The unknown is whether the issue that prevented the deletion from the server will be a common problem or a rare one.

I'll be travelling for the next 5 days so don't know when I'll be able to check back.

Hello,

Using Pegasus mail 4.73 with POP3, sometimes all the new arrived unread mails appear multiple (two, three, ...) times in their mailboxes, and when I restart PM, it rescans, and surprise!, another copy of that mails.

What can I do? It's very annoying, cleaning up that mess.

Kind greetings,

 Pieter

Hi,

It would help a lot if you could provide more information like which mail service you are using. Although they operate POP3 protocols it is not uncommon they treat it different internally.

To exemplify, Gmail treats "Delete mail on server once it has been successfully retrieved" differently, if checked, depending on how you configure the "delete" action on the Web interface:

1. Downloaded mail is archived, that is the delete command is taken as the archive command (default);
2. Downloaded mail is deleted after a successful download.

Other mail servers like Yahoo behave differently. If "Delete mail on server once it has been successfully retrieved" is unchecked than downloaded message is marked as "read" so you most likely have to use Pmail's POP3 "Download controls > Download only unread mail (i.e, new since the last connection)". Does it ring a bell?

Finally there's is GMX, the newcomer service of my use. The POP3 delete command is taken differently and deleted messages are not sent to the trash bin folder but simply deleted. So, as a matter of fail-safe security I do not use "Delete mail on server once it has been successfully retrieved", downloaded messages are marked as "read" and so I have also "Download only unread mail (i.e, new since the last connection)" set to avoid multiplicities. As I have the habit to archive some messages I treat this (on GMX only) via IMAP and folder's rules.

There is a setting in the Download controls tab of the POP3 host configuration is a setting named "Download only unread mail..." that should prevent downloading of messages previously downloaded.  The fact that you say "sometimes" makes me think that this option is enabled an something else is going on but it is worth checking.

Find it via Tools > Internet options > Receiving (POP3) tab > Downloads control tab

Click main menu and select Tool/Internet options/receiving. Then click Edit to display the POP3 option set.  On the display you will see  checkbox with "Delete mail on server"  click to select it.Then click OK

This will cause the remaining messages on your server to be deleted.

- or - On the Pegasus Mail menu, select File/Selective Download.  You will receive a list of messages on the server. Select one or more, or all messages, then click Delete. They are gone !!!

You are done

Martin

Dear all,

Many thanks for your answers. Alas, I couldn't respond earlier.

My e-mail box is at the internetprovider. The POP3 setting 'Delete mail on server once it has been successfully retrieved' is checked, and 'Download only unread mail' is unchecked. I have no server-side mail filtering rules set. Most of the time (99.9%) during the last 12 years it works well. But sometimes not.

I didn't mention it, but at work we use Outlook as mail client, and to mark mail as read, I have to press Ctrl-Q. Sometimes I forget that in Pegasus Mail it has to be Ctrl-R, so I press Ctrl-Q. Something happens, but I couldn't find what, and in the documentation I can't find it. Does it provoke the problem I described?

Kind regards,

Pieter

Hi,

The fact that you're accessing your mail provider from different mail clients using POP3 may explain the odd behavior. It's not clients fault IMO, but how your mail provider handles the mail download command. Long story short I never found a safe way to handle a POP3 account from different locations. I use IMAP or Web access leaving message download and archiving when back to mother-ship.

As I said on my previous post, mail providers act differently upon the same command. I'd suggest you take a look into your mail provider using a Web interface to see how it treats a POP3 downloaded (and delete) message. Some just mark them as "read" and leave them on the INBOX folder even if the delete command follows. Some mark them as "read" and move them to the trash bin as a response to the delete command. Others just move them to the trash bin but marked "unread".

Considering you have Pmail set to download and delete, and that it sometimes fails, my bet is your mail provider has a very peculiar way to handle POP3 commands. If getting your mail when at work is a must, maybe you should consider installing Pmail in a thumb drive. My advice here is to keep retrieved messages on TD/Pmail NMF so you can move them to your home mailbox. If they are marked "unread" before moving into, then they'll be taken care by your NMF rules as well.

