Smart Templates - Change Log

Welcome to the change log / version history of SmartTemplates.
The extension went through a couple of hands of developers, I am trying to keep the latest version up to date in this tried and tested format.
Since Version 0.9.1 we show this page after a successful update of SmartTemplates, but you can also download older releases by clicking on one of the Version numbers below.
Please Contribute to SmartTemplates!

Latest News (01/05/2022) - Thunderbird 115 Compatibility

SmartTemplates is fully compatible with Thunderbird 102. In rare cases there may be problems when updating from older versions of Thunderbird.
If you get a message that says otherwise after updating from earlier versions (Tb78 or Tb91) or if SmartTemplates cannot be enabled using the blue slider, then simply remove it and reinstall it via "Find more Add-ons" on the Extensions tab of Add-ons Manager:

There will be a brand new version for Thunderbird 115 which is going to be released in Summer 2023. There are a number of problems that need to be resolved until then, but if you would like to try out a test version that you can install in the current Thunderbird beta, I recommend that you visit Github issue 213.

First try if you can enable SmartTemplates using the slider:

If this doesn't work, then removing the Add-on via Thunderbird the Add-ons Manager will still retain your settings:

In the Search box, enter the term SmartTemplates, and press the Enter key:

Then click on the Add to Thunderbird button:

Click to read instructions for reinstalling:

Prereleases & Prototypes (no warantees!)

Prereleases & Prototypes are currently only released via our Github issue tracker. All latest changes including ongoing work on bugs you have reported can be found on the Change Log of latest version. Older (legacy) versions can be found at addons.thundebird.net The legacy version history (for Thunderbird before version 91) can be found here.

ATTENTION: All Prereleases & Prototypes include the full and locale for the current Build. Other locale can cause trouble as the translation is not over yet!

SmartTemplates is now available for Thunderbird 102, which has been rolled out to many users in October 2022. SmartTemplates Pro and SmartTemplates Standard licenses are funding ongoing work to support future compatibility with Thunderbird. There is ongoing work to replace the experimental API structure with native APIs, to one day have a standard permission based mail extension.

As latest feature I added more support for using the clipboard. With this you can extract data from the original mail and easily copy it into different places of your Email reply.

The variables tab is now fully searchable using the new search box.

Please remember to support SmartTemplates development by buying a license!

Other Notes

Don't forget to use our bug report page to enter issues or request features. You can now use the new github tracker for this, which also supports screenshots and markdown formatting.

For your convenience, from version 0.9 onwards, these pages will display directly in your Thunderbird in content tabs so there won't be any additional browser necessary. We hope that you enjoy the new homepage

yours sincerely,

Axel Grude
(developer, site design)

Marky Mark DE
(support, project maintainance)

Change Log

TIP: All dates are displayed in UK format dd/mm/yyyy

Version 4.4.2 - 10/04/2024
111.0 - 124.*

SmartTemplates Pro Renewal - AUTUMN SALE

You can now renew or extend your Pro license for 25% off - [around $7.50 USD saving $2.50!] from October 17th to October 31st. Click the SmartTemplates panel at the bottom of the Thunderbird window:
...and then click the renewal button.

Make sure to catch this occasion while it is up, this is the cheapest way to use all premium features for Thunderbird 102!

AUTUMN SALE - until Oct 31st

From October 17th to October 31st, you can now get a SmartTemplates Pro License for 33% off - [around $10.00 USD saving $5.00] for SmartTemplates Pro

Catch this occasion while available, this is the cheapest way to use all premium features for Thunderbird 115.

Alternatively, you can buy the standard license here.

The license is valid for one full year after purchase, after which it can be extended or upgraded. SmartTemplates needs to be completely rewritten to keep working on a future version of Thunderbird, as the "legacy Add-on" system is gradually replaced with a different technology. Only through funding this work can SmartTemplates survive - it may be the price of a cup of coffee to you - consider whether you think it is worth supporting the many features that SmartTemplates gives you.

