Firefox 3.0 + Email links = No Thunderbird?

Getting the Application menu to work properly may be a different story, however, and I am disappointed to see that Firefox may be so dependent on GNOME components.

I guess this is what happens when the world thinks Linux = Ubuntu.

Following the gentoo link above, thanks dugan, lead me to this one:
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=409192

Ken Zalewski 2008-06-25 12:25:56 PDT I am having the same problem with Firefox 3 on Slackware 12.1. Thunderbird no longer launches when I click on a mailto: URL, even though the network.protocol-handler.app.mailto pref is set to "/usr/bin/thunderbird". And the Applications panel is empty, with no means to modify it. I then built and installed the following GNOME packages: orbit2, gconf, gnome-mime-data, gnome-vfs, intltool, libbonobo, and libgnome Next, I deleted the compreg.dat file in my Firefox profile directory, and I commented out the line in firefox.js that sets the mailto preferences mentioned above. After restarting Firefox 3, the Applications panel is now populated, and I can set the mailto URL to open Thunderbird, Yahoo, or whatever else I choose. I find it disturbing that Firefox 3 requires all of these GNOME libraries. Slackware is a KDE distro, and there must be a more desktop-independent method for accessing MIME data. Seven libraries to simply perform a hash table storage and retrieval is unacceptable.

Personally, I think Ken is spot on with that conclusion. There seems to be a growing assumption recently that everyone is running a gnome desktop on linux. Using gui toolkits like gtk and Qt is one thing, but when you start requiring an entire chain of desktop environment specific features just to provide the functionality you'd traditionally find in a ~/.programrc or /etc/program.rc settings file then you've lost touch with what linux/unix is all about.

Seeing large flagship Open Source projects like Mozilla/Firefox make this mistake is truly saddening. Lets hope they come to their senses before they turn linux into the same mess that windows is.

edit: hehe, I just noticed Ken is one of our own and already posted that above, so my post was a little redundant. I still think he's spot on with his comments though.

I have also had this problem and I want to thank shadowsnipes for the solution.
In my case I renamed my ~/.mozilla/firefox/<random>.default/mimeTypes.rdf and started firefox 3.0 so that this file was recreated.
I then added entries as suggested by shadowsnipes and am now able to use the File -> Send Link.. dialog to start Thunderbird.
I have since edited my /usr/lib/firefox-3.0/defaults/pref/firefox.js and commented out the

pref("network.protocol-handler.app.mailto", "/usr/bin/thunderbird");

line.

The blank Applications screen under Edit -> Preferences is still a bug, but it is possible to associate applications with file types so that they work correctly. You just cannot see them or change them from within Firefox 3.0.

This is my mimeTypes.rdf in case anyone wants a look, with xpdf added as the default app for pdf files.

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<RDF:RDF xmlns:NC="http://home.netscape.com/NC-rdf#"
         xmlns:RDF="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#">
  <RDF:Description RDF:about="urn:scheme:handler:webcal"
                   NC:alwaysAsk="true">
    <NC:possibleApplication RDF:resource="urn:handler:web:http://30boxes.com/external/widget?refer=ff&amp;url=%s"/>
  </RDF:Description>
  <RDF:Description RDF:about="urn:mimetype:application/pdf"
                   NC:value="application/pdf"
                   NC:editable="true"
                   NC:fileExtensions="pdf"
                   NC:description="">
    <NC:handlerProp RDF:resource="urn:mimetype:handler:application/pdf"/>
  </RDF:Description>
  <RDF:Description RDF:about="urn:schemes">
    <NC:Protocol-Schemes RDF:resource="urn:schemes:root"/>
  </RDF:Description>
  <RDF:Description RDF:about="urn:handler:web:http://compose.mail.yahoo.com/?To=%s"
                   NC:prettyName="Yahoo! Mail"
                   NC:uriTemplate="http://compose.mail.yahoo.com/?To=%s" />
  <RDF:Description RDF:about="urn:mimetype:externalApplication:application/pdf"
                   NC:path="/usr/bin/xpdf"
                   NC:prettyName="xpdf" />
  <RDF:Description RDF:about="urn:scheme:handler:mailto"
                   NC:alwaysAsk="true">
    <NC:possibleApplication RDF:resource="urn:handler:web:http://compose.mail.yahoo.com/?To=%s"/>
    <NC:possibleApplication RDF:resource="urn:handler:local:/usr/bin/thunderbird"/>
    <NC:externalApplication RDF:resource="urn:scheme:externalApplication:mailto"/>
  </RDF:Description>
  <RDF:Description RDF:about="urn:scheme:webcal"
                   NC:value="webcal">
    <NC:handlerProp RDF:resource="urn:scheme:handler:webcal"/>
  </RDF:Description>
  <RDF:Description RDF:about="urn:scheme:mailto"
                   NC:value="mailto">
    <NC:handlerProp RDF:resource="urn:scheme:handler:mailto"/>
  </RDF:Description>
  <RDF:Seq RDF:about="urn:mimetypes:root">
    <RDF:li RDF:resource="urn:mimetype:application/pdf"/>
  </RDF:Seq>
  <RDF:Description RDF:about="urn:mimetype:handler:application/pdf"
                   NC:alwaysAsk="false"
                   NC:saveToDisk="false"
                   NC:useSystemDefault="false"
                   NC:handleInternal="false">
    <NC:externalApplication RDF:resource="urn:mimetype:externalApplication:application/pdf"/>
  </RDF:Description>
  <RDF:Seq RDF:about="urn:schemes:root">
    <RDF:li RDF:resource="urn:scheme:mailto"/>
    <RDF:li RDF:resource="urn:scheme:webcal"/>
  </RDF:Seq>
  <RDF:Description RDF:about="urn:handler:local:/usr/bin/thunderbird"
                   NC:prettyName="Thunderbird"
                   NC:path="/usr/bin/thunderbird" />
  <RDF:Description RDF:about="urn:handler:web:http://30boxes.com/external/widget?refer=ff&amp;url=%s"
                   NC:prettyName="30 Boxes"
                   NC:uriTemplate="http://30boxes.com/external/widget?refer=ff&amp;url=%s" />
  <RDF:Description RDF:about="urn:scheme:externalApplication:mailto"
                   NC:prettyName="Thunderbird"
                   NC:path="/usr/bin/thunderbird" />
  <RDF:Description RDF:about="urn:mimetypes">
    <NC:MIME-types RDF:resource="urn:mimetypes:root"/>
  </RDF:Description>
  <RDF:Description RDF:about="urn:root"
                   NC:en-US_defaultHandlersVersion="1" />
</RDF:RDF>

