However, clicking write and using autocompletion will make the form you require when sending an email and make it unique.

> BTW. if you click the email address on the "detail area" (see snapshot 4) TB
> uses the address in the correct way. Only the autocompletion und the "write"
> context menu use it incorrectly.

Yes, that could be seen as a bug. We should probably be using the "display name <email address>" format, though we'd probably need to think if that was the right thing to do in most cases.

In essence, I don't see that the email address field should support the display name as well - not when we have a specific field for that.

Comment 10

[Bernhard Donaubauer]

>In essence, I don't see that the email address field should 
>support the display name as well - not when we have a 
>specific field for that.

Ok you won! But think of this - others have no specific field for that purpose and allow emails of the form 
    name1 name2 <[e-mail]>
in the email address field (i.e. google). So if I sync thunderbird with google or get addressdata of others (vcf) I have an "invalid" email address in my addressbook.

Regards

Comment 11

[WADA:World Anti-bad-Duping Agency]

(In reply to Bernhard Donaubauer from comment #8)
> But this form is valid, isn't it? I know and use this kind of emailaddress for many years.

"Address" in email is defined by;
http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5322#section-3.4
> address         =   mailbox / group
> mailbox         =   name-addr / addr-spec
> name-addr    =   [display-name] angle-addr
> angle-addr     =   [CFWS] "<" addr-spec ">" [CFWS] /
>                             obs-angle-addr
> addr-spec       =   local-part "@" domain

Which do you call by your "emailaddress".

Your "emailaddress" is name-addr in RFC5322.
In Tb's Address Book, "Display:" corresponds to display-name in RFC5322, and "Email:" coresponds to addr-spec in RFC5322.
Tb generates "name-addr in RFC5322" in message header from "display-name in RFC5322" & "addr-spec in RFC5322" whicg are held in Tb's Address Book.

Comment 12

[WADA:World Anti-bad-Duping Agency]

(In reply to Bernhard Donaubauer from comment #0)
> Enter a new contact with emailaddress of this kind:
>     Hans Mueller <[e-mail]>

For testing bug 1022357 at same time, I defined;
    Display:  Hans(123)Mueller
    Email:     Hans Mueller <[e-mail]>

Tb 24.5.0 generated following header.
   To: "\"Hans(123)Mueller\" <\"\"Hans Mueller \">" <hmueller\"@test.com>
Tb 24.5.0 saved this mail address data in msgDBHdr.xxx ;
    msgDBHdr.recipients                          = "\"Hans(123)Mueller\" <\"\"Hans Mueller \">" <hmueller\"@test.com>
    msgDBHdr.mime2DecodedRecipients = "\"Hans(123)Mueller\" <\"\"Hans Mueller \">" <hmueller\"@test.com>

> "\"Hans(123)Mueller\" <\"\"Hans Mueller \">" <hmueller\"@test.com>
Replace 'quoted-pair of \" in quoted-text' by # for readability.
> "#Hans(123)Mueller# <##Hans Mueller #>" <hmueller\"@test.com>
Change double-quote for quoted-text to ', change back #(originally quoted-pair of \") to ",  for readability.
> '"Hans(123)Mueller" <""Hans Mueller ">' <hmueller\"@test.com>
i.e. This is ;
   display-name = '"Hans(123)Mueller" <""Hans Mueller ">' (no single quote)
   addr-spec      = hmueller\"@test.com

If addr-spec part is [e-mail], there is no problem, even if ugly for you, even if pretty confusing.
    display-name = "Display: in Address Book" + "data before < of Email: field data in Address Book" + excess <>".
    addr-spec      = "string between < and > in data of Email: field of Address Book". 
However, \" in hmueller\"@test.com is RFC violation, because quoted-pair(\") can not be contained in "local-part of dot-atom form". If used, it should be format of "hmueller\""@test.com(local part=quoted-text, and contains quoted-pair)
If mail is sent, to woom the mail is delivered? Does SMTP server accept such RCPT: derived from the To: header ?

Mechanism looks;
   Display: + "<" + Email: + "string before @" + "string after @" + ">"
         => Hans(123)Mueller <Hans Mueller <[e-mail]>>
   addr-spec == 'Hans Mueller <[e-mail]>', because it's enclosed by outer <>.
         => "Hans(123)Mueller" <Hans Mueller <[e-mail]>>
   local-part should be enclosed in quoted-text
         => "Hans(123)Mueller" <"Hans Mueller <hmueller"@test.com>>
   Because < appears after first < without >, > is cmplemented
         => "Hans(123)Mueller" <"Hans Mueller> <hmueller"@test.com>>
   angle-addr == <hmueller"@test.com>, so strin before it is changed to quoted-text
         => ""Hans(123)Mueller" <"Hans Mueller>" <hmueller"@test.com>>
   " in quoted-text should be replaced by quoted-pair
         => "\"Hans(123)Mueller\" <\"Hans Mueller>\" <hmueller"@test.com>>
   " in local-part is not permitted, so replaced by quoted-pair
         => "\"Hans(123)Mueller\" <\"Hans Mueller>\" <hmueller\"@test.com>>
   excess > at end is removed
         => "\"Hans(123)Mueller\" <\"Hans Mueller>\" <hmueller\"@test.com>
This depends on "which special character is checked in what order".

Anyway, format of "data set in Email: field of Address Book" should be checked before adding to Address Book.

By the way, if following is defined, funny phenomenon is observed.
   no Display: field
   Email:  Name1 <name1@a.a.a>, Name2 <name2@b.b.b>
When you choose this contact at To: field of mail composition window, following is shown in To: field.
   To: Name1 <name1@a.a.a>, Name2 <name2@b.b.b>
This is "Name1 <name1@a.a.a>, Name2" <name2@b.b.b>, so mail is sent to name2@b.b.b only.
But for any people, it looks "this is mail to name1@a.a.a and name2@b.b.b" during mail compsition.
This is actual case reported to a forum in Japan. Try it :-)

Phenomenon is reproducible. Confirming.

Comment 13

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

Does this still reproduce?

Comment 14

[bdonauba]

With version 115.8.0 it is impossible to enter a mail address in the form

Hans Mueller <[e-mail]>

for a contact. Due to this limitation the problem vanished.

Comment 15

[Magnus Melin [:mkmelin] (away, back Aug 4)]

-> WFM per comment 14