Re: IMAP partial fetch

[Lloyd Zusman <ljz@asfast.com>]

Zack Weinberg <zack@codesourcery.com> writes:

> Frank Schmitt <usereplyto@Frank-Schmitt.net> writes:
>
>> Hello
>>
>> Now that Oort is released, I'd like to throw some ideas in, which
>> features I as (primarily) a user would like to see in the next Gnus:
> ...
>
> [ ... partial imap fetch descriibed ... ]
>
> [ ... ]
> for messages where the user does want to look at the attachment, they
> are probably more willing to accept a lengthy download delay when they
> ask for the attachment to be saved, than when they ask to view the
> message.
>
> [ ... ]

I enthusiastically add my vote for this proposal, with the following
refinement: a group-specific variable could control whether these
attachments get downloaded as part of the entire message (as is done
now), or only when the user wants to see them.  This way, different
groups could be configured differently in this regard.  A configurable,
system-wide default setting could take effect if the group-specific
variable isn't set.

I think a cool related feature would be to download the IMAP4
BODYSTRUCTURE output of a message (in some suitably formatted manner)
along with the headers.  This way, the user could view the structure of
any message from the Summary buffer, and via a dialog, could optionally
request a subset of the parts to be actually downloaded.  A keystroke in
the Summary buffer could toggle the display of this structure for any
given message.

-- 
 Lloyd Zusman
 ljz@asfast.com