To make a choice - expand the settings dialog:

then click the Buy License item from the SmartTemplate License tab on the Options dialog.

Summer SALE - Upgrade to Pro for same price as a Standard license

You can now upgrade your Standard license to SmartTemplates Pro for 33% off - [pay $6.00 USD saving $3.00] from October 17th to October 31st.

To avail of this offer, you can do either:

If your license expires soon or is expired, click the panel at the bottom of the Thunderbird window:

...and then click the renewal / extend button.

Or open the SmartTemplates license tab, expand the dialog and click on the button "Upgrade to Pro" or "Renew License".

- You can then make the choice for upgrade or extension from the SmartTemplates licensing screen.

This will transmit your current license key to the shop site to assure eligibility - make sure to use the link directly for the discount. It will also give you a full year from your license purchase (even if your Standard key is already expired).

Make sure to catch this occasion while it is up, this is the cheapest way to use all premium features for Thunderbird 102!

Note: Previous releases were not reviewed on ATN, hence the current sale was extended.
Version 4.4 - 29/03/2024
Version 4.4.1 - 01/04/2024

Enhancements

Pro feature: Added %preheader()% variable for injecting preview text for mobile email clients. [issue 274]
The following functions will from now support using commas within the text parameters:
%deleteText()% %replaceText()% %matchTextFromBody()% %matchTextFromSubject()% %deleteQuotedText()% %replaceQuotedText()% %file()% %toclipboard()% %conditionalText()% %header.set()% %header.prefix()% %header.append()% %header.delete()%
All commas need to be escaped with a preceding backslash, for example:
%toclipboard("All your needs\, fulfilled.")%
[issue 280]
The address data for %to%, %recipient% and %from% will now automatically be inserted when writing a new email via the context menu 'Compose Message To'. [issue 275]
Force lowercase emails when looking up Cardbook contacts. Before, the lookup of contacts could fail when replying to an email with mixed case address, such as John.Doe@acmeDomain.com. [issue 278]
Support for extracting prefix and suffix from address book fields. [issue 267]
Support for other.custom1, other.custom2 etc. from address book fields. [issue 246]
Removed duplicate tooltip on active SmartTemplate fields.
Rewrote message action menus using extension APIs [issue 253]

Bug Fixes

Using %recipient% also works as expected when replying to own emails in a conversation and Thunderbird automatically changes the recipients. [issue 239]
4.4.1 Maintenance Release: Fixed a Regression which caused the menus to show only one single MRU item instead of max 10 [issue 283]. This regression was caused by API menu changes [issue 253]

Miscellaneous

Removed duplicate tooltip on active SmartTemplate fields.
Removed FileUtils.getFile for future compatibility (122 beta)
Added documentation for %dateformat(fstring,toclipboard)% to the variables page in settings.
Opening support sites in a tab is now using API methods (requires tabs permission)

Maintenance Releases

4.4.1 - Fixed regression issue 283 caused by API menu changes [issue 253]
4.4.2 - Patched version to extend Sale to April 20th.
4.4.3 - Fixed a problem with the last used template being moved to the bottom of message actions popup menus.
4.4.3 - Improvement: MRU menu items will update with changed titles from template setup (if the file is found in the template menu configuration)
4.4.3 - Improvement: When sending email with unresolved from / recipient / to variables are now replaced automatically in a reliable fashion. (Previously there was a chance of them being sent unchanged.) [issue 284]
4.4.3 - Fixed opening the full version history tab from [What's New] which was broken in 4.0.
Removed license notification alert when saving / loading templates.