My tuppence worth, I think.

I agree with Euler.  Accessing the same hosted mailbox via POP3 from two clients is challenging at best, if you can get it to work at all.  In an ideal world it should work if one client downloads and marks as read while the other client downloads all and then deletes but, as Euler pointed out, the host server may not co-operate.  Also, the first client will not receive messages if the second client deletes them before the first has downloaded them so you must always run the first before running the second which isn't practical (been there, tried that).  Access via IMAP addresses the multiple client/device access issue because messages stay on the server instead of being downloaded.  They're always available by any client.

Euler also mentioned a thumbdrive which is what I do, carrying one back and forth from home to work.  On it is a Pmail installation from which I do all of my Pmail support.

Dear mr. Euler German,

The internet provider (A) at home where I use Pegasus Mail is another than the one (B) in the office. We cannot access (B) with any client other than Outlook / Outlook Web Client, and we are not allowed (IT department made it impossible) to connect any private mailbox with Outlook from the office. The only way to read my (A) mailbox in the office is via (A) webmail.

When Pegasus has downloaded the e-mails, they are really gone. The webmail inbox is empty when I check it.

Kind regards,

Pieter

[quote user="pal"]My e-mail box is at the internetprovider. The POP3 setting 'Delete mail on server once it has been successfully retrieved' is checked, and 'Download only unread mail' is unchecked. I have no server-side mail filtering rules set. Most of the time (99.9%) during the last 12 years it works well. But sometimes not.

I didn't mention it, but at work we use Outlook as mail client, and to mark mail as read, I have to press Ctrl-Q. Sometimes I forget that in Pegasus Mail it has to be Ctrl-R, so I press Ctrl-Q. Something happens, but I couldn't find what, and in the documentation I can't find it. Does it provoke the problem I described?[/quote]

I was just rereading the thread and don't know that the above issues were clearly addressed.

First, you do not HAVE to delete mail on server once it has been successfully retrieved.  It is ok to leave mail.  In fact, it may be desirable if you ever need access to messages by webmail or by another client.

Second, you SHOULD enable the setting to download only unread mail.  This will help insure that only messages received by the server since the last download will get retrieved by Pegasus Mail.

Third, in Pegasus Mail, Ctrl+Q is a keystroke that uses the first selected message in the folder as a model, and groups all messages with the same sender or subject at the top of the folder list (quoted from Hans' keystroke list).  Ctrl+Q not work in the New Mail Folder. 

Hans' keystroke list is at: http://www.vandenbogaerde.net/pegasusmail/pk_frame.html.  There is a lot of other good information related to Pegasus Mail on his site as well.  Use the "Back to home" link to find those treasures.

Hello mr. Fluet and others,

All the mails from my provider's inbox are read into Pegasus Mail and are immediately deleted. I have to do it that way, because sometimes I (want to) check the inbox via webmail. This is working perfectly during the last 15 years.

But now, after several weeks of Pegasus functioning well, all of the sudden my Pegasus Inbox (not the provider's inbox) and other folders, in which I had fresh unread mails which I marked as read, contain that mails double or triple, marked as unread. This happens also with mails I marked as read and moved from the Inbox into other folders, appearing again as unread in the Inbox.

I use Autofiltering for new mails.

And Ctrl-Q does work in the Inbox! It <quote>groups all messages with the same sender or subject at the top of the folder list</quote>.

 Hereby I send the System messages log (afterwards I changed to offline mode):

