GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 714208
Client-side filtering
Last modified: 2021-07-05 13:25:37 UTC
---- Reported by jim@yorba.org 2011-06-22 10:55:00 -0700 ---- Original Redmine bug id: 3776 Original URL: http://redmine.yorba.org/issues/3776 Searchable id: yorba-bug-3776 Original author: Jim Nelson Original description: GMail has a nice filtering system that allows the user to label, star, archive, or trash a message depending on a variety of parameters they can choose from. It would be nice if the user didn't have to log in the the Web interface to create and edit filters. I don't see anything in the IMAP specification that allows us access to these filters. We probably have to go through a GData API (see http://code.google.co m/googleapps/domain/email_settings/developers_guide_protocol.html). Even so, that would only give us filtering on GMail, not on any other server. Some servers may have their own system (such as SIEVE: http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc5228.txt) and some have none at all. It may be that we implement filtering support for each service and server, falling back on a client-side system if not such API is available. Lots of questions here, which will probably lead to this ticket being broken into smaller tickets. Related issues: duplicated by geary - Feature #7604: Add Message Rules (Duplicate) --- Bug imported by chaz@yorba.org 2013-11-21 20:25 UTC --- This bug was previously known as _bug_ 3776 at http://redmine.yorba.org/show_bug.cgi?id=3776 Unknown Component Using default product and component set in Parameters Unknown version " in product geary. Setting version to "!unspecified". Unknown milestone "unknown in product geary. Setting to default milestone for this product, "---". Setting qa contact to the default for this product. This bug either had no qa contact or an invalid one. Resolution set on an open status. Dropping resolution
I'd be interested in a client-side filtering (i.e. performed by Geary), mainly for my dovecot account. The reason is that when server-side filtering is active on a dovecot account the messages are _moved_ to a folder. So it's not easy to read emails on a mobile client, because you have to enter the folder where the message has been moved to. K-9 have the "All mail" folder, but this is somehow inconvenient. So I'm thinking about disabling the server-side filters to improve my reading of messages on mobile client. Then it would be nice if I could launch my filters in Geary when I go back home and can use my laptop. I wish that dovecot supported the filtering in (logical and optionally multiple) labels, as Gmail does: http://wiki2.dovecot.org/Migration/Gmail Another interesting feature, in case you want to develop a filtering system in Geary, is the import of Gmail filters. I see that they export filter in XML format.
Let's restrict this ticket to filtering in Geary itself. Editing Gmail's filters (if even possible0 will need to be another ticket.
As of lately, I have had the "luxury" of needing message filtering due to a large influx in mailing list mail. I was disappointed to find Geary didn't have a method of filtering my existing inbox and future mail into folders, so unfortunately I need to use Thunderbird to maintain my sanity. I'm not familiar with the technical details behind how Thunderbird implements it, but it obviously does the filtering client-side and the changes are synchronized with the mail server (I believe through IMAP). I'm in favor of client-side filtering that doesn't need to be synchronized with the mail server, since some mobile mail apps don't reliably sync anything besides "Sent" / Outbox and Inbox and there wouldn't be concern of Geary messing with those mobile apps. I'd like to see Geary support for client-side filtering in a similar fashion to how Thunderbird does it (being able to have it automatically filter based on From:, CC:, BCC:, To:, Subject content and message content) automatically into folders or automatic deletion. Either way, I'm willing to put this up on Bountysource if someone wants to implement it and get some money for it.
Unfortunately, Geary doesn't have a notion of local folders vs. remote folders. In other words, there's no way in the current architecture to easily have Geary filter messages locally but not reflect those changes on the server. In fact, that kind of duality is something we're attempting to avoid. That's why Geary is billed as a "lightweight" client. My vision for client-side filtering would be what you think Thunderbird does. When messages arrive they're moved or copied into other folders, with those changes being sent back to the server via IMAP. Geary would remain synchronized with the server at all times. However, if you think about this scheme, that means all your mail clients are at the mercy of the one doing the filtering. Worse, if you have two mail clients with different filters, you can conceive of them getting into a "filter war", where one moves a message to a folder and another moves it back. That (plus some other reasons) are why client-side filtering is more like a last-resort than a desirable feature. If you put this on Bountysource, be sure to add the link here so people know about the bounty.
GNOME is going to shut down bugzilla.gnome.org in favor of gitlab.gnome.org. As part of that, we are mass-closing older open tickets in bugzilla.gnome.org which have not seen updates for a longer time (resources are unfortunately quite limited so not every ticket can get handled). If you can still reproduce the situation described in this ticket in a recent and supported software version, then please follow https://wiki.gnome.org/GettingInTouch/BugReportingGuidelines and create a new ticket at https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/geary/-/issues/ Thank you for your understanding and your help.