Filter not deleting automatically when getting new mail

User Help for Mozilla Thunderbird
Post Reply
robbyx
Posts: 979
Joined: September 1st, 2003, 10:08 am

Filter not deleting automatically when getting new mail

Post by robbyx »

The filter is set up to:

apply when getting new mail/ manually run/ archiving

Matching all of:
Tags is delete

Perform:

Mark as read
Delete Message

The problem:
The filter does not delete messages when getting new mail. (It does delete if I run it manually.)

I would like it to work automatically. What should I do?
Robin
User avatar
DanRaisch
Moderator
Posts: 127166
Joined: September 23rd, 2004, 8:57 pm
Location: Somewhere on the right coast

Re: Filter not deleting automatically when getting new mail

Post by DanRaisch »

Where is that tag coming from? Do you have another filter that adds the tag before the filter for deletion?
robbyx
Posts: 979
Joined: September 1st, 2003, 10:08 am

Re: Filter not deleting automatically when getting new mail

Post by robbyx »

I add the tag manualy as I go through the inbox.
Robin
User avatar
DanRaisch
Moderator
Posts: 127166
Joined: September 23rd, 2004, 8:57 pm
Location: Somewhere on the right coast

Re: Filter not deleting automatically when getting new mail

Post by DanRaisch »

The filter does not delete messages when getting new mail.
That would be because filters run automatically only on messages newly received to the inbox. The messages you have manually tagged are, obviously, not newly arrived messages.
robbyx
Posts: 979
Joined: September 1st, 2003, 10:08 am

Re: Filter not deleting automatically when getting new mail

Post by robbyx »

In the filter setup there is the choice to run the filter when new mail is received. This means that the filter should run on all messages matching the criteria, but it will only run when new mail is received. There are many sites that suggest applying a filter to move tagged emails after they have been received. For some reason my emails are not being moved. With respect I doubt if the reason is that the tagged mails were received on a prior date, but I do not know why the filter is not working correctly. What else can i do?
Robin
User avatar
DanRaisch
Moderator
Posts: 127166
Joined: September 23rd, 2004, 8:57 pm
Location: Somewhere on the right coast

Re: Filter not deleting automatically when getting new mail

Post by DanRaisch »

With respect I doubt if the reason is that the tagged mails were received on a prior date,
You are certainly welcome to doubt it but that is the way that Thunderbird's filters work. Unless the messages are new to the inbox, filters will not run automatically against them but most be manually triggered.
mgagnonlv
Posts: 848
Joined: February 12th, 2005, 8:33 pm

Re: Filter not deleting automatically when getting new mail

Post by mgagnonlv »

But why do you want to tag messages then hope for a filter rule to delete them? Why not delete them directly? If you select a message and press on the “Delete” key of your keyboard, the message will be sent to the Deleted messages mailbox.
Michel Gagnon
Montréal (Québec, Canada)
robbyx
Posts: 979
Joined: September 1st, 2003, 10:08 am

Re: Filter not deleting automatically when getting new mail

Post by robbyx »

I was following advice about how to set up GTD within TB. There are other filters running within that scheme. I chose to ask about delete. The author said he found it easier to allocate tags than to make individual allocations including delete.
Robin
robbyx
Posts: 979
Joined: September 1st, 2003, 10:08 am

Re: Filter not deleting automatically when getting new mail

Post by robbyx »

DanRaisch wrote:
With respect I doubt if the reason is that the tagged mails were received on a prior date,
You are certainly welcome to doubt it but that is the way that Thunderbird's filters work. Unless the messages are new to the inbox, filters will not run automatically against them but most be manually triggered.
Obviously your reply is more correct than my contention, and I appreciate your explaining why. Thank you.
Robin
Post Reply