585243 - "Delete From POP Server" (in Message Filters) does not work with "Manually Run"

Status: RESOLVED INVALID

(MailNews Core :: Networking: POP, defect)

Description

[Terry Mester]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9.2.7) Gecko/20100713 Firefox/3.6.7 (.NET CLR 3.5.30729)
Build Identifier: Thunderbird 3.1.1

The "Delete From POP Server" function in Message Filters does not work when you "Manually Run" the Filter.  It does work when "Automatically Run".

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1.  In "Account Settings / Server Settings" CHECK to "Leave messages on server / Until I delete them".
2.  Create a simple temporary Message Filter for this test as follows:
Apply:  From contains YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS
Perform:  Delete From POP Server
3.  CHECK "Enable" for it to run automatically.
4.  Send an E-Mail to yourself.
5.  Log onto your Web-mail via your Internet Server, and check your Inbox to verify the E-Mail is there.  It should be.
6.  Download your Messages with TBird, and again check your Inbox via Web-mail.  The E-Mail should be deleted.
7.  UNCHECK "Enable", and send another E-Mail to yourself and then download it.
8.  Again check your Inbox via Web-mail.  The E-Mail should be there.
9.  To be safe, move the E-Mail to the Junk Box, and then Manually Run the Filter on the Junk Box.
10.  Again check your Inbox via Web-mail.  The E-Mail will still be there.
Actual Results:  
The E-Mail did not get deleted from the POP Server when the Message Filter was Manually Run.

Expected Results:  
The E-Mail should have been deleted from POP.

Comment 1

[WADA:World Anti-bad-Duping Agency]

AFAIK, "Delete mail from POP3 server" is internally "mark a mail to delete(mark a UIDL to be deleted in popstate.dat)" + "issue DLET for the UIDL upon next POP3 connection" in any "delete mail from POP3 server" of Tb.
Try "run filter manually" + "Get Mails", with getting POP3 log.
> https://developer.mozilla.org/en/HTTP_Logging
Check UIDL(X-UIDL: header) of mail, copy popstate.dat after each step and check content, and check POP3 log for RETR(or TOP) and DLET for filtered mail.

Comment 2

[Ludovic Hirlimann [:Usul]]

(In reply to comment #1)
> AFAIK, "Delete mail from POP3 server" is internally "mark a mail to delete(mark
> a UIDL to be deleted in popstate.dat)" + "issue DLET for the UIDL upon next
> POP3 connection" in any "delete mail from POP3 server" of Tb.
> Try "run filter manually" + "Get Mails", with getting POP3 log.
> > https://developer.mozilla.org/en/HTTP_Logging
https://wiki.mozilla.org/MailNews:Logging is the page with some nice documentation on getting a log. Without a log there is not much we can do to help.

Comment 3

[:aceman]

I think WADA can be right. If there is no connection to the server (send/receive messages) between step 9. and 10. then TB could not send the DELE command to the server yet. Reporter, can you comment on that?

Comment 4

[Terry Mester]

Yes WADA was right.  I now have Thunderbird 7.0.  It now seems that the Messages are getting deleted from the POP Server.  However, they only get deleted once you click "Get Mail".  Before that, they don't get deleted.  There is also now another problem:  the Messages don't get deleted from the Thunderbird Mailbox.  Here's a test Filter to use.  First, you need to click "Fetch Headers only" in "Server Settings".  Set up a Filter to move incoming Messages to your Junk Box for safety.  Then create this Filter:
"Manually Run" Filter
Match all of the following:
From contains (your email address)
Perform these actions:
Delete From POP Server
Delete Message
-----------------
Now send a Message to yourself, and click Get Mail.
Then, MANUALLY run the above Manual Filter on Junk.  You will note that the Message has not been deleted from your Junk Box.
Then, using your Webmail, check your Inbox on your Server.  You will note that the Message to yourself is still there.
Now click Get Mail on TBird, and again using Webmail check your Inbox on your Server.  You will note that the Message to yourself is now deleted, but is still in your TB Junk Box.  This is a defect in Thunderbird which I hope you can fix.

Comment 5

[:aceman]

Here are my tests in Thunderbird 8:
I created a filter as you describe (From contains <myemail> -> delete from POP and Delete (locally)). I set it to apply only when 'Checking email" (i.e. not manually).
When I sent email to myself, I got:
1. message received and moved to Thrash.
2. message was immediately deleted from server (in the same connection). I have a POP3 log confirming that.
------------------
When I changed the filter to apply when "Manually run":
1. message sent and received into Inbox.
2. when manually "run filters on folder" Inbox, the message was moved to Trash. Also it was marked for deletion in the popstate.dat file.
3. Upon next connection to the server, the message was deleted on server.

So it seems to work correctly for me.
Is the path through Junk mail needed to reproduce the problem?

Comment 6

[WADA:World Anti-bad-Duping Agency]

(In reply to Terry Mester from comment #4)
> Yes WADA was right.

I so, this bug at B.M.O for phenomenon of your bug sumary, "Delete From POP Server" (in Message Filters) does not work with "Manually Run", is INVALID, because Tb works as designed/impleented flawlessly.
Closing as INVALID.

Comment 7

[Terry Mester]

(In reply to WADA from comment #6)
> I so, this bug at B.M.O for phenomenon of your bug sumary, "Delete From POP
> Server" (in Message Filters) does not work with "Manually Run", is INVALID,
> because Tb works as designed/impleented flawlessly.
> Closing as INVALID.

