Unable to delete messages from IMAP-server
Christian Eriksson
I'm unable to delete messages/email via the IMAP-server at
imap.algonet.se in Mozilla 1.2.1 Mail. I experienced the same thing with
Mozilla 1.0. Anyone else with the same problem?
Regards Christian Eriksson
Mozilla 1.2.1
Red Hat Linux 7.1/Intel x86
Christian Eriksson
My post was not only about Mozilla mail problems via the IMAP-server at
imap.algonet.se. It was about Mozilla mail IMAP delete mail problems
with any IMAP-server. Does someone have the same difficulties with
deleting mail messages through the IMAP protocol?
Nicolas Pioch
> My post was not only about Mozilla mail problems via the IMAP-server at
> imap.algonet.se. It was about Mozilla mail IMAP delete mail problems
> with any IMAP-server. Does someone have the same difficulties with
> deleting mail messages through the IMAP protocol?
You need to specify what you're trying to do with "IMAP delete".
In the IMAP protocol, deletion can be performed at least 3 different ways:
- flagging the message with the "Deleted" flag
(message is still there, and disk space will only be recovered when
issuing the IMAP EXPUNGE command on the folder, typically executed on
the client side by using a feature such as "Compact This Folder")
- moving the message into another folder, called "Trash" for instance
- physically deleting the message right away
in the Mail & Account settings, IMAP account, Server settings, I'd check
which policy you have selected and whether the INBOX is EXPUNGE'd on
exit or not.
-- N.
Christian Eriksson
Yes, I have given some thought about the settings in Mozilla Mail "Mail
& News Account Settings". In the section Server Settings -> Server
Settings I have the action "Remove it immediately" choosen for what to
do when "When I delete a message: ". That to me should correspond to the
IMAP protocol deletion method "physically deleting the message right
away" that you describe. Surprisingly that is not what's happening when
I delete a message (using the delete key on my keyboard). The message
temporarily dissapears from the folder but if I then looks in to another
folder and then goes back again to the original folder the message
appears again.
To me the "Remove it immediately" action seems to have no effect on it's
own (at least not whith "my" IMAP server). Maybe it has to be combined
with checking "Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit" or/and with checking
"Empty Trash on Exit".
Maybe the Mozilla team has documented somewhere which alternate settings
corresponds to three IMAP delete methods your describing.
I'm going to try some combinations of the settings to se if I can really
delete a message. I will get back here and tell my results.
Regards Christian Eriksson.
Christian Eriksson
I have tried the following (Mozilla 1.2.1/Red Hat Linux 7.1/Intel x86):
Mozilla Mail -> "Mail & News Account Settings" -> Server Settings ->
Server Settings:
1.
When I delete a message: Remove it immediately
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: checked
Empty Trash on Exit: unchecked
Result: Message not deleted.
2.
When I delete a message: Remove it immediately
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: unchecked
Empty Trash on Exit: checked
Result: Message not deleted.
3.
When I delete a message: Remove it immediately
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: checked
Empty Trash on Exit: checked
Result: Message not deleted.
4.
When I delete a message: Mark it as deleted
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: checked
Empty Trash on Exit: unchecked
Result: Message not deleted.
5.
When I delete a message: Mark it as deleted
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: unchecked
Empty Trash on Exit: checked
Result: Message not deleted.
6.
When I delete a message: Mark it as deleted
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: checked
Empty Trash on Exit: checked
Result: Message not deleted.
7.
When I delete a message: Move it to the trash folder
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: checked
Empty Trash on Exit: unchecked
Result: Message not deleted.
8.
When I delete a message: Move it to the trash folder
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: unchecked
Empty Trash on Exit: checked
Result: Message not deleted.
9.
When I delete a message: Move it to the trash folder
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: checked
Empty Trash on Exit: checked
Result: Message not deleted.
As none of these 9 possible combinations resulted in the removing of the
message from the INBOX when deleting it (I used the closing of the mail
program as the implementation of "Exit"), some other action is obviously
required. Here I'm going to try the "Compact Folders" and the "Empty
Trash" actions from the File menu in Mozilla Mail. Here we go:
A.
When I delete a message: Remove it immediately
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: checked
Empty Trash on Exit: unchecked
Action: File Menu -> Compact Folders
Result: Message not deleted.
B.
When I delete a message: Remove it immediately
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: unchecked
Empty Trash on Exit: checked
Action: File Menu -> Compact Folders
Result: Message not deleted.
C.
When I delete a message: Remove it immediately
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: checked
Empty Trash on Exit: checked
Action: File Menu -> Compact Folders
Result: Message not deleted.
D.
When I delete a message: Mark it as deleted
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: checked
Empty Trash on Exit: unchecked
Action: File Menu -> Compact Folders
Result: Message not deleted.
E.
