Flawless PopPeeper in Linux

[Jan46]

Hope this will help some folks

Over the years I've watched as folks wanted to use Pop Peeper in a Linux environment. After 45+ years of Microsoft IT support I'm going to Linux - Goal is to be on Linux by Christmas 2024.

A sticking point has always been successful and reliable use of Pop Peeper. I have two licences but more important I just flat like the program and have not found anything that comes close. Very happy with my progress with linux and with Pop Peeper installed - I might get Christmas early.

This worked flawless
LinuxMint 22.x.x Cinnamon
Bottles version 51.15 downloaded directly from usebottles site
Pop Peeper version 5.5.2 downloaded direct from esumsoft site

Installed Bottles following defaults
Installed Pop Peeper followed defaults
and there was my old friend
everything works as expected
I'm a happy camper

[Jeff]

Glad to hear it! It's been a while since I tried running PP in linux (probably at least 5+ years ago) and WINE was starting to struggle, particularly with the https calls not supporting the modern encryption technologies (which relies on the system API's). Do you have accounts using Oauth2 or do they all use passwords? -- Oauth2 would be my biggest concern regarding https support.

[Jan46]

Hi Jeff

Replied to your post - clicked Preview and got logged off - back in cannot find what I wrote. Maybe just as good 'cause I got long winded.

I went back out and while off line and I caught up on Oauth2. ( Blog.Postamn.com/what-is-oauth2-2-0/ ). Much like 2FA, I understand the tech and the stated reasons for their use. I, personally find them both a bother. OK for others if so inclined to find benifit withtheir use. Maybe you can find what I wrote in my first attempt to Reply/Preview - would explain some factors.

Shortest as I can make it... As I push to get completely on a Linux platform and keep my PopPeeper, would you like a progress report and what I'm faced with? If so, what would help?

[Jan46]

Sorry - lost my train of thought when I tried to Preview my original answer and got logged out

You asked: "Do you have accounts using Oauth2 or do they all use passwords? -- Oauth2 would be my biggest concern regarding https support."

Tried both ways. PP will Receive Browser based Outlook with Oauth2 active... but will not Send with Oauth2 or Password. Must login to Outlook to be able to Send.

How does https become an issue with Linux?? or did I misunderstand?

[Jeff]

Oauth2 uses https frequently when it needs to login (this is a normal login, beyond the initial authentication where you use a browser to login into the account and grant POP Peeper permission access). Last I used linux/wine, it was heavily based on IE6 (iirc) and the APIs did not support the levels of encryption that most websites used. But it's possible this was pre-Oauth2 and I just assumed later that Oauth2 would be a show-stopper since Gmail, Yahoo and Outlook all "require" it now.

I don't see any reason why imap/pop3 would work and smtp would not (if I understand what you're saying correctly). I would expect either they would both fail or they would both work.

[FritzM]

Hi there,
I've been using POPPeeper for more than a decade and switched from Windows to Linux eight years ago. I never had any problems with Wine, but this time I had to download it from https://gitlab.winehq.org/wine/wine/-/w ... ian-Ubuntu
However, this time PP has a strange problem regarding the application window. When I minimize it and then click on Open POP Peeper, it always looks like this:

I'm using Linux Mint 22.1 Xia Mate (base: Ubuntu 24.04 noble) and wine-10.0.

Long story short: Do you plan to make a Linux version of PP so I don't have to install Wine and can probably expect PP to run without errors?

I've also looked for an email notifier for Linux, but there's nothing close to PP.

[Jeff]

Sorry, there are no plans to make a linux-native version.

If I understand the screenshot, PP is nothing more than a small titlebar? I assume pressing the "restore" button fixes it? What if PP is in a different state when you minimize it (ie. if you usually have it full-screen, what if it's just a window? or vice versa?). Another option may be to just minimize to the taskbar instead of the tray.

There is always another option if Wine does weird things, and that's to run a VM with Windows running in it (I'd highly recommend Win10+). There are, of course, cons to that method (ie. it would presumably require more system resources), but the POP Peeper, et al, experience should be more consistent.

[FritzM]

Hi Jeff, thank you for your reply.

Sorry, there are no plans to make a linux-native version.

Too bad.

If I understand the screenshot, PP is nothing more than a small titlebar? I assume pressing the "restore" button fixes it? What if PP is in a different state when you minimize it (ie. if you usually have it full-screen, what if it's just a window? or vice versa?). Another option may be to just minimize to the taskbar instead of the tray.

None of these work.

