conversation view in inbox and message screen

[tomholub]

this will be a big one - we'll get to this when all of the basics are done

[tomholub]

part of #714

[tomholub]

I'd like to consider a simpler version of this issue.

Did you say there was an issue managing more than one webview on a screen?

To simplify, we could consider:

• only use conversation view in inbox when Gmail API is used. This means that inbox items will be equivalent between FlowCrypt app and Gmail app
• when I click a conversation, render a similar conversation list that Gmail renders, where I can click and unpack individual messages in conversation, with the following changes compared to Gmail app:
  • only one email at a time can be unpacked (unpacking another email will pack the previously unpacked email)
  • by default, always unpack the first unread email in the conversation (which contains quoted previous emails anyway - usually)

[DenBond7]

Hi @sosnovsky. I need some advice on this issue.

Please try the freshest changes at cb0f6c3. (just in case, it may crashes) This commit contains changes that show how I can organize threads in the app.

I've spent a few weeks researching, trying different approaches, and so on. This task is terrible as it will include many breaking changes in the app to support compatibility with IMAP realization for other email providers. I have to review and change about 50% of the app functionality.

I'm asking you to check the current progress as I don't see the appropriate deadline for this task for now(this task can easily take a few weeks more). I've tried to use a similar approach as we have on the iOS app and Gmail app for Android. But it doesn't work well. I can't show the whole conversation on a single screen. The last changes display a list of threads -> clicking on a thread opens ViewPager with thread details(messages list) -> clicking on a message opens ViewPager with message details.

I'd like to hear some feedback. Need to know if it looks ok and if I should work that way. Or I should to find a way to show conversation on a single screen.

[sosnovsky]

Hi @DenBond7, what are difficulties with implementing full conversation view on the single screen - some technical limitations or it's more about positioning UI elements?
Do you try to implement conversation view only for Gmail or for other IMAP providers too?

Current implementation is better than showing single messages on inbox screen, but having full conversation on the single screen without need to open separate ViewPager for each message will be more convenient, and more common for mobile email clients.

[DenBond7]

what are difficulties with implementing full conversation view on the single screen - some technical limitations or it's more about positioning UI elements?

If to be short - both of them. More details:

1. Performance and expected UI behavior. I have HTML. I need to use WebView. It uses more resources than other views. It's logical to use the RecyclerView here for better performance. However, RecyclerView + WebView is not a good choice because both of them use scrolling and conflict. I catch unexpected scrolling and content jumping. I can render all messages as is one by one. It work well, but only for small conversations. For big conversations the app will exceed RAM limitations very soon. Also, I have ViewPager for switching between threads on that screen. It adds more unexpected swipes(but I think it can be fixed). I've tested a lot of mobile clients and haven't found any that implemented a conversation view(looks like it's not simple)) ). Also, I've investigated the Gmail App for Android. It looks like it uses only a single WebView(custom) to show messages in a thread. That's why UI looks smoothy there. Maybe it's the right direction.
2. IMAP. For now, the conversation view works only for Gmail API. But combining different behaviors generates a lot of changes in the code(database, syncing and so on). + testing all of that. It's a lot of work ((.

Current implementation is better than showing single messages on inbox screen, but having full conversation on the single screen without need to open separate ViewPager for each message will be more convenient, and more common for mobile email clients.

Agree. that's why I looked for your advice)). The main question here - is time. I've already spent a lot of time and don't see the appropriate results. And unfortunately can't predict any deadlines. I need to know if I should continue or maybe it will be better to switch to other issues and leave the current one for a better time.

[sosnovsky]

IMAP. For now, the conversation view works only for Gmail API. But combining different behaviors generates a lot of changes in the code(database, syncing and so on). + testing all of that. It's a lot of work ((.

Ok, I think we can leave it as is for IMAP, so it'll continue showing single messages, not conversation view.
As IMAP users are probably just a little percent of total users count.

Also, I've investigated the Gmail App for Android. It looks like it uses only a single WebView(custom) to show messages in a thread. That's why UI looks smoothy there. Maybe it's the right direction.

Do you think it's possible to implement conversation view this way in our app too? We can try it, and if you'll see that it should work - let's go this way.

[DenBond7]

Do you think it's possible to implement conversation view this way in our app too? We can try it, and if you'll see that it should work - let's go this way.

I'm going to investigate it this week

[DenBond7]

Need to add tests for the following cases(will be updated):

• Threads list
  • Identify thread with attachments
  • Identify thread with pgp
  • correct recipients and messages count + draft count
    • 1 message in thread
    • a few messages in thread + 1 draft
    • a few messages in thread + a few drafts
    • 1 message in thread + 2 drafts
• Thread details screen
  • Thread rendering
    • Render thread with a single standard message
    • Render thread with a single encrypted message
    • Render thread with a few only encrypted messages
    • Render thread with a few only standard messages
    • Render thread with mixed messages
    • Render thread with a few messages + single draft
    • Render thread without attachments
  • Attachments
    • Display attachments list
    • preview attachment
    • download attachment
    • downloading inlined encrypted attachments
  • lookup public keys and re-verify signature if missing pubkey(maybe can be moved for later)
  • swipe-to-refresh to fetch the last state of a thread
  • delete a draft
  • Show verification results
  • reply/reply all/forward block for the last one message
  • ability to reply/reply all/forward for some message in a thread
  • forwarding messages with embedded attachments
  • changing reading state for an opened message
  • update thread details during swipe-to-refresh and other updates
  • update thread details after sending a new message
  • handle a situation when a thread is not found
• Change labels option
  • on thread details screen
  • on threads list screen
• syncing thread on thread details screen
  • updating labels
  • deleting messages
  • adding a new message
• add actions on a thread
  • on the threads list screen
    • read/unread
    • delete
    • archive
    • move to spam
    • unspam
    • delete permanently
    • untrash -> move to inbox
  • on the thread details screen
    • unread
    • delete
    • archive
    • move to spam
    • unspam
    • delete permanently
    • untrash -> move to inbox
• fix drafts
  • editing drafts from the messages list on the thread details screen
  • updating thread messages list after adding a draft
  • updating thread messages list after updating a draft
  • updating thread messages list after deleting a draft
  • deleting a draft after sending a message