Broken Filters resulted from moving folder from Local Folders to imap Inbox & didn't autoupdate as stated. Now, messages either don't move at all or don't move to the specified subfolder of the Inbox folder (bug454589)
154.0 (64-bit) on Windows 11
My filters are broken in Thunderbird. I have deleted and recreated some to no avail.
I moved some folders from Local to under my inbox and it said it would update the filters automatically, but noticed it didn't do this. Looking at the Filter Rules it just left either the first or second column of Perform these actions under the Filter Rules empty rather than updating them. I tried moving the folders back to see if the filters would then work, but it's a mixed bag. Some filter properly and others only go under say Newsletters, but don't filter into Newsletters > Adobe for example. Others just sit in the inbox. I've tried moving some rules to the top of the list hoping that'd give them priority to be run first, but it hasn't helped. I have a lot of filters setup to help me track newsletters, classes, meetings, job applications, etc. I've missed some responses for a couple of days because of this. Any suggestions?
So I don't miss anyone, thanks in advance.
Modified by Wayne Mery
All Replies (14)
First, it will help us if you point out the page that says filters are automatically updated so we're on the same page. Did you move these filters under windows file explorer. Please share some details. Thanks
I did. As I stated, I moved them from under Local Folders to under my Inbox. I did this within Thunderbird, just click and drag. When I did this a popup came up saying that filters would automatically be updated.
Are you using an addon, such as quickfilters? I am not aware of this as a native feature of Thunderbird.
The only thing I currently have installed is DKIM Verifier, which is a featured add-on.
https://services.addons.thunderbird.n.../?src=search
I previously had ImportExportTools NG, but that has been removed.
Okay, maybe I"m just brain-dead today. That happens too often. Would you be able to do a screenshot if where you do the filter move? That may unclog my brain. thanks.
david said
Okay, maybe I"m just brain-dead today. That happens too often. Would you be able to do a screenshot if where you do the filter move? That may unclog my brain. thanks.
jrdpa ?
Sorry, I never saw the response from 8/25.
I click and drag the folder from one location to the other and there's a popup that says it will update the filters.
Modified by jrdpa
Thank you. That message would have come from Windows, not Thunderbird. When copying filters, they must be an exact match to the setup in the receiving profile. This is always a delicate process, usually requiring manual intervention (the filter file is simple text) with Notepad, and even that requires that the user be familiar with different accounts and folder names. I regret you encountered this confusion..
jrdpa, thanks for clarifying.
Have you ever done this successfully before in a previous version, moving (a folder) from local to under Inbox?
Modified by Wayne Mery
Wayne, I don't remember having done this before.
David, I only have one email account setup in Thunderbird. Is Inbox vs Local considered to be different profiles?
One profile.
Each running Thunderbird can only point to one profile - everything that Thunderbird accesses and saves will be in that profile.
> I tried moving the folders back to see if the filters would then work, but it's a mixed bag
I would never expect that to work, but I tested it on mac with a daily build and surprisingly it worked. Maybe just lucky?
> point out the page that says filters are automatically updated so we're on the same page. Did you move these filters under windows file explorer?
jrdpa replied "within Thunderbird".
There is no page that describes this, but it is a fact that filter code should recognize when a target folder of a filter is moved or renamed within Thunderbird.
But I tested moving a folder from local folders and indeed the filter does not update.
I have just documented this in https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=454589
I suspect there are other bug reports about messages not moving or being deleted that are related.
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