Incomplete messages
What "Message incomplete" means, what Reload does, and why FOLD will not forward a damaged message.
A message can arrive damaged: the connection drops, the server delivers fewer bytes than it announced, or a part cannot be decoded. FOLD checks every message it downloads and tells you when something is missing, instead of showing a truncated message as if it were complete.
How FOLD checks
When FOLD downloads a message, it compares the size the server announced with the bytes it received, and checks the structure of the message: are all parts closed, can they be decoded? Some servers report sizes that are slightly off, so a closed structure outweighs a small size difference. The stored copy is checked again against its SHA-256 hash every time it is loaded.
The notices
| Notice | Meaning | Actions |
|---|---|---|
| Message incomplete | The server delivered only part of the message; text and attachments may be cut off. | Reload |
| Message not properly closed | The message ends without its closing marker; the last part may be incomplete. | Reload |
| Parts unreadable | FOLD could not read one or more parts. | Show source, Reload |
| Message can’t be displayed | FOLD could not read the content at all. | Show source, Reload |
| Message not fully loaded | Only the preview is available. The same applies to You’re offline, Couldn’t load message and Download stopped. | Reload |
As long as the full message is missing, the text you see is labeled Preview.
Messages larger than 64 MiB are not downloaded; FOLD shows Message too large with the preview. No longer on the server means the message was deleted or moved elsewhere.
Reload
Reload downloads the message from the server again. If the notice remains, check the message in your provider’s webmail. When the server stores the message damaged, FOLD cannot repair it.
Why forwarding is blocked
Forwarding, sending again and continuing a draft would pass on the damaged copy. The recipient could not tell that text or attachments are missing. FOLD therefore blocks these actions for incomplete or unreadable messages and says why:
- Can’t forward: Message transferred incompletely. Reload it before passing it on.
- Can’t forward: Parts of this message are unreadable. It won’t be passed on.
- Can’t forward: An attachment is incomplete. Reload before passing it on.
- For drafts: The draft isn’t fully loaded. Reload it before you continue writing.
Moving a message to another account follows the same rule: FOLD copies it only if it is complete.
Incomplete attachments
An attachment that was not transferred completely is marked incomplete and does not open. Reload the message first. If you need the fragment anyway, Save Incomplete Copy … saves it with “(incomplete)” in the file name, so it cannot be mistaken for the original.