Thunderbird and Image Magick as a "helper app"

dguy · 02-04-2008, 08:24 AM

Are there any gotchas with respect to using Image Magick as a JPG viewer from Thunderbird?

I have a MIME type for jpeg images configured to open files with a command line of /usr/bin/xterm -iconic -e /usr/bin/display %1.

When run from a terminal window (substituting a filename for %1), everything works. When attempting to open an associated file from within Thunderbird however, a window briefly appears/disappears on my desktop, followed by Thunderbird complaining that "the helper application does not exist".

Any ideas?

KenJackson · 02-05-2008, 06:12 AM

Why are you using xterm? Why not just this?

/usr/bin/display %1

dguy · 02-06-2008, 04:51 AM

It was a command line which I had blindly copied from somewhere else... a default window manager config, I think.

Regardless, changing the command line to /usr/bin/display %1 had no effect.

KenJackson · 02-06-2008, 05:55 AM

I don't actually use Thunderbird any more, so I can't experiment, but here is how to edit mimeTypes.rdf directly instead of using context menus.

Also Open Attachment by Extension is an extension that allows you to open an attachment with a program associated by file extension, not the mimetype indicated in the message.

Otherwise, I'm out of ideas.