Buffy/Mozilla: Mail	UI Specification
Message Filters	Last Modification:

Author: Jennifer Glick  Creation Date: 26 February 2001	Status: Mostly Complete
Quicklinks: Message Filters Dialog Filter Rules Dialog Custom Headers Filter Log Manual Filtering	Feature Team Engineering:   Scott Putterman, Dan Mosedale, David Bienvenu, Seth Spitzer  PM:   QA:  Laurel Carlson Docs:  Robin Foster Clark UE:  Jennifer Glick

 

Notes

1. "Duplicate" feature (to copy an existing filter and modify) not implemented.

Related Bugs

1. 40356 - Filter/Search UI: remove space between criteria columns
2. 65135 - RFE: Simple filtering functions in Address Book nsbeta1-.
3. 82015 - Search/Filters UI: AND/OR text not always appearing until AND/OR toggled
4. 129510 - Filter/Search: Text on dropdown menus is not left aligned
5. 136946 - Add auto complete widget to filters dialog....
6. 169484 - Minor UI Nits on Filter Log dialog
7. 183294 - Clean up display of mailing lists in Filter/Search AB criteria

Summary

Goals

Filters - Enable users to create and maintain message filters so that incoming or existing messages matching user defined criteria are automatically identified and acted on, based on user defined actions.

User Tasks

User Defined Filtering is geared towards more intermediate to advanced users who are more familiar with the concept of filtering and would like to define and run their own specific filters.

Basic Tasks
Intermediate Tasks	Create a simple filter (one criteria, one action) Create a more complex filter (two+ criteria, two+ actions) Enable/disable user created filters View and edit existing filters Delete existing filters Reorder existing filters Apply filters manually
Advanced Tasks	Enable the Filter Log View the Filter Log Clear the Filter Log Create and use custom Headers

Design Details

Main Window Access

Toolbar	Menu	Msg Context Menu
	Mail:  Tools Menu:  - Message Filters

1. Message Filters Dialog

The Message Filters dialog is the first window users see when they select "Message Filters..." from the Edit menu. The purpose of this window is as follows:

• Specify the account for which the filters should be applied to ("Filters for:").
• Allows the user to delete existing filters ("Delete" button).
• Allows the user to reorder existing filters (Up/Down buttons).
• Allows the user to create a new filter based on an existing filter ("Duplicate" button). Not Implemented.
• Provides access to the window used to create new filters ("New" button).
• Provides access to the window used to edit existing filters ("Edit" button).
• Provides access to the filters log (text file that displays the history of filtering behavior) ("Filter Log" button).
• Manual Filtering. Run all filters that are already created and enabled again a specific folder.

When a filter is first created, it is enabled by default.

• Filters for: drop down list of available accounts for the current user. When an account is selected, the existing filters associated with that account are displayed in the list box below.
• New - Used to create a new filter.  Opens the "Filter Rules" dialog used to define the conditions and action of a filter.  Always enabled.
• Edit - Used to edit an existing filter. Opens the "Filters Rules" dialog so that the existing conditions and action of a filter can be modified. Only enabled when a Filter is selected.
• Delete - Used to delete an existing filter.  Only enabled when a Filter is selected.
• Move Up - Only enabled when a Filter is selected and it is possible to move the filter up.
• Move Down - Only enabled when a Filter is selected and it is possible to move the filter down.
• Filter Log - opens a window used to view a generated text file which lists which filters have been fired and when.
• Run selected filters on: - dropdown menu used to select a specific folder for manual filtering.
• Run Now - Used to manually run one or more filters.  Only enabled when one or more filters are selected.

2. Filter Rules Dialog

The Filter Rules dialog is opened when a user clicks "New" or "Edit" on the Message Filters dialog shown above. This dialog allows the user to:

• Specify the name of the filter ("Filter name:").
• Specify the conditions under which a filter should act.
• Specify the action that should be taken if the filter conditions are meet.

Users are able to specify unlimited filter Conditions. Users are able to specify each available action once.

