Firefox mailto thunderbird

felixq78 · 08-21-2006, 04:25 PM

I've just installed Firefox and Thunderbird on Mandrake 10.1 and would like to access Thunderbird via Tools/read mail and new message.
I know there's a very simple procedure to enable this. It involves first typing into the url box etc etc. I've done it on a previous occasion but have lost the instructions.
Can anyone help with the details please.
There is another way via commands lines which I shall deal with at a later date, for the moment the simple method will suffice.

dracolich · 08-22-2006, 09:03 AM

In my Firefox's about:config I have this:

network.protocol-handler.app.mailto default string /usr/bin/thunderbird

Hope this helps.

homey · 08-22-2006, 09:09 AM

Here's my notes

Code:

Configure firefox to use thunderbird on mailto links:

While in firefox, type:
about:config

type: mail in the filter window.

right clicked in the window with all the preference names and chose:
new string

In the box for: Enter the preference name
network.protocol-handler.app.mailto

In the box for value: Enter the path to thunderbird
/usr/bin/thunderbird

then toggle the value of these by double clicking
network.protocol-handler.warn-external.mailto true
network.protocol-handler.external.mailto true
network.protocol-handler.expose.mailto false

felixq78 · 08-22-2006, 11:34 AM

There must be something missing, I tried what you suggested and got nowhere. Still no reaction when I clicked Tools/read mail or new message.
Anyone else have any suggestions

dracolich · 08-23-2006, 07:12 AM

Is /usr/bin/thunderbird the path or symlink to your thunderbird executable? If not substitute yours. Also you may need to restart Firefox for the config change to take effect.

Ratty39 · 09-22-2009, 11:02 PM

I had a little trouble recently getting firefox to handle mailto links on webpages with thunderbird.
I had already tried the older method of typing about:config in the firefox location bar and adding a new string entry to the config listings; network.protocol-handler.app.mailto and then filling in the resultant pop-up box with the location of my thunderbird executable; /usr/local/thunderbird/thunderbird in my case.
That did not work for me this time - it may be that importing my .mozilla directory had something to do with that.
What finally worked for me was to open the
~/.mozilla/firefox/{random-letters-and-numbers}.default/mimeTypes.rdf
file - and search through it for alwaysAsk and changing False to True when I got to the urn:scheme:handler:mailto entry.
Then when I clicked on a mailto link in a webpage Firefox asked me how to handle it. I showed the pop-up box the location of the thunderbird executable, (in my case /usr/local/thunderbird/thunderbird), and then after I saw that it worked I clicked on another mailto link, fed it /usr/local/thunderbird/thunderbird again, and this time told the pop-up dialog box to remember how to handle it.
Now it works the way I want it to. When I click on a mailto link in Firefox it opens Thunderbird to a Compose page that already has the email address filled out.