LatexIt v.0.6.8 incompatible with Thunderbird 78.2.2

[mwparis]

Thanks for your great contribution with LatexIt -- I use it frequently.

What's the expectation for Tbird 78.2.2 compatibility?

Thanks. -Mark

[sphh]

@jobisoft offered to help with the transition to a mailextension. See #62. But he/we could need some help testing this first step. Any volunteers?

[kiv57]

@jobisoft offered to help with the transition to a mailextension. See #62. But he/we could need some help testing this first step. Any volunteers?

I can help for some testing on windows.

[FMuro]

@jobisoft offered to help with the transition to a mailextension. See #62. But he/we could need some help testing this first step. Any volunteers?

I can test on linux.

[sphh]

Thanks for the offers. Since I did the first conversions on a Linux machine, that is ok. We also have already proceeded to the next step in the conversion stage #62, so at the moment we are ok.

But we could need help with the conversion itself!

[t-morales]

I am using the fork made by @jobisoft and it seems to work in in thunderbird 78.6.1. Many thanks! I really find this extension useful and it saved me as I could no longer use it in the new thunderbird

[marmistrz]

I think it would be a good idea to point to the unfinished fork in the readme

[fwillo]

@marmistrz I assume the mailextension branch of this repository is meant (https://github.com/protz/LatexIt/tree/mailextension). Downloaded and followed procedure in Makefile. Runs fine on Windows and Thunderbird 78.7.1 (64-bit). Thank you very much for this neat feature, missed it in the last months.

[sphh]

@fwillo, you are right, the mailextension branch is that one with the most recent work to convert this add-on to MailExtension.

If I remember correctly, the basic features are there, but the configuration is not working (but I might be wrong here, it's already 3½ months I did it and then I was "sidetracked" by my breadwinning job (and Christmas!).

Anyone out there wanting to finish that job?

[sphh]

A quick update …

Since I last tried the mailextension branch, the situation has miraculously improved. I am now on TB 78.7.1 and I noticed only the following problems:

• If you install LatexIt! for the first time, a configuration screen pops up. This has the button No, take me to the options screen. If you press this button, nothing happens. You have to press the Yes, don't bother me again button and then go to the option screen – see next item. (The error message in the console is JavaScript error: chrome://tblatex/content/firstrun.html, line 86: NS_ERROR_ILLEGAL_VALUE:, if someone who wants to figure out and solve the problem) [This is sorted due to the great help by @jobisoft and his PR] Call first run as a WebExtension page #83
• The configuration screen can only be reached via the menubar Tools>Add-on Options>LatexIt!, but the menubar is disabled by default (switch it on by right-clicking anywhere on the toolbar and tick Menu Bar) [The configuration screen can now be opened from the Add-on page by clicking on the … menu for LatexIt! Thanks @jobisoft!] LatexIt v.0.6.8 incompatible with Thunderbird 78.2.2 #61 (comment)
• If you select Open the autodetection dialog from the configuration screen, the dialog probably appears behind the configuration screen. Furthermore it has a black background which makes the text difficult to read (I would suggest to get rid of it and incorporate its functionality into the main configuration screen; this would also solve the first problem). This is sorted due to the great help by @jobisoft and his PR] Call first run as a WebExtension page #83
• The configuration screen is not a proper TB78 configuration page, but a separate dialog. (Any help is welcome to rewrite it to a TB78 configuration page!)
• If you use Windows, it does not work yet (the problem are spaces in file paths and difficult escaping of quotation marks Failed to generate images due to 'preview' package missing #76). @sfrcorne has developed an ingenious hack (PR Fixes the process calls with nsIProcess on Windows #81), but this needs a bit of polishing, because at the moment it breaks on Linux. Stay tuned. [Merged into the mailextension branch, so it should now work for Windows and Linux/MacOS. @sfrcorne, you are as good as gold!🙇]
• If you have more than one space before \usepackage[…]{preview}, LatexIt! complains, that the preview-package is not included in the preamble. Remove all spaces. [The latest version of the mailextension branch has this sorted.]

[jobisoft]

Update the used WindowListener API and the options page moves into the add-on manager!
https://thunderbird.topicbox.com/groups/addons/T02a09c034809ca6d/resolving-the-add-on-options-chaos-introduced-by-my-wrapper-apis-windowlistener-and-bootstraploader

That solves the issue with option only accessible if menu bar is shown.

[sphh]

Excellent, thanks @jobisoft: I updated api/WindowListener/implementation.js and now a Preference menu item appeared in the … menu on the add-ons page.

It still opens a separate window, but I think, that's ok for now … So the next step would be to (re)write the preferences page (#80?)?

[jobisoft]

Working on the pure html webextension options screen seems a good next step (you can make it inline in the add-on manager or as a tab). To not have to change too much at the same time, you can use the LegacyPrefs API to access the legacy pref branch to actually access the old prefs storage, so the remaining code does not need to be changed. Only later, when the add-on has been updated to work without the WindowListener API, you can switch to the webextension local storage.

https://github.com/thundernest/addon-developer-support/tree/master/auxiliary-apis/LegacyPrefs

[jobisoft]

The NS_ERROR_ILLEGAL_VALUE error is fixed by
#83

[jlinkels]

Thank you so much for updating the code so it is compatible with TB 78+
I dearly missed it!

[sphh]

For everybody coming here looking for LatexIt! for TB 78 and who cannot wait for the official release on TB's add-on page, you can use this file for the moment (mind you, there might be still some rough edges!):
tblatex.xpi.zip

• Download the file
• Unzip it
• Go to TB's preferences page
• Click on the cog wheel
• Select Install Add-on From File…
• Select the unzipped tblatex.xpi file
• Confirm installation

Please keep in mind, that this might break automatic updates and you have de-install the add-on and re-install it from the TB add-ons page as soon as the new version is made available!