Evolution is the default for opening .eml files but it fails to do so

[Dave Morley]

Binary package hint: evolution

If I copy a mock email with email headers etc to a file and call it emailout.eml and right click on it then Evolution is selected to open it.

However if you select this then Evolution refuses to open it.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 10.10
Package: evolution 2.30.3-1ubuntu7.1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.35-23.37-generic 2.6.35.7
Uname: Linux 2.6.35-23-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia
Architecture: amd64
Date: Wed Nov 10 13:45:55 2010
ExecutablePath: /usr/bin/evolution
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 10.04.1 LTS "Lucid Lynx" - Release amd64 (20100816.1)
ProcEnviron:
 SHELL=/bin/bash
 PATH=(custom, user)
 LANG=en_GB.utf8
SourcePackage: evolution

[Dave Morley (davmor2)]

Just to confirm that Thunderbird opens it as a saved message correctly it's only evolution not.

[bbordwell (benbordwell)]

Thank you for helping to make Ubuntu better. Could you please upload an example file that will reproduce this issue? Thank you.

[Mihai Capotă (mihaic)]

GNOME bug 634523 has been marked as a duplicate of GNOME bug 596839.

[Arno Teigseth (arnotixe)]

This annoys me a lot too. Along with .MSG (some proprietary format) not being opened so easily. But that's another story.

Interestingly, if I take a mail and save it as mbox, some things can be noted:

The first line must be:
--------------------------------
From <email address hidden>
bla
bla
blah, and further down this line MUST appear:
From: <email address hidden>
bla
bla
Subject: something
bla
bla
--------------------------------

NOTE, the first line MUST be "From " /without/ a colon, and later on the "From: " /with/ a colon MUST appear for evolution to be able to import the message.

I say "import" because it's the closest I get. The message isn't just *displayed*, as in thunderbird. It's IMPORTED into evolution.

Can't say if that's good or bad. Breaks what I expected. On the other hand, it's probably the best way to store mails. But my company drag and drop mails back and forth from disk to Outlook, so I'd like to make the same possible in Evolution. Not in the mood for discussing if it's good or bad - they just want it, and it's working out great for them.

But either evolution is bad on /requiring/ these lines in the .eml, or the spec is bad. Anyway I think Evolution should be hacked to deal with [slightly] malformed .eml

[Arno Teigseth (arnotixe)]

Added test case: Minimum required for a successful import are two lines:
From <address> as FIRST LINE
From: <address> as not first line
<then the email>

[Arno Teigseth (arnotixe)]

To "fix" the attachment #4 so that evolution Can open it ( http://derp.co.uk/7d2f7.info ),
1) copy the From: line
2) paste it in before line 1
3) remove the colon
4) save, and import

[Arno Teigseth (arnotixe)]

An ugly workaround that will search take the first From: line inside the .eml, write it to the top of the .eml and remove the colon, and then start evolution on it.

To use it, save this script to your computer and associate .eml files with it.

Evolution should be fixed, so this is NOT a fix, but a cheap workaround.

[Jörg Frings-Fürst (jff-de)]

Bug from 2010. Version not longer supportet.
Change status to Invalid (see gnome-bugs)