Introduction

Avelsieve or, verbosely, "SIEVE Mail Filters Plugin for Squirrelmail" is a Squirrelmail plugin for creating SIEVE scripts on a Cyrus IMAP server that runs timsieved (Tim's SIEVE daemon).

SIEVE is a mail filtering language, intended for server-side filtering of emails. See RFC 3028 and Cyrusoft's page about SIEVE for more details.

Notice: change in the creation and handling of header-type filtering rules will mean that the existing rules that your users have probably created in the pre-0.6 era will not be displayed anymore. This might not be catastrophic, but it would be better for the users to recreate the scripts anyway, to avoid any confusion.

About this implementation

The web interface provides a wizard-like interface that, in the end, creates part of a SIEVE script, a 'rule' as I call it. It then assembles all the rules to form a SIEVE script.

The plugin does not provide a parser; instead, it saves PHP meta-data in the script itself, in order to continue editing and manipulation of the filters. The only thing that is supported is a script called "phpscript" on the Cyrus server. Multiple scripts are not supported yet. I've tried to make it sane enough that it won't break a lot. Some more testing is needed - hence the beta status.

I haven't followed the Squirrelmail coding style, sorry. I use tabs. :)

Status

This is beta software. It has been out for a while and is known to work pretty well. You'll have to check for yourselves if it is for a production environment. Features (and bugs) are added every other day. Insert standard GPL_Disclaimer(); here.

Features

This plugin provides:

• Simple HTML, no Javascript.
• Match messages based on email headers, size, or apply to all messages.
• Configurable number of header matches.
• Support of keeping a message, move to an existing or new folder, email redirection.
• Vacation (a la SIEVE).
• Runs through all the rules, but supports a "stop" command when a rule matches.
• Change the order of rules - or delete them altogether.
• Make a textual description of the rule.
• Localizable.
• Automatic adaption to the capabilities of each site's SIEVE.

..but does not provide:

• A SIEVE parser.

Features with Seniority (Bugs)

• Error handling when creating a folder with invalid characters etc.
• Folder creation does not work yet while editing an existing rule.

Screenshots

If you'd like to take some quick look before installing, here are some screenshots of avelsieve in action:

Action to take in a rule

Header match definition

The table that lists all the rules

Demo

Aside from the screenshots above, you can see the plugin in action, if you wish. Check the Live Demo page for more information.

Requirements

• It has been tested with Cyrus IMAP server and its timsieved SIEVE parser.
• Squirrelmail, some new version (1.2 +). It works in 1.2.6+ as well as in the -devel branch (1.3.x).
• sieve-php.lib, a PHP class for transporting SIEVE scripts, by Dan Ellis. Included.
• The mhash PHP extension, if you need DIGEST-MD5 or CRAM-MD5 authentication methods.

License

TODO / Plan

There's still a lot of stuff to do. If anyone wants to help, you are mostly welcome!

• (0.9) Error handling when creating a new folder in step #3 really sucks. Fix it.
• (1.0) Support "ready-made rules", like: All messages sent only to me, Place emails alphabetically in folders A-M and N-Z etc. (need ideas!)
• Eliminate notice errors in E_ALL PHP reporting.
• (1.0) In a message with List-ID: header, provide the option to automatically add a filtering rule for mailing list emails.
• (0.9+) Support Sieve Extension: Relational Tests, the :count matchtype.
• (0.9+) Support Sieve - body extension
• (1.0+) Respond with mime-encoded files. Support the :mime parameter. (info-cyrus relevant mail)
• (2.0+) Support multiple SIEVE scripts.
• (2.0?) Synchronization between folders mentioned in fileinto rules and actual folders that exist in the Cyrus tree.
• (3.0+) Sort out the GUI when adding a new rule. Make it more dynamic and support mixed, complicated AND/OR logic.

Author

Translators:

• Chinese (simplified): Jack Gao (jack @ gaofamily org)
• French: Juan-Francisco Diez (jfdiez @ sitejf com)
• French: John Cotter of Sierre-Energie S.A. (john.cotter @ siesa ch)
• Russian: Vadim Kozlov (vad @ tomsknet ru)
• German: Torsten Westermann (torsten.westermann @ addcom de)
• Spanish: Eduardo Mayoral (emayoral @ arsys es)

Thanks, Credits

• David Mendenhall (david at digitalfountain com), for a lot of code contributions and good ideas (just check the changelog for 0.4). Many thanks!
• Dan Ellis (danellis at rushmore dot com), for developing the sieve-php class, since this plugin was originally based on his class and test scripts.
• Our translators!
• Nikos Voutsinas (nvoutsin at noc uoa gr), for all the ideas, suggestions and constructive criticism. And for patching Cyrus imapd to work better with Squirrelmail.
• Maria Nassiakou for bringing us ice cream.
• Thumbnails in this page generated by HTMLThumbnail 1.1.4