When I delete a message: Mark it as deleted
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: unchecked
Empty Trash on Exit: checked
Action: File Menu -> Compact Folders
Result: Message not deleted.
F.
When I delete a message: Mark it as deleted
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: unchecked
Empty Trash on Exit: unchecked
Action: File Menu -> Compact Folders
Result: Message not deleted.
G.
When I delete a message: Move it to the trash folder
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: checked
Empty Trash on Exit: unchecked
Action: File Menu -> Compact Folders
Result: Message not deleted.
H.
When I delete a message: Move it to the trash folder
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: unchecked
Empty Trash on Exit: checked
Action: File Menu -> Compact Folders
Result: Message not deleted.
I.
When I delete a message: Move it to the trash folder
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: checked
Empty Trash on Exit: checked
Action: File Menu -> Compact Folders
Result: Message not deleted.
To my surprise none of these alternatives worked either.
The last I'm going to try is the "Empty Trash" action from the Mozilla
Mail File Menu
a.
When I delete a message: Remove it immediately
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: checked
Empty Trash on Exit: unchecked
Action: File Menu -> Empty Trash
Result: Message not deleted.
b.
When I delete a message: Remove it immediately
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: unchecked
Empty Trash on Exit: checked
Action: File Menu -> Empty Trash
Result: Message not deleted.
c.
When I delete a message: Remove it immediately
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: checked
Empty Trash on Exit: checked
Action: File Menu -> Empty Trash
Result: Message not deleted.
d.
When I delete a message: Mark it as deleted
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: checked
Empty Trash on Exit: unchecked
Action: File Menu -> Empty Trash
Result: Message not deleted.
e.
When I delete a message: Mark it as deleted
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: unchecked
Empty Trash on Exit: checked
Action: File Menu -> Empty Trash
Result: Message not deleted.
f.
When I delete a message: Mark it as deleted
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: checked
Empty Trash on Exit: checked
Action: File Menu -> Empty Trash
Result: Message not deleted.
g.
When I delete a message: Move it to the trash folder
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: checked
Empty Trash on Exit: unchecked
Action: File Menu -> Empty Trash
Result: Message not deleted.
h. (This seems promising. The logic tells me this should work.)
When I delete a message: Move it to the trash folder
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: unchecked
Empty Trash on Exit: checked
Action: File Menu -> Empty Trash
Result: Message not deleted. (Despite the promising logic it didn't work.)
g.
When I delete a message: Move it to the trash folder
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: checked
Empty Trash on Exit: checked
Action: File Menu -> Empty Trash
Result: Message not deleted.
None of the alternatives worked. It seems impossible to remove any
message from the server. Just to be complete I'm going to run through
the 9 alternatives combining the actions "Compact Folders" and "Empty
Trash".
Aa.
When I delete a message: Remove it immediately
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: checked
Empty Trash on Exit: unchecked
Action: File Menu -> Compact Folders
Action: File Menu -> Empty Trash
Result: Message not deleted.
Bb.
When I delete a message: Remove it immediately
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: unchecked
Empty Trash on Exit: checked
Action: File Menu -> Compact Folders
Action: File Menu -> Empty Trash
Result: Message not deleted.
Cc.
When I delete a message: Remove it immediately
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: checked
Empty Trash on Exit: checked
Action: File Menu -> Compact Folders
Action: File Menu -> Empty Trash
Result: Message not deleted.
Dd.
When I delete a message: Mark it as deleted
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: checked
Empty Trash on Exit: unchecked
Action: File Menu -> Compact Folders
Action: File Menu -> Empty Trash
Result: Message not deleted.
Ee.
When I delete a message: Mark it as deleted
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: unchecked
Empty Trash on Exit: checked
Action: File Menu -> Compact Folders
Action: File Menu -> Empty Trash
Result: Message not deleted.
Ff.
When I delete a message: Mark it as deleted
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: checked
Empty Trash on Exit: checked
Action: File Menu -> Compact Folders
Action: File Menu -> Empty Trash
Result: Message not deleted.
Gg.
When I delete a message: Move it to the trash folder
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: checked
Empty Trash on Exit: unchecked
Action: File Menu -> Compact Folders
Action: File Menu -> Empty Trash
Result: Message not deleted.
Hh.
When I delete a message: Move it to the trash folder
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: unchecked
Empty Trash on Exit: checked
Action: File Menu -> Compact Folders
Action: File Menu -> Empty Trash
Result: Message not deleted.
Ii.
When I delete a message: Move it to the trash folder
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: checked
Empty Trash on Exit: checked
Action: File Menu -> Compact Folders
Action: File Menu -> Empty Trash
Result: Message not deleted.
OK, none of these 36 alternatives worked (none of the alternatives
removed the mail message). I realise now that my testing isn't complete.