Version 4.3.3 - 08/11/2023
111.0 - 120.*
- Fixed loading account settings from settings window. [issue 273]
- Fixed: SmartTemplates ignored when creating an email from the Thunderbird taskbar context menu or when clicking a mailto link on a website. This now loads the template of the default identity as expected. [issue 272]
- Added support for 120.* beta versions
- Added longer delay to patching header pane dropdown menu.
- Sometimes the header menu is empty (missing the reply / forward submenus) To alleviate the problem for now, I increased the delay for patching message an also keeping a reference to local WindowListener in message window. There will be a complete fix forthcoming very soon. See [issue 271]
- Added accelerator keys for template menus (Write, Forward, Reply, Reply All and Reply to List) [issue 262]
- SmartTemplates now lists most recently used [MRU] external template actions in the Templates menus. These will show for reply and forward actions on on the mail preview header menu and for write actions on the main toolbar menu. It will prevent a lot of additional menu selection when creating a larger number of templates during a mail campaign. [issue 263]
  
  The main toolbar button will list the most recent templates used to write new emails.
  The button over the email preview displays the templates used to reply and forward mails.
  
  The number of items for each of these menus depends on the license level.
  - SmartTemplates "Free" displays the last 3 items used. These are not stored when Thunderbird restarts.
  - SmartTemplates Standard displays the last 5 items used, and remembers these Thunderbird is restarted.
  - SmartTemplates Pro displays the last 10 items, but the maximum amount can be configured in the configuration setting extensions.smartTemplate4.fileTemplates.mru.max.
  I will provide a user interface for adjusting the maximum number in a future version.
- Support reading %clipboard% with "text/plain" content [issue 264]
- Support <div type='cite'> for raising quote level in commands that have quote level parameters. [issue 265]
- Made license registration screen less tall, to support smaller screens / display scaling. [issue 268]
- Fixed %messageRaw()% function.
- [For Geeks only!]
  
  Fixed template scripting (JavaScript) - thanks to Benito van Zander for providing the patch code. All replacement functions (variables used in scripts) are now asynchronous, so if you are using script in a template, variables such as "subject" will return a promise and need to be converted to content using "await". [issue 266]
- Regression: Insert Snippet and Change template buttons are missing the menu item "Open template file..." [issue 269]

Version 4.2.1 - 25/09/2023
111.0 - 115.*
- The button in the email header bar is now shorter not containing the untranslated phrase 'Follow up with SmartTemplates' anymore - you can even completely hide the SmartTemplates label so that only the icon remains visible while in icon+text mode. [issue 254]
- Added "settings" item to bottom of SmartTemplates thread tools menu
- A problem was fixed that prevented other account templates loading when you change the 'From' address in the email editor window. [issue 256]
  
  However there will be a prompt now, as Thunderbird currently incorrectly reports a New Email as "changed" when the event happens. We're hoping that this problem may be address-related in a future version.

Version 4.1 - 09/08/2023
111.0 - 115.*
- New option to inject contents of <head> tags into the Thunderbird composers' head section. Merge attributes of template <body> into the body tag of the Email. [issue 79]
  
  Thunderbird used to discard any body tags that were injected into composer. With this new feature we can influence the look and feel of the page better (including background color and images). Moving style sections into the head of the email can also make the layout translate better in various email environments. Some webmail sites discard styles that are not located within the head section.
  
  This behavior can be toggled on the advanced settings page:
- In the previous version, the license website did not open when clicking on any buttons in the License dialog. This was fixed and also opening the support site in the standard browser.
- Fixed various layout issues in settings screen.
- There may still be some stability issues with displaying / updating the template menus.
- Future versions will hide irrelevant menus (reply list, reply all) based on current context.

Version 4.0.2 - 25/07/2023
111.0 - 115.*

SmartTemplates 4.0 is a brand new version for Thunderbird 115, which is in active process of release over the next weeks and which has a completely redesigned new user interface "Supernova". If you would like to share feedback on this beta version, I recommend that you visit Github issue 213.

Please buy a license or renew your license to finance this work if you want to use SmartTemplates in the future.
- The menu item for last used template is now updated as expected. This means also when you load a template directly from disk this will afterwards show up in the appropriate menu (Reply, Write or Forward) as "Last template" for easier reuse.
- Fixed a problem with the Add-on CardBook. If cardbook support was enabled without the Add-on being active / installed, then falling back to searching the standard address book would also fail.
- Fixed an issue with opening templates or snippets directly from file - these functions did not insert any data. [issue 249]
- Fixed missing write / reply / forward tabs in Common settings if no account was selected (e.g. when opening the settings from Local Folders)
- There may still be some stability issues with displaying / updating the template menus. If there is a problem
- Future versions will hide irrelevant menus (reply list, reply all) based on current context.