Messages are evaluated to match against filters in order until there is a match which involves moving the message. A criteria match which fires an action such as priority change, mark read or watch thread will not stop the message from being evaluated against the next filter in the list.

There is always at least one available filter criteria row. When creating a new filter, only one filter row with widgets is displayed.  When focus leaves the last criteria row (clicking Enter, clicking out of row, tabbing out, etc.) and the row is not empty, a new filter criteria row with widgets is created.  This area will scroll when more than 3 criteria rows are needed.  The number of potential filter criteria rows is unlimited.  

Minus Sign - Removes the current criteria row. Rows below should move up. Disabled if only one criteria row currently visible.

Plus Sign - Adds an additional criteria row below the current row.

Alternative Design

3. Conditions

The	Of the Message	3rd Field
Subject Sender To Cc To or cc <Customized headers here>	contains doesn't contain is isn't begins with ends with	Text Field
Sender	is in address book isn't in address book	Dropdown list of available ABs and their child Mailing Lists. *Example.
Age in days	is is greater than is less than	Text Field
Date	is  isn't is before is after	Current date with Increase/Decrease controls
Priority	is isn't is higher than is lower than	Lowest Low Normal High Highest
Status ( related to Manual Filtering)	is isn't	Read Replied Forwarded New

Actions

Then	2nd Field	New Folder Button Visible
Move to folder	Drop Down Menu:  Select folder drop down	Yes
Change the priority to	Drop Down Menu: None Lowest Low Normal High Highest	No
Delete the message Mark the message as read Flag the message Ignore the thread (news) Watch the thread (news)	Empty	No
Label the message	Drop Down Menu: Available user defined labels listed.	No

4. Customize Headers

User selects "Customize..." from the header drop down list.

The "Customize Headers" dialog opens.

No limits to what or how many headers the user can enter. 

Once a custom header has been added, it appears in the header drop down list.  Customized headers are also available anywhere else in the product were headers can be selected from, such as Search.

5. Filter Log

The "Filter Log" dialog opens from the "Message Filters" window. The Filter Log is a generated text file which lists which filters have been fired and when.  A Filter Log is only generated if the the "Enable the Filter Log" check box has been selected.

"Clear Log" is used to clear the text from the Filter Log.

6. Manual Filtering

Users can run their filters manually on a specified folder. They can do this from the Message Filters dialog or the Tools menu.

Filters can only be run on folders within the same account to which the filters belong. 

• Multiple filters can be selected and run?
• "Manually run selected filters on folder:"  list of available folders for the current account only.
• Subfolders are Not included when a filter is manually run (unless time permits)
• Window is modeless

From the Tools menu. The select filter is run on the folder which currently has focus in the Main Mail window. Menu item is disabled if an account has focus.

• Minor reordering of Tools menu nec.
• Junk Mail Controls feature in progress (dmose)
• "Run Filter on Selected Folder":  flyout is a list filters for the current account only.

Ideas for Future Filter Enhancements 

P1 - P5, with P1 being the most highly desired/do-able. Items in green have been implemented.

Feature	Priority
Manual Filtering. Run all filters that are already created and enabled against the default Inbox	P3
News Filtering	P3
Provides access to the filters log, View Log (text file that displays the history of filtering behavior).	P3
Turn on Filter Log	P3
Clear the Filter Log	P3
Manual Filtering - Allows the user to manually run all enabled filters on a specified folder (other than the Inbox)	P3
Duplicate: Allows the user to create a new filter based on an existing filter  - across different servers.	P3
Duplicate: Allows the user to create a new filter based on an existing filter ("Duplicate" button) - same server.	P4
Removing focus from a filter criteria row would cause the list widgets to become static text.  Returning focus into a filter criteria row would cause the static text to become list widgets again.	P4
Actions - play a .wav file when a message meets criteria	P4
Create a filter from an AB entry	P5
Create a filter from from a Mailing List	P5
Filter on which AB a sender is in	P5
Filters on the Server	P5
Global Filters (across all accounts/servers)	P5
Allow more than one Action	P5
Message Filters window - non editable description field at bottom of window which summarizes conditions and action of filter.	P5

Issues