All right, I've now tested it out with Thunderbird Version 8.0, and it is working properly.  You might wish to check the software code differences between 7.0 & 8.0 in order to detect the problem with V. 7.0.  I wish that existing versions of TBird would be ironed out rather than producing new versions with new bugs.  Just to confirm; in V. 8.0 the Messages now get deleted from Junk Box, and then subsequently get deleted from the POP Server once I click to Get Mail.

WADA, you can't say that this Bug Report was invalid because I filed it when using Thunderbird Version 3.1.1.  I don't know at this point if anything worked properly with that older Version.

Comment 8

[WADA:World Anti-bad-Duping Agency]

(In reply to Terry Mester from comment #7)
> WADA, you can't say that this Bug Report was invalid because I filed it when
> using Thunderbird Version 3.1.1.  I don't know at this point if anything
> worked properly with that older Version.

I know that some my Tb 2.x releases and at least a Tb 3.x release did issue DLET as expected upon next POP3 connection after "delete from POP3 server by message filter", using Tb's POP3 log.

I can't imagine other case than next;
(a) "automatic new mail check of a POP3 account" wasn't somehow executed
     when you saw "Run filter on folder manually doesn't work" in comment #0,
     as you say "It does work when Automatically Run".
     Because "Automatically Run" usually implies "filter runs on mails download
     by automatic new mail check, next POP3 acess is scheduled by new mail check
     sooner or later usually.
     This should be also true usually, even when filter is run manually. 
(b) You disabled "automatic new mail check of a POP3 account"
    when you saw "Run filter on folder manually doen't work" in comment #0,
    because you were testing "Run filter on folder manually",
    and you didn't do "Get Msgs" after manual filter run.
(c) You didn't do "Get Msgs" even though next new mail check is not scheduled yet.

There are two kinds of next issue which is already known. 
  "automatic new mail check of a POP3 account" is somehow not executed or fails
(i)  Manual Get Msg fails too. 
    "Go Work Offline, then go back Work Online" is effective recovery operation.
(ii) Manual Get Msg fails too. 
     "Go Work Offline, then go back Work Online" is not effective.
     Restart of Tb is required.
I saw (i) several times during daily use of Sm 2. It can happen if IP address of PC by DHCP is changed. However, I use static IP address for my PC. In my case, phenomenon is timing dependent issue around hybernation.
I experienced similar phenomenon to (ii) once, but it remained even after restart of Tb and logoff/re-login of MS Win user. Re-boot of MS Win was required.
It was caused by "mail scanner of inbound mail of Avast!". Problem disappeared after disable of the mail scaner.

Because these are absolutely timing dependent problems, problems occur randomly, and, AFAIK, these are not resolved yet. So, "occurred in Tb 3, occurred/not occurred in Tb 7, but not occurred in Tb 8" is very normal and usual phenomenon, if these problems are involved in your case.

As for report on Tb 7 in comment #4. 
> However, they only get deleted once you click "Get Mail".  Before that, they don't get deleted.

It's very normal, if next new mail check is not scheduled yet. 

> There is also now another problem: the Messages don't get deleted from the Thunderbird Mailbox.
>  Perform these actions:
>  Delete From POP Server
>  Delete Message

This is absolutely different from original problem of comment #0. "One prolem per a bug" is rule at B.M.O.
And, as you say "no problem in Tb 8", there is no need to analyze it any more, because it's already worksforme.

> Just to confirm; in V. 8.0 the Messages now get deleted from Junk Box,
> and then subsequently get deleted from the POP Server once I click to Get Mail.

Does it imply that mail was never deleted upon next automatic new mail check and manual Get Mail was mandatory? 

> I wish that existing versions of TBird would be ironed out rather than producing new versions with new bugs.

It's intentional choice by new release strategy of Mozilla Foundation, Mozilla Company, Mozilla Messaging Company. We volunteers at B.M.O can do nothing on strategy of these organizations.

Comment 9

[Terry Mester]

(In reply to WADA from comment #8)
> And, as you say "no problem in Tb 8", there is no need to analyze it any
> more, because it's already worksforme.

I think it would be good for Thunderbird programmers to discover the cause of this problem in V. 7.0.

> > Just to confirm; in V. 8.0 the Messages now get deleted from Junk Box,
> > and then subsequently get deleted from the POP Server once I click to Get Mail.
> 
> Does it imply that mail was never deleted upon next automatic new mail check
> and manual Get Mail was mandatory? 

I was only talking about the failure in V. 7.0 to delete the Message from Thunderbird's Junk Box.  Both V. 7.0 & 8.0 did delete it from the POP Server upon clicking Get Mail. 

To clarify, I'm a Dialup Internet user.  As soon as I manually click to download / send Messages, I go Offline, and disconnect from the Internet.  My Messages are never automatically downloaded.

I note with V. 7.0 & 8.0 that Thunderbird no longer always calls up the Windows Connection Box when I click Get Mail when not connected to the Internet.  This is a new Bug.

Comment 10

[Mark Banner (:standard8)]

(In reply to Terry Mester from comment #9)
> I note with V. 7.0 & 8.0 that Thunderbird no longer always calls up the
> Windows Connection Box when I click Get Mail when not connected to the
> Internet.  This is a new Bug.

FTR That sounds like bug 675436.