Customize the Papercut inbox

[VenkatRamanan6]

I wanna contribute to the following changes:

1. Extend a column From [where email id of the user is displayed], before the Subject.
2. Actual time stamp when the email is received, instead of mins or days ago adds more value.
3. Filter, sort & search through the inbox easily, making it more user friendly.

Questions:

1. How many days./months of retention does it provide?
2. Is there a way to maintain more than 1 inbox, like the labels in gmail [Grouping the emails inside folders]?
3. Does papercut work only with 4.8 Net framework version?

Kindly let me know if we can work on this PR or changes together.

[trendy-software]

@VenkatRamanan6 Would be grate if you implement the functionality of filtering, sorting & searching.

[Jaben]

Status Update

Thanks for the suggestions! Here's the current status of the requested features:

✅ Already Implemented

• Absolute timestamps - The message list already displays absolute timestamps in "G" format (e.g., "1/15/2025 2:30:25 PM") rather than relative times
• Email retention - Retention settings are now available
• Search/Find functionality - A FIND feature has been added for searching emails
• Framework updates - Now running on .NET 9

📋 Still Open for Implementation

1. Extend "From" Column

   • Currently the message list uses a simple two-line ListBox format (Subject + Date/Size)
   • The From/sender address is not visible in the inbox list
   • Proposed solution: Convert to DataGrid with columns for From, Subject, Received, and Size
   • Email addresses are already parsed but not exposed in the UI layer

2. Sortable Columns

   • Currently only sorts by date (ascending/descending) via Options dialog
   • No click-to-sort on column headers
   • Proposed solution: DataGrid would provide automatic click-to-sort functionality on all columns

3. Enhanced Filtering

   • While FIND/search exists, advanced filtering could complement it
   • Proposed additions: Filter by sender, date range, has attachments, etc.
   • Could add a filter bar above the message list

Implementation Notes

The current architecture uses:

• MessageListView.xaml with a ListBox + ItemTemplate
• MimeMessageEntry as the data model (already parses From/To but doesn't expose them)
• MessagesSorted ICollectionView with basic sort descriptions

Converting to a column-based DataGrid layout would be the main architectural change needed to support the From column visibility and enhanced sorting.

Would appreciate feedback on whether the DataGrid approach sounds good before proceeding with implementation!