Pressing up to edit latest message stopped working

[thany]

Steps to reproduce

1. In a chat view
2. Send a message
3. Press the up-key to edit that message

Outcome

What did you expect?

The most recently sent message goes into edit mode

What happened instead?

Nothing

Operating system

Windows 10 21H2

Application version

Element version: 1.9.5 Olm version: 3.2.3

How did you install the app?

From https://element.io/, and self-updates

Homeserver

matrix.org

Will you send logs?

No

[t3chguy]

Cannot reproduce

Screen.Recording.2021-11-26.at.12.50.52.mov

[dualfade]

This is not working in linux either ( as I just went hunting I found this ).

UP arrow works --
Clicking any of the message popup buttons does not --

Installed --
[0] % yalocs | ag chromium
local/chromium 96.0.4664.45-2

Button press: edit/reply/options/react... Nothing happens.

Thanks.
~!>D

[thany]

It suddenly started working again, but it now manages to jump to edit a message I sent days ago.
Yes, of course, there are newer messages sent after that.

Clicking the edit icon on newer messages works fine.

Honestly, I'm baffled at why it is so difficult to just grab the latest sent message by the current user and throw it in edit mode... How does it decide which message to edit??

[t3chguy]

Related #16402

[thany]

Maybe, #16402 would merely confirm that it's throwing the wrong message into edit mode...

[clusidc]

Got the same problem with the Desktop client. (Element 1.9.7 and OLM 3.2.8)
Arrow key up sometimes does not do anything. Sometimes it opens a random old message for editing. After a fresh restart (close element from the taskbar) it works again.

The issue happens sporadically, although it might have to do something with the first start after windows boot as the issue only arised (as i remember) one time per day.

[thany]

After a fresh restart (close element from the taskbar) it works again.

Not for me. I haven't seen it working, not once, since I first noticed this issue. And I make a lot of typos, and I'm OCD enough to also want to correct them, so I'm already on the cusp of demanding some bloody priority.

The issue happens sporadically, although it might have to do something with the first start after windows boot as the issue only arised (as i remember) one time per day.

I'm happy for you.

But as for the devs: why is it so hard to:

1. Find the most recent post by the current user
2. Throw it in edit mode

Surely, it can't be more complicated than that. I'm very curious what the logic is currently. How does it find a random older message to be the "most recent" and viable for editing?

[thany]

This is still happening on the latest version:

Element version: 1.9.9
Olm version: 3.2.8

Not trying to be impatient. It's just a really obvious bug and this not working properly is quite annoying when it selects the wrong (or no) message again. It's what I'd call "low hanging fruit".

[thany]

Okay, so I though this was fixed, but the issue cropped up again.

I still would very much like to know how this possibly could not work. How hard is it, I mean honestly, to find the most recent message sent by the current user? And then just throw it in edit mode?

I'm not expierenced in native apps, but I do know that this can't possibly be hard in any way, shape, or form. So, something REALLY weird or REALLY benign must be throwing in a wrench.

[robintown]

Hi @thany, the reason this hasn't been fixed yet is that we haven't determined how to reproduce it. It would help if you could share some details:

• The composer is focused when you try pressing up, correct?
• Is it possible that there are >100 events between your latest message and the bottom of the timeline?
• Could you share a screenshot of what the timeline looks like when this occurs?

[clusidc]

Hey, i am not thany, but the problem still persists here, too.

What did i do:

• Shutdown windows PC with element Desktop opened. (not in focus)
• (Receive error Message from Origin (EA game launcher) about some weird access violations on the ram (Problem with Element also happens without Origin opened, though, but i once had a similar Message from Element in the shutdown screen))
• write >100 Messages on Android app
• be frustrated by a weird and never-has-been-noticed 1 Message per second rate, blamed it on wifi but probably was not the reason. (bad Home server config? need to redo it anyways in the near future)
• Start Windows PC. Start Element. Element loads the latest messages and scrolls to the bottom.
• Nothing looks out of the place really.
• close element by x in window and reopen it does not work
• close Element from Task bar (icon in the bottom right)
• start element
• press arrow up (no messages in between)
• arrow up works

I got an error message which might or might not correlate to the problem:
Error opening the database: IndexError(IOError(IOError { path: None, err: Custom { kind: Other, error: "Invalid MAC" } }))

Edit:
My friend now complained he couldnt edit his last message from over 100 messages ago. Element Desktop stayed open the whole time I did my test.

[thany]

@robintown

I don't know how to reproduce it either. But I do know that it's never long before the problem pops up again, after working correctly for a seemingly random amount of time (could be days).

I understand that a reliable reproduction path is important. I'm a developer myself, and intermittent bugs are annoying for a developer to be told to fix. However, if you study the source, surely you are able to come up with a set of exact circumstances that have to be met in order for this feature to work correctly?

I ask for this in bug reports sometimes, simply to trigger someone to start thinking about how their feature actually works. If a straight answer for this isn't coming, in my mind it means it must be either plain vanilla simple, or gas factory level complicated.

Anyway,

The composer is focused when you try pressing up, correct?

Yup.

Is it possible that there are >100 events between your latest message and the bottom of the timeline?

Nope, the bottom of the timeline is my message. That's what I'm trying to edit. There's hardly ever more than a few messages between the bottom of the timeline and my most recent message.

Could you share a screenshot of what the timeline looks like when this occurs?

Not right now as it randomly started working correctly again 🤷🏻‍♂️
But I promise the timeline looks totally normal when this happens, and either:

• Nothing gets thrown into edit mode in case this feature doesn't work at all, or
• A much earlier message is thrown into edit mode, and the timeline scrolls up to there to get that message in the viewport

[t3chguy]

@thany I may have accidentally found the cause for it, being a stale editState being left around for a variety of means.

Presuming fixed by matrix-org/matrix-react-sdk#8184

Once you're on a version with that fix and if you see it again, please shout.

[thany]

@t3chguy The problem is back. Can you reopen, or should I create a new one?

[robintown]

@thany Please create a new ticket for that