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Blank lines in From or Subject fields in received emails

Using PMail 4.41 (yes, I know it's old)


Maybe for the last month or so, when viewing mail in the New Mail folder, I have been receiving emails where the From field and/or the Subject field are blank.


When I examine a regular email using the Raw View, I see that those fields are plain text (appropriate email addresses or subject text). When I examine an email where the From field or Subject field are blank, I see something like this:


From: =?UTF-8?B?4oCq4oCq4oCq4oCq4oCqTmV1cm9wYXRoeVRyZWF0bWVudEdyb3Vw4oCq4oCq4oCq4oCq4oCq?= <deleted for privacy>


Subject: =?UTF-8?B?4oCq4oCqU+KAquKAqnXigKpmZuKAqmVy4oCq4oCqIEbigKpy4oCqb23igKrigKogTuKAquKAquKAquKAqmVyduKAquKAquKAquKAquKAquKAquKAqmUg4oCq4oCq4oCq4oCq4oCq4oCqUGFpbj/igKo=?=


To: <my email address>


Can anyone tell me why this is happening? What email system (host or transport) is creating these messed up fields?


Fortunately, most of these are spam, but still ..


Thanks in advance!


Malcolm


Using PMail 4.41 (yes, I know it&#039;s old) Maybe for the last month or so, when viewing mail in the New Mail folder, I have been receiving emails where the From field and/or the Subject field are blank. When I examine a regular email using the Raw View, I see that those fields are plain text (appropriate email addresses or subject text). When I examine an email where the From field or Subject field are blank, I see something like this: From: =?UTF-8?B?4oCq4oCq4oCq4oCq4oCqTmV1cm9wYXRoeVRyZWF0bWVudEdyb3Vw4oCq4oCq4oCq4oCq4oCq?= &lt;deleted for privacy&gt; Subject: =?UTF-8?B?4oCq4oCqU+KAquKAqnXigKpmZuKAqmVy4oCq4oCqIEbigKpy4oCqb23igKrigKogTuKAquKAquKAquKAqmVyduKAquKAquKAquKAquKAquKAquKAqmUg4oCq4oCq4oCq4oCq4oCq4oCqUGFpbj/igKo=?= To: &lt;my email address&gt; Can anyone tell me why this is happening? What email system (host or transport) is creating these messed up fields? Fortunately, most of these are spam, but still .. Thanks in advance! Malcolm

I can confirm such mails. Since few weeks I'm receiving a long-term subscibed newsletter with an empty FROM: field as long as the mail stays in new mail folder.
But as soon as my automatic filter has moved the read message to another mail folder, the FROM field will be shown correctly on next Pmail startup.


In raw format the "FROM:" field reads:


From: =?UTF-8?Q?GefahrgutOnline=5BSpringer_Fachmedien_M=C3=BCnchen=5D?=
gefahrgut@springer.com


(edit: the mail address gefahrgut@springer.com in the o.m. FROM line is set in square brackets <>. The forums editor removes them in the live view)


I can confirm such mails. Since few weeks I&#039;m receiving a long-term subscibed newsletter with an empty FROM: field as long as the mail stays in new mail folder. But as soon as my automatic filter has moved the read message to another mail folder, the FROM field will be shown correctly on next Pmail startup. In raw format the &quot;FROM:&quot; field reads: From: =?UTF-8?Q?Gefahrgut_Online_=5BSpringer_Fachmedien_M=C3=BCnchen=5D?= &lt;gefahrgut@springer.com&gt; (edit: the mail address gefahrgut@springer.com in the o.m. FROM line is set in square brackets &lt;&gt;. The forums editor removes them in the live view)
edited Oct 27 '21 at 7:21 am

Two issues have been identified that can result in a blank subject line in a folder window.


One occurs only in the New Mail folder window and can affect the subject line and/or the from line. It is a result of the content containing a UTF-8 encoded emoji. The outdated code of the current version of Pegasus Mail is unable to handle the encoded emoji resulting in a blank line.


The other occurs in a non-New Mail folder window. It is a result of truncated UTF-8 subject content in the folder index. This folder index is used to display the message list of a folder. It has a fixed size limit for the subject content. The subject line will be truncated as necessary for it to fit in the available space. Prior to UTF-8 encoding, a subject line was transmitted in plain text so the worst ramification of this truncation might be a subject line that is incomprehensible. The introduction of UTF-8 encoded subject lines has changed that. With a UTF-8 encoded subject line, the message subject may be made up of a single or multiple UTF-8 "encoded words". Each can only be decoded as a whole. The index truncation done by Pegasus Mail can break that "whole" resulting in content that is indecipherable by Pegasus Mail so can not be displayed in a folder window. If the subject was made up of a single UTF-8 "encoded word" then the subject content will appear blank. If the subject was made up of more than one UTF-8 "encoded words" then only the truncated content will not be displayed. The actual subject content remains intact so it will appear in full in all message reader and reply windows. This issue can not be fixed in the current version of Pegasus Mail but should be fixed in a 5.x version.


Two issues have been identified that can result in a blank subject line in a folder window. One occurs only in the New Mail folder window and can affect the subject line and/or the from line. It is a result of the content containing a UTF-8 encoded emoji. The outdated code of the current version of Pegasus Mail is unable to handle the encoded emoji resulting in a blank line. The other occurs in a non-New Mail folder window. It is a result of truncated UTF-8 subject content in the folder index. This folder index is used to display the message list of a folder. It has a fixed size limit for the subject content. The subject line will be truncated as necessary for it to fit in the available space. Prior to UTF-8 encoding, a subject line was transmitted in plain text so the worst ramification of this truncation might be a subject line that is incomprehensible. The introduction of UTF-8 encoded subject lines has changed that. With a UTF-8 encoded subject line, the message subject may be made up of a single or multiple UTF-8 &quot;encoded words&quot;. Each can only be decoded as a whole. The index truncation done by Pegasus Mail can break that &quot;whole&quot; resulting in content that is indecipherable by Pegasus Mail so can not be displayed in a folder window. If the subject was made up of a single UTF-8 &quot;encoded word&quot; then the subject content will appear blank. If the subject was made up of more than one UTF-8 &quot;encoded words&quot; then only the truncated content will not be displayed. The actual subject content remains intact so it will appear in full in all message reader and reply windows. This issue can not be fixed in the current version of Pegasus Mail but should be fixed in a 5.x version.
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