Displays unread messages from your Gmail inbox.

Requirements:
Desktop Sidebar 1.05 build 116 or better.

Download:
Download from the Extension Exchange page.


Version 1.1, Released Oct. 5, 2006:
- Added option to open the inbox when a message is clicked (instead of that specific message).
- Fixed truncated text in Panel Properties.
- Fixed drawing error (extra separator line).

Version 1.0, Released Sept. 23, 2006, Features:
- Displays all unread mail from your inbox or any other label.
- Mouse over an item for a snippet of the message body.
- Click an item to open it in the browser.
- Displays an alert and opens when new mail arrives (can be turned off).
- Context menu option to Refresh Now.
- Refreshes every set amount of time (changeable in Panel Properties).
- International characters support - UTF-8.
- Ability to display text right-to-left.
- Uses the official Gmail Atom feed.

Hmm...not detecting the test email that I sent my account. It show 0-unread while there is one in the inbox.

Did you let it refresh (test by right clicking and Refresh Now)? Did you enter your account details? Is the message still marked as unread?

Yes to all of the above. Going on 10 minutes with it set to 2 minute refresh interval.

Could you check the log and see if it says it's downloading the feed?
Also, can you access the Atom feed in your browser and does it display the unread message in it?

Do you think me having two gmail accounts I switch between using gmail manager might be a culprit?

Well I just made sure there was atleast one unread message in both my accounts (though the panel is configured for one) to see if it will read it. Nada. Checked log, and it says it is reloading the feed.

Two accounts might be a problem. I noticed that sometimes the credentials are cached. I did everything I could to disable the caching but sometimes I can't control it. Have you tried accessing the feed manually?

Yes, it flip flops between accounts upon refresh.

In the feed, do you see an entry for the unread message?

Nice one GoMa - it works fine for me.

One minor issue - your properties page checkboxes don't quite fit
Click to view attachment

One minor request - I would prefer it if a click on an email opened up my inbox (i.e just went to http://mail.google.com).

Thanks Keith!
I implemented your suggestions (and found two bugs in DS ). They will be available on the next release (when I find what's wrong with I_M's setup or get more feature requests).

Yes, when I log into both for the feed.

Just to make sure, your panel shows "no unread messages" and no error message.
Could you please download the test version below and replace the dsplugin with it.
It should show a "file downloaded" message whenever it downloads the file. DO NOT click OK.
Instead, go to the %temp% folder and find a file called rad*****.tmp that has been modified recently (sort the files by date to see it). Open this file in Notepad and tell me if you see the feed WITH your message there. In any case, please attach that file so I can see what's going on.
When you're finished, you can click OK in that message box, it should then try to see how many messages you have (and fail, evidently) and then it will delete the file.
Thanks...

A couple of screen-drawing issues that I've found.

First - the panel doesn't seem to repaint correctly
Click to view attachment

Second - 2 horizontal lines appear when there should only be 1
Click to view attachment

Thanks, the extra separator wasn't visible in the skin I was using. I fixed the problem (it's weird the list output shows a separator even when there's only one item).
I can't reproduce the repainting error. Have you seen the problem more than once? Is there any reliable way to reproduce it?

I have seen the problem more than once, but I'm not sure how to reproduce it. I think it may be related to the first issue which you say you've fixed. It looks at though it's a repaint problem between the 2 lines. It showed up with autofit off, if that helps.

Indeed, it does help. I can reproduce a similar problem without autofit. I'll see if it's fixable, thank you.

I can reproduce this by having 2 messages in my inbox, then deleting one and refreshing the panel. The area where the message I had deleted was is not erased until I mouseover the panel.
Calling Invalidate on the list doesn't help - it's got to be the panel itself that needs repainting and I can't do that from a script panel (IPanelParent.InvalidatePanel needs a tagRECT which is inaccessible from script). Sorry.
The workaround is to move your mouse over the panel or use Autofit.

Version 1.1 is released. Check first post for details.
Indian_Mayhem, has your problem with the panel been solved?

My bad. I totally forgot about this.
So I removed 1.0 and updated to 1.1. Same results, doesn't show the unread message for configured mailbox. Used the dsplugin file you made for the test. Got the file, had the header information. Saved the file elsewhere in case you wanted to peek. THEN clicked ok. THEN the panel updated with the unread message.

Update

I noticed with that test dsplugin, the refresh does do the break (ok), and does update with the correct unread.

That's weird. Maybe it can't read the file straight away or something, only evidently it doesn't do that for me and for Keith. I'll try to find what the problem is.
In any case, can you attach that temp file please? (You may want to strip out personal information.)

nice so far. It seems fine...

Thanks. I'm happy my panel is of use to you.

Interesting...I install IE 7 and the panel now works for me.

Interesting indeed. And good.

Hey GoMa,
You think you can add in a custom sound notification for new emails?

Hi Goma, great panel. I noticed though that if you rename the panel then it doesnt update the number of unread emails properly. Is it possible to rename the panel w/o losing this functionality?

thx

Not a big problem Goma but when I dual boot and go between OS the plug in does not retain the sign in information coming back into MCE- I am not using the panel on Vista-plugin won't install correctly but that will get fixed later.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions.
Indian_Mayhem - I will try to add a sound notification option. Is .wav support enough (it is easier)?

s.newave - unfortunately it's not possible because DS controls it. Sorry.

daddy3 - if you just restart MCE without booting into Vista first, do you lose the info? If you close and reopen DS, do you lose the info?

