[sylpheed:33706] More robust and intuitive support for IMAP messages with the \Deleted flag

Michael A. Puls II shadow2531 at gmail.com
Thu Feb 25 23:37:07 JST 2010


Sylpheed 3.0.0 - WinXP - IMAP

Here's what I want to do.

1. Set the delete action to move to my IMAP trash mailbox.

2. Have an option to *just* add the \Deleted flag to a message.

3. Have an option to remove the \Deleted flag from a message.

4. Have an option to add the \Deleted flag to a message and UID expunge it  
in one action.

5. When moving a message, copy the message to the target mailbox, add the  
\Deleted flag to the orginal and UID expunge the original.

6. Hide messages with the \Deleted flag from all message lists and have a  
special Trash view/filter for messages with the \Deleted flag. This view  
would have an 'empty' function, which would expunge all \Deleted messages.  
And, if you delete an individual message in the \Deleted view, it'd UID  
expunge that message.

Opera's built-in mail client can do all of the above except #1.

Now, for Sylpheed:

It can do #2 if you uncheck 'Configuration -> Common Preferences ->  
Details -> Interface -> "Execute immediately when moving or deleting  
messages"'. However, it can't do #2 and #5 at the same time because moving  
and deleting are combined into one setting.

It can do #3 via Mark -> Unmark. However, it's not very intuitive being  
labeled just "Unmark". And, since Mark doesn't add the \Deleted flag to a  
message, it's even more confusing.

It can do #1. But, if you do #1, then you can't do #2 since the delete  
action has to be one or the other obviously. There's no separate "+/-  
\Deleted flag" function that the user can invoke.

There doesn't seem to be a way for the user to do #4.

There doesn't seem to be a way to do #6 either. And, since to remove the  
\Deleted flag from a message you have to choose mark -> unmark, that  
implies that a message with the \Deleted flagged should be considered  
marked. Yet, when switching to the "marked" view in the view drop-down, no  
\Deleted messages are shown. There also doesn't seem to be a way to create  
a filter rule like "If message has flag \Deleted".

Also, 'Tools -> "Execute marked process"' looks like it expunges messages  
that have the \Deleted flag on them. If so, it should just say that.  
"Execute marked process" sounds very cryptic. If "Execute marked process"  
does an abundant of things, perhaps, the expunging part of it should be  
separated into an explicit command named "Expunge".

So, I'd like to see the \Deleted flag, and messages that have it, be  
first-class citizens in Sylpheed. All the functionality appears to be  
there in the backend. It's mostly UI issues.

-- 
Michael


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