There is always another option if Wine does weird things, and that's to run a VM with Windows running in it (I'd highly recommend Win10+). There are, of course, cons to that method (ie. it would presumably require more system resources), but the POP Peeper, et al, experience should be more consistent.

No, I'm not gonna do any of that. It's a compromise to install Wine just for PP, but if that doesn't work, then it's time to say goodbye to PP. I don't like Wine either, and I prefer my Linux to run without Wine.

[mjs]

If I understand the screenshot, PP is nothing more than a small titlebar? I assume pressing the "restore" button fixes it? What if PP is in a different state when you minimize it (ie. if you usually have it full-screen, what if it's just a window? or vice versa?). Another option may be to just minimize to the taskbar instead of the tray.

None of these work.

FritzM, in regards to your reply: "None of these work."

And specific to what Jeff had asked about:

.... I assume pressing the "restore" button fixes it? What if PP is in a different state when you minimize it (ie. if you usually have it full-screen, what if it's just a window? or vice versa?). Another option may be to just minimize to the taskbar instead of the tray.

I'm curious (beyond just "None of these work"), would you please provide us with more details as to what exactly does happen when you click on the "restore" button?

Clicking on 'restore' button is expected to return the window to the size you were using previously

restore button.png (3.25 KiB) Viewed 9435 times

I'll leave it to you and Jeff to continue the conversation.

[crabboy]

This worked flawless
LinuxMint 22.x.x Cinnamon
Bottles version 51.15 downloaded directly from usebottles site
Pop Peeper version 5.5.2 downloaded direct from esumsoft site

I am having the same problem I've always had with PP using Wine:
It works fine except: I cannot get html images to show. I have Linux Mint with xfce. Could this be the reason?

[mjs]

crabboy, you had some level of success as you reported over 3½ years ago Re: Pop Peeper and Linux.
Not sure if your former (linked) topic reply (above) applies to the issue you're currently reporting - just thought I'd run it past you as to what you had previously posted some time ago regarding a similar topic (FWIW).

[crabboy]

crabboy, you had some level of success as reported by you nearly 3 years ago Re: Pop Peeper and Linux.
Not sure if your former (linked) topic reply (above) applies to the issue you're currently reporting - just thought I'd run past you as to what you had previously posted some time ago regarding a similar topic (FWIW).

At that time I used Play On Linux to install IE8, therefore successfully opening HTML on Peppermint Linux. I an now using Linux Mint.
I was unable to install IE8 this time around.
I can run PP via Wine. Every thing works except opening HTML. I have set the program to open emails in Rich Text. I tried Bottles,and it had the same problem.
My main laptop runs Windows 11. I have Linux Mint installed on a netbook that I use when traveling or elsewhere away from home ( It had Windows 10 and cannot upgrade to 11). If I could get HTML to open I too would be a happy camper.

[mjs]

Thanks for the additional details crabboy - Jeff will be taking a look at this topic, later this morning, and with that hopefully be able to provide additional advice or possibly discuss new developments.

[Jeff]

I can't provide specific instructions, but I can tell you what is the most likely setting that you'll need to figure out how to enable for linux.

In the (Windows) "Internet Options" (Control Panel / Network and Internet / Internet Options)
Go to the "Advanced" page
Scroll to the very bottom
"use TLS 1.2" must be enabled
(TLS 1.2 is the minimum version that is still supported; most websites will not support TLS 1.1)

My guess is that TLS 1.2 won't even be listed. But if it is and it's unchecked, then you're in luck and you probably just need to enable it and all should be well. If it's not listed, you'll need to figure out what you need to do to get it listed (and enabled)

Updating IE is *probably* the solution, but I'm surprised that IE8 was apparently sufficient for you earlier. I cannot find any information on when TLS1.2 was added, but I thought it was added later -- IE9? specifically, on a post-XP OS, IE8 was supported on XP which is why that surprises me. But I should also mention that I don't think it was specifically the IE version that supported TLS 1.2, XP couldn't support it because XP simply didn't support the crypto that TLS 1.2 requires.

I should also mention that I remember seeing "hacks" to get TLS 1.2 listed on XP. They didn't work. I only mention this so that you don't find some hacky solution that lists (or regedit) TLS 1.2 and it still doesn't work.

[crabboy]

I am confused - how will enabling TLS 1.2 in Windows help me in Linux? (I checked, and it is).

[Jeff]

What I mean is the "Windows" component of WINE (as opposed to settings that are native to linux). It's been a very long time since I've opened linux and even longer since I played with WINE, but you should be able to access the same "internet options" in linux/wine that native-Windows has. That is, you need to access the "internet options" via WINE and check if it has enabled TLS 1.2.

[crabboy]

I will check.