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Codename/Mozilla: Mail: Get Message
Behavior
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UI Proposal
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Get Message & Check for new mail
at Startup
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Last
Modification:
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Open Issues
- Change "Get Msg" and "New Msg" to "Get Msgs" and
"Compose"?
- Netscape only. Are AOL and Netscape WebMail accounts
special cases in which the pref setting for "Log in to this
account at startup" is turned on by default.? Depends on
Bugscape 2978 (if AOL and WebMail accounts can be assessed at the
same time as an ISP account).
Related Bugs
- 14301 - UI: missing Log in to this account at startup setting.
nsbeta1+.
- 37559- Prefs dialog: add Get Msg options and descriptive text.
nsbeta1+.
- 50865 - Unclear and Unreadable Button Labels.
1. Check for new mail at Startup
- In the Mail/News Account Settings: Server screen for IMAP and
POP accounts, there will be a preference for each account to
"Check for new mail at startup". This checks for new mail, instead
of getting new mail.
- When the option is checked, biff is enabled to check for new
mail. For IMAP accounts, message headers are loaded and biff icons
are shown. For POP accounts, biff icons are shown if new
messages are on the server, but headers are not loaded. New
messages on POP accounts are not downloaded until "Get Msg" is
selected.
- The default account (the account setup first or the account
migrated first or an existing default account from a build prior
to this feature being implemented) will have the setting turned on
by default (IMAP and POP). Additional accounts set up will
have this setting turned off by default. If a user changes
the default account, we do not change the state of the "Check for
new mail at startup" preference.
- When Mail starts, it will attempt to check for new mail for
the default account, plus any additional accounts for which the
user has turned on the preference, displaying a password dialog
for authentication (for each account) as necessary. Hence,
multiple password dialogs may open when mail is started. Users can
choose to use Password Manager if they desire.
- At startup, the default account is expanded and the Inbox
selected. If the "Check for new mail at startup" preference
has been turned off, the Account Level is selected instead of the
Inbox.
- There is no "Remember my password" option in Account Settings.
Users must use the Password Manager feature from the Password
Dialog.
- Once authenticated, new messages are retrieved either:
- automatically according to the biff settings for the
account
- using the "Get Message" feature described below
2 - "Get Msg" Button Behavior
- After Mail starts, the user can retrieve new messages by using
the "Get Msg" button on the toolbar or menu items (in addition to
automatic biff settings).
- Clicking on the "Get Msg" toolbar button will retrieve
messages for the selected Mail account or newsgroup only.
- There is NOT a preference for changing the default behavior of
"Get Msg" button.
- To the right of the "Get Msg" toolbar button is a dropdown
menu widget.
- Clicking the "Get Msg" dropdown menu displays a drop down menu
with the following items:
- "Get All New Messages" (retrieves messages for all MAIL
accounts to which the user is currently authenticated).
- Separator Line
- "<acct1>" (Mail retrieved for this account only.
Prompted for password as necessary).
- "<acct2>"
- "<acct3>"
- etc.
- When a MAIL account is selected, the "Get Msg" dropdown menu
only shows MAIL accounts, not News accounts. (You don't get
messages from a news account, you get them from a newsgroup.
Showing all the newsgroups a user is subscribed to in the menu
would make it very long.)
- When a NEWSGROUP is selected, the "Get Msg" dropdown menu
shows Mail accounts and the currently selected newsgroup.
- If user selects an account for which they are not currently
logged onto, and clicks "Get Msg", they are prompted with a
password dialog.
- If a Newsgroup is selected, the "Get Msg" button
retrieves new messages for the selected newsgroup only.
- If a Newsgroup is selected, the "Get All News Messages" menu
items gets messages for the selected newsgroup and all the Mail
accounts to which the user is currently authenticated.
- If a Newsgroup is selected and a Mail
account is selected from the "Get Msg" dropdown, then messages are
retrieved for both the newsgroup and the mail account. Focus will
remain on the newsgroup.
- If a News Server is selected, the "Get
Msg" button updates message counts.
- If "Local Folders" (or one if the
folders themselves) or an Imported Account or Nothing is selected,
the "Get Msg" button will retrieve messages for the default mail
account.
- Some scenarios: User has 3 mail accounts and 1 news
account. Only <acct1> (Default) and <acct2> are set to
logon at startup:
- If <acct1> is selected in the folder pane, clicking
on the "Get Msg" button will retrieve messages for
<acct1> only and the focus will remain on
<acct1>.
- If <acct1> is selected in the
folder pane and <acct2> is selected from the "Get Msg"
dropdown then messages are retrieved for <acct2> only and
focus remains on <acct1>. In general, focus remains on
the account selected.
- If <acct3> is selected, and is not currently
authenticated, then selecting the "Get Msg" button will display
a password dialog. When the user enters their password and is
authenticated then the messages for <acct3> are retrieved
and focus will remain on <acct3>.
- Now <acct1>, <acct2> and <acct3> are all
authenticated. User selects "Get all new messages" option from
dropdown menu and retrieves messages for all mail
accounts.
- User exits and restarts Mail. <acct1> and
<acct2> are the only accounts that have the "Logon to
account at startup" preference selected. Mail will try to
authenticate these two accounts only. User selects "Get all new
messages", mail is retrieved for <acct1> and
<acct2>.
- User selects a newsgroup and selects "Get all new
messages". Messages are retrieved for the selected newsgroup
plus any mail accounts to which the user is currently
authenticated.
3 - The "File" Menu
- When a Mail account has focus, the File menu has:
- "Get New Messages --- Ctrl+T " (performs
the same action as the "Get Msg" toolbar button).
- "Get New Messages for --->"
"Get All New Messages --- Ctrl+Shift+T "
------------------------
"<acct1>"
"<acct2>"
etc.
- When a Newsgroup has focus, the File menu has the menu items
above (#1) plus "Get Next X Messages" and "Update Message
Count".
- Menu items should work the same as their counter parts in
section 2 above.
- If a News server is selected, "Get New Messages" is
disabled.
4 - Context Menu for
Folder Pane
- If a Mail Account, Inbox or Newsgroup is selected "Get
New Messages" appears in the context menu.
- If a News server is selected, "Update Message Counts" appears
in the context menu?
5 - Fetching
Mail
- IMAP. When the user first starts up Mail
and clicks on the Inbox, mail is automatically retrieved from the
server (Password dialog as necessary).
- POP. In 4.x, a user
authenticates to a server but still has to click "Get Msg" to
initially receive their mail. In this release, if a user has
the "Log in to account at startup" pref set for an account, we
will automatically fetch new messages once they authenticate to
the server.
6 - BIFF When Not Logged into Account
The next release will add the feature of BIFF running when the
user is not logged into an account (only works if the user's password
has been saved). This feature is only available for those
accounts that have the "Log in to this account at startup" preference
turned on (for which the password is saved).
Note: BIFF is turned on by default for IMAP and POP accounts and
off for News accounts.
Issues
- "Log in to this account at startup" is the correct
wording.
- Do we want a pref for setting what "Get all new messages"
does? Either gets mail for currently authenticated accounts
(default) or attempts to get mail for all accounts (opening
Password dialogs as necessary)? Issues Meeting
1/12/01.
Future Ideas
- Advanced users could use the Ctrl key to select TWO accounts
and then click the "Get Msg" button. Mail for both accounts is
retrieved. Thread pane is empty until only ONE account is
selected.