"Run Filters on Folder" does not work automatically in Thunderbird
 

Slackware 10.2
Thunderbird version 1.0.7 (20050923)
Custom 2.6.13.4 kernel

This computer is a new build. On my workstation (back in China) I setup filters
in Thunderbird to move email messages to folders based upon the sender.
This isn't working automatically in this Thunderbird install that came with Slack.

This is what I've done to filter the messages:
Select an email, right-click on the address in the "From:" line in the header,
choose "Create filter from message..."
In the Filter Rules dialog box:
Filter name: <address_of_email>
For incoming messages that: Match any of the following
Sender is <address_of_email>
Perform these actions:
Move to folder: <Name> on Local Folders
OK

If I receive another message from that address, it will not filter into the
folder. If I use the Thunderbird menu and select:
Tools >
Run Filters on Folder
then it will filter any messages still left in my Inbox to the desired folder.
But when subsequent messages arrive, they stay in the Inbox rather than
getting filtered to the proper folder for that sender.

I know this has worked properly in the past, as it is a feature I always use.

Hello Chinaman,

I've not really got a helpful reply, but I have the same trouble as you and always have had regardless of using Slackware, SuSE, Windows XP and OS X. I use Thunderbird 1.07 (GB) on all those platforms/distros.

From the small amount of research I did on the web when this bothered more than it does now, I seem to remember that the stucture of your mail folders may affect the running of the filters.

As I transferred my mail structure from Eudora (fine on Macs and Windoze but no use on Linux) I have a number of folders, referenced by four mail accounts under the all encompassing "Local Folders." I have applied all of my filters to the local folder and not to the individual accounts, and so the automatic filtering does not work. There are also "issues" when you try to copy the filters between accounts.

This might give you something to go on....

Kind regards,

dkpw

Thunderbird mail filters will not run automatically when your pop account is polled, when that rule has been created for the "Local Folders".

It should start working if you copy the message rule file that contains your rule(s) to the directory for your pop account:

but check forst that you do not accidentally overwrite an existing rule set that way. If there is already a file there with existing rules, open ./ Local\ Folders/msgFilterRules.dat in an editor like vi or nano and copy the relevant rule-lines over to ./YOUR_POP_DIRECTORY/msgFilterRules.dat .
The xxxxxxxx is a string of random characters, different for you and me.

Read http://kb.mozillazine.org/Filters_%28Thunderbird%29

Eric

Eric pointed me in the right direction. Thanks mate!

To make the Message Filters work automatically...

What I did was create them in Thunderbird by right-clicking on the
"From: <address>" line of an email, then choosing "Create Filter from
Message..." but they weren't saved until I selected
Tools > Message Filters > Filter Log > Enable the Filter Log

After creating them, I copied as outlined in the above post:
One person tested it this afternoon, but there should
be more replies to verify in the morning.

Yes!

Thank you Alien Bob, very nice research there. Now I just have to copy the filter dat file to four computers and I'll be synced and filtered to perfection.

Kind regards,

dkpw

Just a quick follow up.

Thunderbird 1.5 automatically applies all filters to all folders, out of the box.

Nice one Mozilla!

dkpw

Are you sure? I'm running 1.5.0.7 (for, er, Windows) ... and am seeing the same behavior wrt Local Folders filters not running.

Well, it should. If that's not the case, it's very likely that your TB-profile is damaged. Just create an new one and copy the most important files and folders from the old into the new profile (abook.mab = adressbook, Mail = your e-mails, for example). It's recommended that after an upgrade (like from TB 1.0.7 to TB 1.5, not the securitypatches like from 1.0.6 to 1.0.7) you create a new profile, it usually prevents you for minor (or sometimes larger) problems.

Same goes for Firefox, after upgrades to a new version (FF 2.0 is almost ready!), it's better to start with a new, clean profile. ;)

Restoring (partial) back-ups to a new profile, make sure that you leave themes and extensions out! Very often, profile-problems are due to extensions/themes.

thanks!
 

I've reloaded a new profile, seems to be working better now.