Initial configuration deletes existing .evolution directory

[Martin Konôpka]

I have my home directory on an NFS server and I access my data using automount and LDAP. Previously I have been using openSUSE 11.0 on my workstation. Now I switched to a new workstation with installed ubuntu (Jaunty, 64-bit version). I logged in into my account (via LDAP). Everything looked OK, I could access all my data on the NFS server.

I started the Evolution email client as I previously used to on my openSUSE installation. The ubuntu Evolution did not notify me that there was the existing .evolution directory with the complete correct configuration, email folders etc. The ubuntu Evolution started the initial configuration procedure IGNORING THE EXISTING CONFIGURATION. It DELETED ALL MY EXISTING CONFIGURATION WITH MY EMAILS ETC.

Fortunately I have had a fresh backup of this directory somewhere. Otherwise I would loose my emails.

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

Thank you for your bug report. The issue is an upstream one and it would be nice if somebody having it could send the bug the to the people writting the software (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/Upstream/GNOME)

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

the cache are not deleted even if evolution don't list the accounts, the account configuration is in gconf do you still use the same gconf configuration?

[Martin Konôpka (martin.konopka)]

Much thanks for your prompt response to my bug report. As you suggested
in your previous email I will likely try to send a message "upstream" to
people writing the software.

Sorry that at the moment I perhaps can not provide you with an accurate
answer. I at least specify what I know (related to gconf).

My previous workstation was running openSUSE 11.1 as I have written in
my bug report. I was using KDE 3.5. I knew for a long time that it was a
big problem to share a common NFS home directory if you access it from
several different linux/UNIX workstations (even not at the same time).
Even more it causes problems if you have a KDE on workstation A and
GNOME on workstation B and if the two (or more) workstations use
different linux distributions issued at different years.

Anticipating such difficulties I decided to do the following thing
BEFORE switching from my older openSUSE 11.0 KDE 3.5 workstation to my
new ubuntu 9.04 GNOME workstation: I deleted (OK; I moved to some backup
folder) all my configuration directories and files
like .kde, .gconf, .gconfd, .dmrc and many others (see the list of them
at the end of this email). I have done this because I thought that these
files might be incompatible with my new ubuntu. (I had no idea that
these files might affect Evolution in any manner.) I was in a hope that
my first ubuntu session will create new configuration files and
directories instead the deleted ones as soon as it finds that there are
some missing ones. Yes, it did. But the problem arose when I first
started the Evolution mail client on my new ubuntu Jaunty workstation.
The ubuntu Evolution simply ignored the existing .evolution folder. I
stress that the folder was surely there ( /home/konopka/.evolution ) and
full of emails and all stuff left there by my openSUSE Evolution
sessions.

I must say that I am much (in a negative sense) surprised if some
Evolution cache files were stored outside the .evolution folder. I think
that ALL FILES DIRECTLY RELATED TO Evolution SHOULD BE STORED WITHIN
THE .evolution FOLDER and not in some gconf or so. As I just have
written above I had deleted all folders like .gconf and .gconfd before
starting my first ubuntu session. (I had expected that .gconf
and .gconfd created by openSUSE might not be compatible with ubuntu. For
that reason I deleted them before. And I did not have any idea that they
could affect Evolution in any significant way.)

As I have also written above I now write down the list of all config
files and folders which I had deleted from my /home/konopka (i.e. my
$HOME) directory before starting my first graphical ubuntu session.
These are (see also .gconf on the 18th line)

.config dsmerror.log
.gconfd
.gpilotd.pid
.gtk_qt_engine_rc
.ICEauthority
.kde4
.qt
.wapi
.fontconfig
.gnome2
.gstreamer-0.10
.gtkrc
.icons
.recently-used
.xauth
.cache
.dmrc
.gconf
.gpilotd
.gtk-bookmarks
.gtkrc-1.2-gnome2
.kde
.pulse
.recently-used.xbel
.Xauthority

If you or anybody ask me I will try to reproduce the bug any times. (To
achieve this I would move my current ubuntu-created .evolution fol...

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

The gconf configuration is compatible between versions and distribution, evolution only stocks its configuration there including the description of accounts, note that you also has a menu entry to export and import the configuration that you could use if you don't want to copy .gconf back to your new installation

[Martin Konôpka (martin.konopka)]

Now I have filed the bug upstream and made also a corresponding link in
launchpad.

On Fri, 2009-07-10 at 08:51 +0000, Sebastien Bacher wrote:
> The gconf configuration is compatible between versions and distribution,
> evolution only stocks its configuration there including the description
> of accounts, note that you also has a menu entry to export and import
> the configuration that you could use if you don't want to copy .gconf
> back to your new installation
>

[Martin Mai (mrkanister-deactivatedaccount-deactivatedaccount)]

Thanks for sending this upstream. Marking as "triaged".

[Jörg Frings-Fürst (jff-de)]

bug from 2009. Version not more supported.
change status to invalid.