Mon, 20:43:39    Loading local legacy folders from cache file...
Mon, 20:43:39    Spamhalter bayesian plugin 4.5.2.180 started.
Mon, 20:43:39    Spamhalter message size limit is: 250000 bytes
Mon, 20:43:39    Spamhalter database size is: 6775 tokens
Mon, 20:43:39    Program started
Mon, 20:43:39    Loading extension 'C:\Program Files (x86)\PMail\Programs\IERenderer\IERenderer.dll'.
Mon, 20:43:45    Newmail rule processing: No messages triggered any rules.
Mon, 20:44:03    POP3: Downloading from 'xxx.xxx.xxx', user 'pal'
    28 messages (12323652 bytes) retrieved.
Mon, 20:44:08    POP3: Download complete.
Mon, 20:44:08    Newmail rule processing:
    1 message moved to '2018-20xx'
Mon, 20:44:08    Newmail rule processing: No messages triggered any rules.
Mon, 20:44:08    Newmail rule processing:
    1 message moved to '2018-20xx'
Mon, 20:44:08    Newmail rule processing: No messages triggered any rules.
Mon, 20:44:08    Newmail rule processing:
    1 message moved to '2018-20xx'
Mon, 20:44:09    Newmail rule processing: No messages triggered any rules.
Mon, 20:44:09    Newmail rule processing: No messages triggered any rules.
Mon, 20:44:09    Newmail rule processing: No messages triggered any rules.
Mon, 20:44:09    Newmail rule processing: No messages triggered any rules.
Mon, 20:44:09    Newmail rule processing: No messages triggered any rules.
Mon, 20:44:09    Newmail rule processing:
    1 message moved to '2018-20xx'
Mon, 20:44:10    Newmail rule processing: No messages triggered any rules.
Mon, 20:44:10    Newmail rule processing: No messages triggered any rules.
Mon, 20:44:10    Newmail rule processing: No messages triggered any rules.
Mon, 20:44:10    Newmail rule processing: No messages triggered any rules.
Mon, 20:44:10    Newmail rule processing:
    1 message moved to '2018-20xx'
Mon, 20:44:10    Newmail rule processing: No messages triggered any rules.
Mon, 20:44:10    Newmail rule processing: No messages triggered any rules.
Mon, 20:44:10    Newmail rule processing: No messages triggered any rules.
Mon, 20:44:10    Newmail rule processing: No messages triggered any rules.
Mon, 20:44:10    Newmail rule processing: No messages triggered any rules.
Mon, 20:44:10    Newmail rule processing: No messages triggered any rules.
Mon, 20:44:10    Newmail rule processing: No messages triggered any rules.
Mon, 20:44:10    Newmail rule processing: No messages triggered any rules.
Mon, 20:44:10    Newmail rule processing: No messages triggered any rules.
Mon, 20:44:11    Newmail rule processing:
    1 message moved to '2018-20xx'
Mon, 20:44:11    Newmail rule processing: No messages triggered any rules.
Mon, 20:44:11    Newmail rule processing:
    1 message moved to 'xxxxx'
Mon, 20:46:34    Newmail rule processing: No messages triggered any rules.
Mon, 20:53:40    POP3: Downloading from 'xxx.xxx.xxx', user 'pal'
    28 messages (12323670 bytes) retrieved.
Mon, 20:53:45    POP3: Download complete.
Mon, 20:54:06    QMAN: Scanning queue/draft directory 'yyy'
Mon, 20:54:06    SMTP delivery to 'aaa', 'Re: zzz'
Mon, 20:54:06    QMAN: Scanning queue/draft directory 'yyy'
Mon, 20:54:08    Message sent to 'aaa', 'Re: zzz'
Mon, 20:54:08    Copy-self rule processing: No messages triggered any rules.
Mon, 20:54:34    Newmail rule processing:
    6 messages moved to '2018-20xx'
    1 message moved to 'ddd'
Mon, 21:03:47    POP3: Downloading from 'xxx.xxx.xxx', user 'pal'
    28 messages (12323652 bytes) retrieved.
Mon, 21:03:52    POP3: Download complete.
Mon, 21:04:09    Newmail rule processing:
    6 messages moved to '2018-20xx'
    1 message moved to 'ddd'
Mon, 21:04:46    Newmail rule processing: No messages triggered any rules.

Kind greetings,

Pieter

Dear mr Fluet,

Yesterday evening I wrote an answer to your message, but it didn't appear yet. I said that all of the sudden the problem reappeared, after weeks of well functioning. But now I know what happened - the mails were NOT deleted from the server, although the checkbox "Delete mail on server once it has been successfully retrieved" is checked. A great numbe of that mails were still on the server this evening.

Shall I switch to  IMAP?

Kind greetings,

Pieter