[thunderbird 68] is Virtual Identity compatible?

[despecial]

TB 68 is out now and there is a big change for extensions. Since a compatibility checker is missing, I would like to ask if this VI can be used with that version?

[cgraefe]

@alexolog Sorry to cause confusion. No, VI does not work on TB78 not will it work on any later version, to my knowledge. But @absorb-it has integrated (essential) parts of it directly into Thunderbird itself.

[alexolog]

I see. Could you comment on how it works compared to VI?

Further questions to @absorb-it:

From my understanding of 1518025, it only works with given domain names, so if my email provider supports multiple domain will I need to create a catch-all for each?

Also, it says that the list of headers can be customized with the mail.compose.catchAllHeaders preference. How will TB decide which one to use if several of the specified headers are present and conflicting? Is it by order?

The final step to come close to yesterdays extension will be to add some option to store the used email address together with the recipient probably in the addressbook. I will have a look at this later, it's unclear if this can or better will be done by some small extension or if this should be part of the core code as well, we will see.

That would be a very helpful feature! Maybe specifying a custom field in the vCard so it can synchronized via CardDAV?

Thanks again for your work!

[StephenMilner]

Hi. @absorb-it or anyone else who can assist.

Have these changes been taken into 78.3.3 or would I still need to patch Thunderbird to enable this?

If they have been integrated I must be doing something wrong?

[absorb-it]

Hi, sorry all of you, I really missed that discussion...

You are right, TB 78 includes the new implementation which might make the extension not required anymore. So, VI does not work on TB78+, but you can do a lot of things Virtual Identity brought to you natively now.

To get the "Virtual Identity"-feeling you have to activate the "Reply from this identity when delivery headers match:" option in your account settings. Enter your domains there, like "@example.com, @example.de". All mails you receive now which match these domains will be answered with the right email address now (with all other settings like signature etc. of the identity where you activated this feature)

This will not work for composing new emails (even if you already wrote some email to the recipient with some other email address), because there is no chance for TB to know which email address you used last time, except looking into some headers of some received email. This is still annoying, I know.

Speaking of the headers of receiving emails, they are checked via the "mail.compose.catchAllHeaders" preference value. The default setting is pref("mail.compose.catchAllHeaders", "envelope-to, x-original-to, to, cc");

If you reply to a list, they are used in the order mentioned. On a standard non-list reply "to" and "cc" are preferred in front of the list (if this turns out to be causing some issues, some bug should be filed to get this fixed). So for usual replys it's "to, cc, envelope-to, x-original-to, to, cc" (yeah :(

If you have this order of headers, they are all matched against any existing identity and this one is used if it matches. If there are no matches, all identities with CatchAll enabled ("reply ... when ... headers match") are checked again, looping trough all headers-emails of the received email and checking against all catchAll-Domains added to this identity. As below:

  loop trough headers of  mail.compose.catchAllHeaders {
    loop trough all identities with catchAll enabled {
      loop trough fields in catchAll texfield (like for instance *@example.com) {
        if textfield matches email in header:
          if catchAll was with *@, use email found in header (this is virtualIdentity)
          (if catchAll has no *@ use the email of the identity)
        }
      }
    }

Hope this is somehow usable. I'm not really happy that this option is hidden behind some other feature but at least Thunderbird is usable for me (and probably you) again. This implementation is the result of some compromise, but seems to work for me. But I still think it will be really hard to document this feature and name it the right way, but at least it's available.

I will try to be a little bit faster on this channel if you have more questions :) Best regards, Rene

[mcanonic]

Hi, maybe I'm doing something wrong. I've added a *@uniupo.it in the account settings in order to have always my uniupo account to send email to my colleagues, but for it seems not working. I've noticed also a weird behaviour: sometimes with reply button, I get an email compose windows with a sender and "to:" with the same address but the sender is not me. How much I miss VI...

[danfos]

I appreciate the work done to integrate VI functionality into Thunderbird core.

It works for me, also for email accounts with aliases/auto-forwarding.

For aliases/auto-forwarding accounts you can add an additional identity using Manage Identities under Account Settings. Then set the Reply from this identity when delivery headers match for this secondary identity.

As for new mail, as far as I remember, VI did pop up a window to chose the account when the Send button was hit and a rule was matching. Would that still be an option?