Shadowsnipes is correct.

I think regis_n_bits actually just built the firefox package from the slackBuild (binary repacking). The problem, as I said earlier, is that the old thunderbird patch no longer works in Firefox 3.0 (mail handling changed). The patch I submitted in my last post can be used in a slackBuild or on a installed firefox package. If the old thunderbird patch was used you have to undo it, unless you want more than one thunderbird entry (one being broken).

I should have made it clearer in my post that I used the latest Slackbuild, and modified it to not apply the Thunderbird patch. Just a binary repacking (no compile from source, no adding new packages).

This might be old news, but Dugan turened my on to this.

Dugan__________________________________________________

To the SlackBuild, I recommend fixing the blank applications menu bug.

The Bugzilla entry:
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=409192

The patch:
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/attachment.cgi?id=325195

I added the patch to my SlackBuild and now everything works perfectly. (The crashing problem I mentioned earlier seems to have solved itself).
_______________________________________________________

Just applying this patch to a source build fixed the problem with the applications not showing up. You don't even need to install any gnome libs.

Daedra,

Thanks for that information. I rebuilt Firefox3 with the simple patch that you referenced, and without the seven GNOME libs that I previously needed.

The Applications Panel is working fine, and mailto URLs are working fine (without the protocol-handler preference being set).

I will post this new, working Firefox3 to Linuxpackages.net today.

Thanks for all of the help!

Originally Posted by kennyz Daedra, Thanks for that information. I rebuilt Firefox3 with the simple patch that you referenced, and without the seven GNOME libs that I previously needed. The Applications Panel is working fine, and mailto URLs are working fine (without the protocol-handler preference being set). I will post this new, working Firefox3 to Linuxpackages.net today. Thanks for all of the help!

Could you also post your build script here or with the package as well? Thanks.

Originally Posted by shadowsnipes Could you also post your build script here or with the package as well? Thanks.

This is the buildscript I'm using
http://webpages.charter.net/daedra/1...fox.SlackBuild

dugan just made a post though with his own slackbuilds, I haven't tried them yet, but there i'm sure there solid.

You will also need the patch for the application bug, you can get it here
http://webpages.charter.net/daedra/1..._panel.diff.gz

The buildscript has been updated to include the application bug patch.

Originally Posted by Daedra This is the buildscript I'm using http://webpages.charter.net/daedra/1...fox.SlackBuild dugan just made a post though with his own slackbuilds, I haven't tried them yet, but there i'm sure there solid.

dugan's slackBuild requires your font packages and xulrunner. Does your slackBuild require any compile time dependencies not met in stock Slackware?

Edit: I just looked at your Slackware Fonts thread and it says that the new cairo and fontconfig are required. Looking at your buildscript, it looks like I won't have to build xulrunner. Perhaps taking off the "--enable-system-cairo" will allow me to not need the new cairo and fontconfig (I don't mind the way my fonts look now).

Originally Posted by shadowsnipes dugan's slackBuild requires your font packages and xulrunner. Does your slackBuild require any compile time dependencies not met in stock Slackware? Edit: I just looked at your Slackware Fonts thread and it says that the new cairo and fontconfig are required. Looking at your buildscript, it looks like I won't have to build xulrunner. Perhaps taking off the "--enable-system-cairo" will allow me to not need the new cairo and fontconfig (I don't mind the way my fonts look now).

Yes, you only need my cairo/fontconfig packages if you want to enable proper sub-pixel rendering with firefox 3.0 if you don't care then just take out that option and it should compile fine.

Originally Posted by farwest92 I use thunderbird, not GMail, but I followed steps 1 & 2 to set up GMail and then I had the option of choosing Thunderbird as the default. How to do this. 1. In about:config set "gecko.handlerService.allowRegisterFromDifferentHost" to true set "network.protocol-handler.app.mailto;" /usr/bin/thunderbird 2. Run this in address line javascript:window.navigator.registerProtocolHandler("mailto","http://mail.google.com/mail/?extsrc=mailto&url=%s","GMail") 3. Firefox will ask permission to add this as default mailto handler..say yes Click on a mailto link or right click to send page, Firefox will ask which application to use, choose thunderbird and set as default. Got the info from: http://digiwanderlust.blogspot.com/2...ndler-bug.html I don't know why it works, good luck.

This totally worked for me and was a piece of cake to do.