I think WAV support is fine.

Goma- it only loses it when I switch between OS- since the plug in fails in Vista I think it clears it in MCE- it also may be the bootloader- not a big deal. Just something I noticed.

thx for the response, not a big loss. One more question is there a way to download the full email from gmail. It seems that the panel is only dlding an abbreviated version of the email and not the full one as the mailchecker plugin does.

Thanks for the clarification daddy3. I think the panel doesn't load in Vista because of a DS issue, not related to this panel specifically, so we'll have to wait.
Can somebody confirm the Gmail Panel doesn't load in Vista?

It's only possible to download the message snippet, and not the whole message. That's what Gmail offers.

Good work, GoMa!!! I installed it yesterday, I love it

It is very easy to use, even, I changed the language... Now, says: Tienes 1 mensaje/s sin leer

For me, only lacks an alarm with sound to warn of the messages

Hey.. is it just me or has anyone else tried using 2 accounts with the Gmail panel?

Although I have 2 Gmail Panels active with each configured for a different email, both shows emails for the same account.

I dont have IE7 installed, only IE6, with the latest version of Desktop Sidebar and the Gmail Panel.. just downloaded 1 hr ago..
does the version of IE matters? Because I noted that Indian_Mayhem indicated he had no more problems after installation of IE7, though I'm not really sure what was the problem that he was experiencing.
I just dont want to install IE7, cuz I am already very contented with my Firefox and I think IE7 is pretty much bloatware

Heh.

Thanks and regards.

I'll take a look at this when I find some free time. Thanks for reporting this issue.

I tried to install the plugin but McAfee says it is a virus!!
here is the screen cap:


and here is the details about the virus it says:
http://us.mcafee.com/virusInfo/default.asp...;virus_k=100749

what is this?? is this plugin safe??

This plugin is completely safe, and doesn't harm your computer at all. If you really want you can check out exactly what it does by viewing its source code which is open to all.
Apparently the McAfee Antivirus thinks it's a trojan although it's not a trojan at all, it's probably a problem with their definitions. You can ignore this error completely without worrying, as a lot of other users have downloaded this panel and used it without problem.
I'd appreciate it a lot if you reported this issue to McAfee, stating that it has a false positive on this panel.

This thing really needs encrypted password storage. Please.

Sorry, it's not possible in its current form (script panel) because a limitation in DS. I'm not going to change the whole panel and create it from scratch just because of this issue, I simply don't have the time for this.

Just downloaded this and when I tried to install it McAfee blocked a "script executed by dsidebar.exe" and it was detected as "VBS/Psyme", a known Trojan.

edit: I see I was a bit late. I get the exact same thing as capturemrah. FWIW, I won't be installing this.

We've seen this before. McAfee has been known to have false positives with regard to script panels and DS. The author of this script has a solid reputation around here, and considering you can read the source of script panels, I can assure you it is not a Trojan in any way, shape, or form. In fact, if I hadn't beaten him to it, he would ask you to contact McAfee and report the false positive. I could go on about how those programs attempt to identify malware and how it isn't a perfect algorithm, but I digress.

Actually I reported it as a false positive today (wonder if that really works) mainly because it would affect any developer using a script on their panel.

Good work, GoMa!!! But...
I find one problem. It exists only if sender sends email without subject.
I add to function addMessageItem(node) in Gmail.dsplugin this lines:
--
if(title == "") title = node.GetNode("author").GetNode("name").GetBody() + "\n" + date;
else title = node.GetNode("author").GetNode("name").GetBody() + "\n" + title + "\n" + date;
--

This solve that problem for me :-)

Thanks Tichij. I haven't taken this option into consideration up until now. If you're OK with it, I'll add your modification to the panel's code in the next release.

I seem to be having a problem with the gmail checker.

It keeps losing the settings.

I enter int he correct information and it will show my new gmail arrivals just fine.

Then after a day or so, it will give me the Please enter correct address and password message.


So I decided to check the sidebar105.settings after I entered my information and it was there.

The next day, when it was not working again, I check the sidebar105.settings and my information was not in there anymore.

I checked to make sure that my file permissions were correct and that the file was not read only.

My gmail.dsplugin version is dated 9/30/2006 which seems to correspond with your last update.

Any advice on what is happening or what I can do about it?

There is a bug in Desktop Sidebar that causes all panels of a certain kind (script panels) to lose their settings when the skin of Desktop Sidebar is changed. Perhaps that is the case - you change the skin and then the settings are lost (you may not see this immediately, only after closing and reopening DS).
Unfortunately I can't do anything about this bug in DS.

GoMa,

I use your GMail panel and I see the following:

If for some reason the panel fails to connect to GMail (e.g. internet connection down) then the panel shows the message that it can't connect or the username/password is wrong. If I then check the properties for the panel they are shown as empty and I have to re-enter them. However, if I do nothing and the panel later reconnects then all is OK (i.e. the settings have not been lost).

I'm not sure what happens if DS is shutdown whilst the panel can't connect.

Hope this helps,

Keith

Thanks Keith. I'll investigate this issue. Seems to happen only when the connection is broken, and not when e.g. the password is incorrect.