Update: Found a good work-around in the Identity Chooser add-on. That forces you, before you create a new email, to select the identity/email where the mail will be sent from. It works also for forwarding email.

[zic-github]

Looks working almost good with TB78 but isn't there a way to sort of auto-register VI when composing emails? Unlike good old VI, TB78 won't save manually edited From address, I guess. We have to go to Accounts setting to manually add a VI in prior to use it. Otherwise that manually edited From address will be lost.

[chconnor]

@zic-github -- you might be interested in these bug reports, especially the first one:

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1679100 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1679103 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1677329 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1677368

I don't get the impression that there is a lot of momentum on these right now, and I join you (and I suspect many others) in hoping that some hero developer is motivated to work a little more on it. It seems like an important final piece of the puzzle to really make this functional.

[mcanonic]

Yes, we hope so!

M

On 6/14/21 11:38 PM, Casey Connor wrote:

@zic-github https://github.com/zic-github -- you might be interested in these bug reports, especially the first one:

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1679100 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1679100 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1679103 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1679103 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1677329 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1677329 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1677368 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1677368

I don't get the impression that there is a lot of momentum on these right now, and I join you (and I suspect many others) in hoping that some hero developer is motivated to work a little more on it. It seems like an important final piece of the puzzle to really make this functional.

— You are receiving this because you commented. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/absorb-it/Virtual-Identity/issues/22#issuecomment-861013276, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ABCKBCSTIHTLGGPEWRAZUYDTSZZEBANCNFSM4ISX2SYQ.

[timkgh]

@absorb-it What is the last known TB version where the old VI addon fully works? I've been on TB 52.9.1 with VI 0.9.36 for a long time but not sure whether there are newer versions where VI still fully works. IIRC there were some versions where it only worked partially.

[jab42]

hi, i have an 60.9.1 (64-Bit) at debian where i can not see any non working parts. jay

Am 16.11.21 um 16:08 schrieb timkgh:

@absorb-it What is the last known TB version where the old VI addon fully works? I've been on TB 52.9.1 with VI 0.9.36 for a long time but not sure whether there are newer versions where VI still fully works. IIRC there were some versions where it only worked partially.

[martin3000]

Is there a thunderbird addon which generates sender addresses with timestamps? So when sending mails, my From: address becomes "name202205071045@domain.com" and for every new mail I send, a new From: address is generated.

[KIMWW]

Thunderbird 102 has been released so if you want to leave a comment at the end of the article it's time now.

[silversword411]

I've been testing 102. It looks like you have to have the identity existing, and it'll do right.

Now need to pre-create all the identities I have (hundreds)...and figure out how to get manually typed ones auto-added as a new identity.

Looks like they're saved in prefs.js...but you're not supposed to edit that (and there's apparently another user.js file, but there's almost no docs about it). And if you create an identity, manually delete it's keys in prefs.js there's still a leftover pointer somewhere in identities. Haven't found that yet.

I wonder if there's a setting/extension that will let manually entered addresses in from dropdown be automatically created as an identity.

[danfos]

Now need to pre-create all the identities I have (hundreds)...

Yes, I am also using a different email address for each shop or party I communicate with and then the numbers go up fast.

Needing to have a separate identity for each is still the major drawback with what is now available for Thunderbird. For now I did create the identity when I needed it but whole concept of using an TB identity for this feel likes overhead.

If I reply to an email addressed to abc@def.gh I simply want (by default) that the from address of that reply is abc@def.gh without adding that as an TB identity.

[dicer]

@silversword411 @danfos Replying to emails works without setting up new identities. Just put *@domain.tld into the following field on your account settings page: When sending "fresh" emails, you do need to manually edit the from address though. The VI addon remembered which recipient which address was for, which was a huge help. Wish that would be added to Thunderbird. Other than that it actually works as expected.

[martin3000]

If I send a new mail, I do "customize from address" by clicking into the "from" field. I change the adress to myname+receivername@tld.com without creating a new identity. Replying then works.

[danfos]

Yes, what @martin3000 write works also good for me but it is a manual extra step that I sometimes forget, so I prefer that have it automatic.

The settings that @dicer indicates are part of the setting for a particular identity but do not solve the problem for a scenario that I and I think @silversword411 are using.

With "Reply from this identity when delivery headers match" you can make that emails received from given domains/addresses and I think also emails address to a certain email address use the give identity.

