[Tickets #11983] Re: limit synced mailboxes by user preferences

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Ticket URL: http://bugs.horde.org/ticket/11983
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  Ticket             | 11983
  Updated By         | Michael Rubinsky <mrubinsk at horde.org>
  Summary            | limit synced mailboxes by user preferences
  Queue              | Synchronization
  Version            | Git master
  Type               | Enhancement
  State              | Feedback
  Priority           | 1. Low
  Milestone          |
  Patch              | 1
  Owners             |
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Michael Rubinsky <mrubinsk at horde.org> (2013-01-20 21:33) wrote:

>> Note that sending the folder via FOLDERSYNC does not necessarily mean
>> it pushes that folder, just that it is available on the device for
>> viewing. On most of the clients I test, the email is lazy loaded into
>> folders other than the INBOX - it only polls the server when you view
>> the folder. Some devices will THEN push to that folder for some time
>> after it is loaded. Other clients have settings that allow you to
>> pick and choose the folders you want pushed vs just available.
>
> It's my observation too that only messages in the INBOX are actually  
> pushed to the remote device. But with about 1083 folders (number  
> increasing), already processing the list of available folders causes  
> a significant slow-down on my remote...
>
>>> On the other hand, my remote device won't let me access
>>> folders not under my INBOX at all, and I definitely don't need all
>>> the sub-folders as available through the web interface.
>>
>> Curious as to what client this is. I've never seen a client limit
>> folders to those only under INBOX.
>
> It's the default client on WebOS 2.x (HP Pre3).
>
>>> As I have been unsuccessful to create a second IMAP user with access
>>> to the same INBOX, but only few of the folders below, I have created
>>> a patch to ActiveSync that allows a user to (currently) select
>>> - only to sync folders below and including the INBOX
>>> - limit the nesting level of the folders synced
>>
>> This of course will only work for IMAP servers that are
>> structured/configured in this way. My server does not place folders
>> under INBOX at all. I have a few hundred mailboxes (of course not all
>> subscribed) and most are at the same level as the INBOX.
>
> Yes, I had anticipated that situation - being able to select which  
> folders to sync, similar to selecting which calendars and address  
> books to sync, would cover that.

That would introduce a whole other level of messiness since folders  
are more dynamic than address books/calendars. Not that it couldn't be  
done. The reason we do this for calendars/address books is because EAS  
only supports a single one of each of those. The pref allows the user  
to decide which sources to combine into the single data source that is  
sent to the client. We don't have to worry about  
subscriptions/namespaces etc... with those sources.

If we do this, I think I'd do it as a INBOX and Special Folders only  
or all subscribed folders.

> That's when I thought that a client-side subscription model,  
> implemented on the ActiveSync part (rather than the final mobile  
> client) ought to help... and the long time it seems to take to  
> process the results of a folder sync, I decided to code a filter  
> option for that call. But of course, there may be (and your reply  
> says there *are*) side effects I couldn't foresee.

I'd need more testing to see exactly how this would affect search and such.

> Do you see a different, better place to implement such a filter? I'd  
> be willing to give this another try.

You can't use the prefs object inside the library code. This would  
have to be implemented inside Horde_Core_ActiveSync_Driver:: probably  
in _getMailFolders() or it's own filtering method.

> BTW: After running this filter on my server/account, processing time  
> and data transfer volume have already decreased. But I see many  
> instances of supposedly "filtered" folders in the ActiveSync debug  
> log, there still is much work left to actually reduce the handling  
> to only those folders I actually want to see on the remote :/

This might be left over from data not updated in the syncCache of  
folder state yet. Once the device requests a new FOLDERSYNC it should  
only request data on those folders. In other words, when it receives a  
FOLDERSYNC response that indicates that folder FOO is no longer  
available, it thinks that folder has been deleted on the server, and  
should not issue any more requests for it.

Update the patch with the above changes and I'll look at adding it in  
Horde 5.1.