Copying filters across to different server links the filters

[disgustipated]

When you have a rule in one mail box, and then then copy that rule to another mailbox that rule seems to be linked somehow even though they are different mailboxes. Is this intentional? I thought it was based on the name at first so i renamed it after I copied it and even the rename applied to the rule in the mailbox that i copied it from.

steps to reproduce

1. create rule in one mailbox
2. right click and copy rule
3. switch mailbox to another mailbox from the drop down
4. paste rule
5. edit rule name or rule steps
6. click ok
7. switch back to other mailbox and changes are also applied to that rule

oddly enough when you delete the copied rule it does not delete the rule that is was copied from

[RealRaven2000]

no this is definitely not by design, let me test it. Which version of Thunderbrid does this occur in?

My guess would be that as a workaround you could close the filter list window, are they still linked then?

[disgustipated]

TB version 128.5.0esr (Windows 64-bit)
They do seem to still be linked after copying, going to the other mail box, pasting, and then closing the message filter window.

[RealRaven2000]

ok, so the only possible workaround is restarting Thunderbird. I can confirm I was able to reproduce the problem. As far as I am aware I am "cloning" the filter when copying and do not just copy a reference (pointer) to the same filter, leave it with me please.

[RealRaven2000]

It doesn't just affect search terms but also filter actions (changing the target folder changes it in the copied filter too). Likewise, adding new search terms / actions also add them to the linked filter. So it is not the filter rules that are linked but the filter itself.

[RealRaven2000]

Here is a quick fix version. Apparently the filter was not cloned in this case. Also made it compatible with the current Tb 134 beta.

To do:

• test in Betterbird (to see whether mixed any/all conditions are copied correctly)
• guard against duplicate filter names. the new version Thunderbird doesn't allow this, and it's bad practice.

quickFilters-wx-6.6pre16.zip

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To test this prerelease, please download the zip file above. Then drag the file into Thunderbird Add-ons Manager - without extracting contents, just drag the zip file into Add-ons Manager.

[RealRaven2000]

Fixed in 6.6 published on 07/03/2025

[ssteinerx]

Funny, I'd like to be able to link filters to other accounts so that they do the same thing in all accounts and any changes propagate.
Ideally, there would be an "All Accounts" filter category. I want to use the same filters everywhere and I don't see a way to do that since they're linked to a particular account. This "bug" would, at least, reduce the maintenance of the single filter to be used in multiple accounts.

[RealRaven2000]

Funny, I'd like to be able to link filters to other accounts so that they do the same thing in all accounts and any changes propagate. Ideally, there would be an "All Accounts" filter category. I want to use the same filters everywhere and I don't see a way to do that since they're linked to a particular account. This "bug" would, at least, reduce the maintenance of the single filter to be used in multiple accounts.

Who wouldn't like that? Anyway it's not supported by Thunderbird, but it used to be a feature in Postbox. Only they stopped Add-ons support and I think they probably went out of business or are not selling ./ developing new versions anymore. Do with this info what you will!

[ssteinerx]

But...when you just "copied" the object, they stayed linked. Maybe it should be optional, but I'd love to be able to duplicate filters across mailboxes and have changes reflected everywhere. Was there something fragile about the shared filter object that makes this not work right at some point? You'd think a pointer to an object is a pointer to an object is a pointer to an object...

[RealRaven2000]

Was there something fragile about the shared filter object that makes this not work right at some point? You'd think a pointer to an object is a pointer to an object is a pointer to an object...

there was no such thing. it's not just about sharing a pointer, they would have to seriously redesign a lot of things, plus the filters are stored per account (1 msgfilterRules.dat per mail account) and there is no unique identifier, so it is actually really hard to impossible with the current architecture to link two filters together. You cannot use the name because users can change them.

Then you would also have to manage the "master filter" (wherever the filter is really stored) in case it gets deleted and store to the location where the "links" are - again difficult without building a identification system. it just goes to show that filters aren't currently designed in a very expandable, future proof fashion; they should really start from scratch.

Another interesting fact is that the filter service is not able to remove custom actions, so when we update our actions (such as saving attachments) in FiltaQuilla, the user has to restart Thunderbird. And the search methods cannot be programmed asynchronously (by design) which means that time consuming actions (such as matching text in email body) hold up the whole single JavaScript thread and can bring Thunderbird to a halt on startup. There are a lot of fundamentals that are frankly awkward in this day and age.