This is fine but not needed as the identity is already chosen as the email is addressed to the email of the identity and in that case the identity is used for the reply without this special setting.

The problem that you need one identity for each email you are replying, which is fine for numbers up to ~ 10 but not if you use a different email address for almost every shop or party you communicate with.

[martin3000]

I have ONE identity but use many many "from:" email-adresses. You don't need many identities!

[alexolog]

@silversword411 @danfos Replying to emails works without setting up new identities. Just put *@domain.tld into the following field on your account settings page:

Which "delivery headers" are checked to choose the correct identity? VI allowed me to specify the one(s) I wanted to use.

[chconnor]

See this comment above: https://github.com/absorb-it/Virtual-Identity/issues/22#issuecomment-712382568

Recent commenters may also be interested in the bugs listed here: https://github.com/absorb-it/Virtual-Identity/issues/22#issuecomment-861013276

[KIMWW]

See this comment above: #22 (comment)

Recent commenters may also be interested in the bugs listed here: #22 (comment)

The first bug (#1518025) has been fixed.

[silversword411]

Just a note for others, if you're trying to figure out why the wildcard setting above isn't working for you....disable your "Correct identity" and "Identity Chooser" plugins ;)

[danfos]

I have ONE identity but use many many "from:" email-adresses. You don't need many identities!

@martin3000: Any guidance on how to add an email-address without an identity?

Will these email-address without identity also work without filling in something like that Reply from this identity ...?

[chconnor]

The first bug (#1518025) has been fixed.

Thanks -- but 1518025 is not in the list of bugs from the comment I referenced. Or I'm confused about what you meant?

[martin3000]

@martin3000: Any guidance on how to add an email-address without an identity?

I click on "Write", then an empty mail opens. I click on my email address and a list of identities appears. At the bottom, I click "customize address" and then I can change the "from:" address to anything I like.

[alexolog]

Just a note for others, if you're trying to figure out why the wildcard setting above isn't working for you....disable your "Correct identity" and "Identity Chooser" plugins ;)

There is a discussion on the Correct Identity github that led to some changes. Maybe participating in it could lead to further improvements.

[danfos]

There is a discussion on the Correct Identity github that led to some changes. Maybe participating in it could lead to further improvements.

I presume you mean https://github.com/dennisverspuij/tb-correctidentity/issues/21

There you write:

What I meant was that I would like to reply from the same address that the email was originally sent to, even if it ended up being delivered to a different one.

That is exactly what I want but without having an identity for that.

That can be accomplished using "customize address" as @martin3000 pointed out, but would I like to have it automatically, again, without having an identity for that email-address.

[zic-github]

Virtual Identity saves used From address. Now I think we need to manually add that From address in

Account Settings > Manage Identities ... > [Add]

Isn't there any way to automatically saves the from address entered via "Customize From Address...* on reply?

[Globe51]

Is this add-on now totally dead? From reading the comments it looks like new versions of Thunderbird have some, but not all, of the features from VI, but without the an option to autocomplete when creating a new email it means I will still be stuck on Thunderbird 60.9 :(

[chconnor]

AFAIK the idea is to get the remaining functionality into TB, so I don't think this plugin is being developed, no. I haven't seen any movement on the outstanding features that are still missing in TB, so I think we need a hero developer or three to come along and make it happen (our traditional hero developer was Rene / @absorb-it, but I haven't seen a post from them in a while, so I'm not sure if they are still involved in these features.)

To those of us that use these features, it's amazing that it isn't standard in all email programs, but I guess we're the weird ones. :-)

[markfilipak]

I've found a work-around: For each of my favorite recipients, I struggle to craft a 'desired' email message (which I'm usually able to do), then I use those 'desired' email messages as templates for actual messages via "Edit As New Message". That allows me to bypass all the tinkering to get 'identities' right. In fact, I don't have to use 'identities' at all.

The Tbird developers just seem clueless regarding how an email program should work. They've crowbarred what should be simple sender-recipient pairs based on email headers into their rigid 'account' architecture, and then try to use identities to 'overcome' most of the architecture. I won't even mention what a pain it is to try to use one account's SMTP for a differing account.