I haven't tested for:
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: unchecked
Empty Trash on Exit: unchecked
in any of the test cases. I also haven't tested for the actions
Action: File Menu -> Empty Trash
Action: File Menu -> Compact Folders
in that order.
If anyone could confirm that they are able to remove mail messages with
any of the settings tested (1-9, A-I, a-i, Aa-Ii) or with any of the
settings not tested I would most appreciate it.
Nicolas Pioch
>> (message is still there, and disk space will only be recovered when
>> issuing the IMAP EXPUNGE command on the folder, typically executed on
>> the client side by using a feature such as "Compact This Folder")
The above is the default settings and it works fine with any IMAP server
I've used ever, including the UW IMAP server reference implementation.
Hitting the DELETE key will make the message disappear from the Mozilla
UI, however it's just tagged as "Deleted", and it is still stored on the
server.
If you switch folders and come back, you will see that "deleted" message
again, displayed, but with a red cross revealing the DELETED tag.
If you Compact the folder, it will be EXPUNGED and the messages bearing
the "Delete" flag will be physically deleted.
The above is the most efficient method as the IMAP server is only doing
disk-intensive operations once, when the folder is EXPUNGED, not every
single time the client clicks on "DELETE" on each of the 120 messages he
has received since last time.
Christian Eriksson
Hi!
Could you tell me what your settings are in Mozilla Mail -> Mail & News
Account Settings -> <your account> -> Server Settings -> Server Settings
and what actions you are taking to remove mail messages by filling in
the table below in a reply:
When I delete a message: [ Move it to the trash folder | Mark it as
deleted | Remove it immediately ]
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: [ checked | unchecked ]
Empty Trash on Exit: [ checked | unchecked ]
Action: Delete message [ using delete key | using right click -> "Delete
Message" ]
Action: File Menu -> Compact Folders [ carried out | not carried out ]
Action: File Menu -> Empty Trash [ carried out | not carried out ]
Action: closing Mozilla Mail [ carried out | not carried out ]
Regards Christian Eriksson.
James Duberg
Did you ever figure this out?
You don't have some other process or client accessing the IMAP folders
at the same time do you? I have run into similar problems deleting
messages when I inadvertently left another mail client open that was
accessing the same folders.
Harald
of settings in Mozilla works. The problem appears with Mozilla
following Netscape 6 and Netscape 7. Interesting enough I have two
mail accounts in Netscape, both IMAP. With the one account there is no
problem whatsoever with the other there is the described problem. The
account with the problem is a Telenordia account (close to the Algonet
account this post started to be about).
Due to the different behaviour on two different IMAP servers I am
convinced that the problem is not primarily a Netscape problem but a
server problem (maybe even a combined problem).
This e-mail is not very constructive in the sense that I have only
speculations but no solutions. But I suggest the search should go
towards where the IMAP protocol is not strictly followed by either the
server or the client and not towards which settings in Netscape are
approriate.
By the way I am convinced to have only one client running towards the
IMAP server, but I am not so convinced that the IMAP server is aware
of that, i.e. it might be that the server thinks enougher connection
is open.
Looking forward to your comments
Cheers
Harald
James Duberg <dub...@cts.com> wrote in message news:<_3WU9.32516$hE3.2...@news1.west.cox.net>...
Christian Eriksson
Now I can delete mail messages! I haven't changed the client software
since my latest post, it's still Mozilla 1.2.1 on Red Hat Linux 7.1,
but this week I found that the mail deletion worked via
imap.algonet.se. Harald, has your problem with the Telenordia account
also stopped now? Maybe they've done something on the server side
because I now have the Trash folder in my list of folders. Is it the
presence of the Trash folder that's caused the mail deletion to
function properly?
My settings in Mozilla Mail are:
When I delete a message: Move it to the Trash folder
Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit: checked
Empty Trash on Exit: checked
Regards Christian Eriksson
PS. I've found that there's a bug filing about this problem at
http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=36314 DS.
har...@s3.kth.se (Harald) wrote in message news:<a9942a2f.03011...@posting.google.com>...
Harald
no the problem is still not solved for me. But you had a good point
asking for the Trash. I don't have Trash in my folder list, and there
is none to subscribe to. However, if I try to make a new folder called
Trash I get the message, that such a folder already exists. So
something is strange there.
Did the Trash just appear for you?
Cheers
Harald
c-e...@algonet.se (Christian Eriksson) wrote in message news:<d0d6f67c.03021...@posting.google.com>...
Christian Eriksson
Yes, the Trash folder just suddenly appeared, by magic!!! I've mailed
postm...@algonet.se about it but haven't received an answer yet.
I'll get back here if I get one!
Regards Christian Eriksson
har...@s3.kth.se (Harald) wrote in message news:<a9942a2f.03021...@posting.google.com>...