Version 4.0b3 - 17/07/2023
112.* - 115.*

SmartTemplates 4.0 is a brand new version for Thunderbird 115, which is in active process of release over the next weeks and which has a completely redesigned new user interface "Supernova". If you would like to share feedback on this beta version, I recommend that you visit Github issue 213.

Please buy a license or renew your license to finance this work if you want to use SmartTemplates in the future.
- Fixed a bug which broke the template menus when modifying (the menus were saved in a broken format). [issue 247]
- The %recipient% variable will now update to the correct address when inserting it from a smart fragment in a reply, even after it was changed manually. [issue 248]
- User Interface: The template dropdown menus are now displayed through dedicated buttons in the new unified toolbar and the message header area. Thunderbird does not allow modifying existing buttons (such as Write or Reply) with a dropdown anymore.
  
  Unified Toolbar Menu
  
  this is automatically added on installation on the top right of Thunderbird - you can move it to the left via the context menu and selecting Customize.
  
  Header Actions Menu
- New option to automatically reuse last external template. Once you select an external HTML from the dropdown when replying, this will be used for all subsequent replies using Thunderbird's standard reply / reply all buttons. [issue 243]
  This feature will be available to all users with a valid license (Standard, Pro and Domain) and can be activated in Global Settings:
- Supports %replaceText% and %deleteText% to modify html that was imported using %file()%. This way you can use placeholder variables and replace them from the containing template. [issue 244]
  I recommend using the tested syntax {variable} for place holders.
  
  We frequently need to import text fragments ("building blocks") that have some generic content but need to include some specific keywords, such as a product name or URL. Previously the following pattern did not work within the text that is imported:
```
  %file("snippets/why-renew.html")%
    %replaceText("{addonName}","quickFilters")%    
    %replaceText("{github}","https://github.com/RealRaven2000/quickFilters")%
```
  Contained file (why-renew.html)
```
  <p>
      All changes of the Add-on {addonName} can be seen as they are 
      created and tracked <a href="{github}/issues">on Github</a>;
    </p>
```
  Previously, SmartTemplates did the replacements before the contents of the file were inserted into the template text. New behavior: First load the file and replace its contents into the template, then do the text replacements afterwards. As demonstrated in the example above, it can also be used to modify HTML markup and affect things like HTML attributes such as the URL of a web link.
- There may still be some stability issues with displaying / updating the template menus.
- Future versions will hide irrelevant menus (reply list, reply all) based on current context.

Version 3.18 - 25/09/2023
91.* - 110.*

SmartTemplates is now compatible with the latest version of Thunderbird (115.2)!

Thunderbird 115 has been released on July 11th and has a completely new user interface "Supernova".

This required considerable work of rewriting all elements interacting with the main page (3pane) of Thunderbird (toolbar buttons, template menus, event handlers) - and also requires rewriting the settings dialog as a content tab. Please fund this work through buying a license.

If you would like to read up or comment on the ongoing work for optimizing this new SmartTemplates version, see this Github issue.
- New option to inject contents of <head> tags into the Thunderbird composers' head section. Merge attributes of template <body> into the body tag of the Email. [issue 79]
  
  Thunderbird used to discard any body tags that were injected into composer. With this new feature we can influence the look and feel of the page better (including background color and images). Moving style sections into the head of the email can also make the layout translate better in various email environments. Some webmail sites discard styles that are not located within the head section.
  
  This behavior can be toggled on the advanced settings page:
- Avoid error in log when smartTemplates.json file (list of external templates) does not exist [issue 227]

Version 3.17.1 - 16/07/2023
91.* - 110.*