PS: I'm running Tbird 102.4.2

[absorb-it]

Hi,

Is this add-on now totally dead?

definitely! There will be no such extension again, at least from my side. Still thinking about adding something like an auto-save feature for the senders address to the collected addresses which can be re-used for new emails. But can't say when or if this happens - there needs to be time for this, you can see updates probably in the ticket https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1679100 Problem is, that with the current situation it's really hard to do this as some add-on (will require thunderbird code changes as well), therefore I can only do and maintain this if it will go into the core thunderbird code - and this is obviously also difficult and more complex. But, maybe...

best regards, Rene

[cboling2]

Rene, I just want to say "thanks" for a very useful extension and all the work you've put into making the issues it sought to solve less painful. I'm still running TB 60 on my main PC, for this extension and one other; I have 102 on my laptop, where it's only occasionally used "in the field" for urgent business.

[githubbapoopa]

I second that. TB 60.9.0 (portable) with Virtual Identity 0.10.3 still working perfectly since years and years here. Couple that with spamgourmet and choose a mail provider with an open mail relay and you can also reply with your spamgourmet (or in fact any) email address >Minimal spam in your main account.

You saved me so much trouble and time.

Thanks so much!!!

[sjau]

Unfortunately this does not seem to work anymore. I did set

[x] Reply from this identity when delivery headers match: *@domain.tld

but when I actually reply to an email, it seems to chose the Delivered-To address over the To address header. The delivered-to address header is the actual email box and not the alias being used to differentiate all the services.

[larena1]

Unfortunately this does not seem to work anymore. I did set

[x] Reply from this identity when delivery headers match: *@domain.tld

but when I actually reply to an email, it seems to chose the Delivered-To address over the To address header. The delivered-to address header is the actual email box and not the alias being used to differentiate all the services.

I can confirm that it's not working anymore on the latest update of Thunderbird :/ it used to work for like the past 2 years or so but not anymore...

[sjau]

I can confirm that it's not working anymore on the latest update of Thunderbird :/ it used to work for like the past 2 years or so but not anymore...

The ReplyAsOriginalRecipient AddOn (from TB Addons directly or https://github.com/ThierryBZH/ReplyAsOriginalRecipient ) makes it work again.

[larena1]

Thanks but that addon is from 3 years ago and back then there wasn't even this functionality implemented in Thunderbird?

I'd rather prefer them to fix the regression they introduced recently but somebody would've to file a bug report with them and they would need to look into it...

[sjau]

Thanks but that addon is from 3 years ago and back then there wasn't even this functionality implemented in Thunderbird?

It still works.

I'd rather prefer them to fix the regression they introduced recently but somebody would've to file a bug report with them and they would need to look into it...

Me too, but until it's fixed I find that addon much more convenient than always copy'n'pasting the "from" address myself.

[absorb-it]

Unfortunately this does not seem to work anymore. I did set

[x] Reply from this identity when delivery headers match: *@domain.tld

but when I actually reply to an email, it seems to chose the Delivered-To address over the To address header. The delivered-to address header is the actual email box and not the alias being used to differentiate all the services.

Which version of TB you are using? I'm using TB 115.5.2 and it does seem to work.

Best regards, Rene

[sjau]

115.6.0 (64-bit)

Really loved the original Virtual Identity Addon :)

I create alias for every serivce that I need to supply an email address - mostly in the form of domain.tld_YYYY-MM-DD_UNIXTIMESTAMP@mydomain.tld

[larena1]

115.6.0 (64-bit)

I'm also on that version and can confirm it's not working for me either.

[mcanonic]

Could you guys explain me how I can install this add-on since I've the 115.6.0 (64-bit) version and I would give it a try.

I've downloaded the zip file from github but it did not work: TB complains that the file is corrupted.

[sjau]

ive

Search the TB addons page for ReplyAsOriginalRecipient

[mcanonic]

Thanks sjau. I would just report that by clicking on the name, the link seems broken: https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-US/thunderbird/addon/replyasoriginalrecipientup/?src=search

[sjau]

I used the addon search within Thunderbird and that worked just fine.

[KIMWW]

I'm on v. 115.6.0 an it still works for me.

[larena1]

https://github.com/mozilla/releases-comm-central/commit/aca3f4a814ad805d686034c175395866181e9293

Found the culprit but somebody should file an issue and report this to Mozilla for them to fix it

[alexolog]

I don't understand, what is the issue? mail.compose.catchAllHeaders is user-changeable, is it not?