705080 - Moving/renaming/deleting a folder removes moved/deleted/renamed folder from search folder(virtual folder), and if last search target folder, the search folder(virtual folder) is deleted

Status: NEW

(MailNews Core :: Search, defect)

Description

[Antti Päällysaho]

User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:8.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/8.0
Build ID: 20111104165243

Steps to reproduce:

When having followin folder structure:
- inbox
- Search folder 
- Folder 1
- Folder 2
-- subfolder 2

The Search folder is saved search folder. For example it could search all messages from sender X from all other folders. All folders are checked when "select the folders to search" is viewed.

And now Folder 1 (checked) is moved under folder 2 (checked) to be in same level with subfolder 2 (checked).


Actual results:

The Search folder doesn't search from Folder 1 anymore. All other folders are searched, but there isn't a check next to Folder 1 in the "select the folders to search" in the Search folder properties


Expected results:

Maybe the Folder 1 should remain checked  in the "select the folders to search" in the Search folder properties. Or at least take the properties of the parent folder.

I don't do this often but this causes some mails to go missing from my search folder event though originally I have set the search folder to check all folders.

Comment 1

[WADA:World Anti-bad-Duping Agency]

IMAP mail folder? Or local mail folder(POP3 or Local Folders)?

Comment 2

[Antti Päällysaho]

Server type: IMAP Mail Server, port 993, Connection security: SSL/TLS

Addons: CompactHeader 1.4.5, Enigmail 1.3.3, Extra Folder Columns 1.1.4, Lightning 1.0, Lookout 1.2.13

Comment 3

[WADA:World Anti-bad-Duping Agency]

I surely reproduced the problem in a bug by "rename of search taret folder of virtual folder(saved search folder)" in the past using local mail folder, but I couldn't reach the bug again.
I've reached the bug again at last - bug 601455 comment #8. "Unable to find" was due to inappropriate bug summry of that bug and uclear initial report of problem in that bug. I prefer keeping this bug open to keeping that bug.

"IMAP or local mail folder" was irrelevant when virtual folder.
It was relevant when message filter.
  - Local mail folder : rename is tracked by filter
                       (delete XX == rename XX to Trash/XX for filter)
  - IMAP mail folder  : rename is not tracked by filter 
                        rename XX YY == delete XX, create YY for filter, if IMAP

(Following is copy of my bug 601455 comment #8) 

Virtual folder is automatically deleted by rename of search target folder(checked with Tb 3.1.5).
  1. A virtual folder named VF, Search target = F1, F2 (local mail folder)
  2. Rename F1 to F1X
     => F1 is removed from scope, if virtualFolders.dat is updated by Tb
  3. Rename F2 to F2X => Virtual folder of VF is removed from folder pane.
If virtual folder, "Rename of search target folder" seems same as Delete for Tb.
Already known phenomenon?

If message filter, "Rename of a folder" or "move of a folder" is automatically reflected to message filter rules.

Note on "message filter" and "delete of folder":
If "delete of a local mail folder", folder is moved under local Trash folder. Tb 3.1.5 showed warning of "filter rule is disabled due to delete" upon folder delete operation. However, "move/copy target folder" in a filter rule was changed to "folder under local Trash" and filter rule was kept enabled.
If "Empty Trash" is executed, "folder under local Trash" is deleted, then the filter rule is disabled upon next message filter execution with warning, as before.

From user's perspective, consistent behaviour is desirable, on both virtual folder and message filter, among folder delete, folder rename, folder move by user.

Comment 5

[WADA:World Anti-bad-Duping Agency]

FYI.
Bug 596794 is for pfenomenon of "deleted virtual folder due to deletion of last search target folder(Trash in this case) by Empty Trash".
Because Unified folder is implemented by utilizing "Virtual Folder", phenomena like next are perhaps reported for Unified folder.
  - Non last search target folder of an Unified folder is deleted
    => an account under the Unified folder disappears
  - Last search target folder of an Unified folder is deleted
    => the Unified folder disappears

Comment 7

[klonos]

I'm coming here from #650554 (which is a lot easier to spot than this issue due to the simpler issue title).

Can this issue get some love after 3 years? So frustrating to have to re-edit very saved search each time I rename a folder.

Comment 8

[WADA:World Anti-bad-Duping Agency]

From perspective of folder event listner, Rename of folder == Delete folder(a folder is removed from parent folder) + Create folder(new folder is added to parent folder). There is no way to know "Rename" by folder event.
So, from perspective of "Virtual Folder==(Saved) Search Folder", current behavior is called "Spec" or "by Design".
However, from perspective of user's convenience, "Rename of folder" is better reflected to all Search Folders.

AFAIK, Search folder uses folder event to track folder(itemRemoved is hooked), so it can not know "Rename".
Do you know how message filter hooks "Rename of folder"? Utilize "Notification of rename"?

I think "Folder management component" should update Search Folder(Virtul Folder) definition.
New msgDB.VirtualFolders like one will be needed?
  "What folder is used by a virtual folder " is held in virtual Folders.dat, so VFNaame->SearchTarget is possible.
   It's currently pretty hard to know "By which virtual folder am I used?"
virtualFolders.sqlite is needed? If such database for "relation between folders" will be available, job upon "Rename" is simple.
If rename/move/delete happens, look virtualFolders.sqlite, and update relation, and update required definition such as virtual folder(search folder), message filter, etc. This kind of DB can be used for managing special folders(e.g. This folder is used as Drafts by which identity?).
.

Comment 9

[Jim DeLaHunt]

I just encountered this bug, on Thunderbird 115.5.1 (64-bit) on macOS Sonoma 14.6.1 (23G93). I had created about 5 saved searches, each of which searched (live) for a subset of messsages from one actual IMAP folder.

From a user perspective, this was an unexpected and demoralising failure. I had renamed other folders, and Thunderbird helpfully updated all message filter rules which referenced the renamed folder, and popped up a reassuring alert telling me it had done so. Thus Thunderbird set my expectation that things which referenced folders would get updated when folders were renamed. I was startled to find that all my saved searches disappeared when I renamed the actual IMAP folder to which they referred.

What makes it worse is that the saved searches, and all their search conditions, completely disappeared, and that there was no warning. All the work I had put in to define those search conditions was discarded.

The behaviour I expected, in order of decreasing preference:

1. When a folder is renamed, all saved searches which reference that folder are updated with the new folder name.
2. When a saved search discovers that a folder which it references disappear (via delete or rename), Thunderbird puts up a dialogue saying that the folder has disappeared, and allowing the user to designate alternate folder(s) to search, or to leave the rule without that folder reference.
3. When a saved search discovers that a folder which it references disappear (via delete or rename), Thunderbird puts up a dialogue saying that the folder has disappeared, and it is being removed from the search.
4. Allow a saved search to exist with no folders referenced. It will be a search with zero results.
5. When a saved search discovers that the last folder which it references has disappeared, and it references no more folders, Thunderbird puts up a dialogue saying that the saved search must refer to at least one folder, and letting the user designate another folder, or delete the saved search.