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[Mutt] #3031: Handle multiple folders at the same time



#3031: Handle multiple folders at the same time

 This addresses a complaint/question that comes up every now and then, and
 would probably provide a lot of side-benefits that we can't even think of
 at the moment. It would be excellent if mutt could view the contents of
 several folders at the same time, in an integrated display (i.e. there's
 not necessarily any visible distinction between messages in one folder and
 another).

 If this worked, one could (for example) set limits and search within
 multiple folders.

 It MAY even be useful to add another % option to index_format that allows
 each message to display which folder it's from, and a new sorting option
 to sort (or sort_aux) by folder.

 Here's the way I imagine the interface could work (just a suggestion).
 <change-folder> works as it currently does (namely, it clears the index
 and rebuilds the index from the contents of the new folder), however we
 can add a new command: <add-folder>. This command would behave similar to
 <change-folder> (i.e. the prompt, the cycling through mailboxes, etc.) but
 instead of clearing the index and rebuilding it with the contents of the
 new folder, it adds the contents of the new folder to the existing index
 list, and re-sorts the index to merge the two together.

 If this could work generically, one could theoretically view both the
 local mailspool and an IMAP INBOX at the same time (for example). You
 could also view all new mail messages at the same time in all of your
 mailboxes (by adding them all, and then limiting the view to just new
 messages). You could even search all mailboxes by adding all mailboxes and
 then searching.

 Thinking beyond this, really blue-sky, would be if mailboxes were handled
 similar to the way threading is handled: that all messages in a given
 mailbox could be "collapsed" the way a thread can be collapsed.

 I don't know how difficult any of this would be to implement. It would be
 awesome, though: very mutt-like, very simple interface, and
 extraordinarily powerful (better than any other mail reader out there, bar
 none).

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Ticket URL: <http://dev.mutt.org/trac/ticket/3031>