Can I direct "mail-to" links to Gmail so that Outlook, Thunderbird, etc. do not open?

June 8, 2009 5:33 AM

Can I make "mail-to" links redirect to Gmail instead of Outlook or Thunderbird?

"Mail to" links always open free-standing mail programs like Outlook or Thunderbird. I would like to redirect "mail to" links to Gmail. Is there a way? I use Firefox on a Dell.

What I found on the web suggests that I can't do what I want to do. But I have a limited computer vocabulary so I have a hard time searching the AskMe archives or the internet for an answer. Thanks for your help.

posted by vincele to Computers & Internet (10 answers total)

Best answer: In Firefox, go to Tools > Options, and then the "Applications" tab. Under "Content Type," find "mailto" and set it to "Gmail." You may have to install Google Notifier or Google Toolbar, but I'm not certain of that.
posted by The Michael The at 5:39 AM on June 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Check out this official explanation also.
posted by wannalol at 5:42 AM on June 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: The Michael The: It is set to gmail, but my computer still annoyingly opens Outlook. Could this be a setting my IT department controls and thereby overrides the Firefox setting?
posted by vincele at 5:43 AM on June 8, 2009

If you are using Firefox 3 then following these instructions from Lifehacker should also accomplish what you want.
posted by wannalol at 5:46 AM on June 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I tried Gmail notifier, but after I confirmed it is working with the correct password, I get error messages (that explanation point on the envelope). I'll re-install it and see what happens.
posted by vincele at 5:53 AM on June 8, 2009

Best answer: You might want to try this GreaseMonkey script as well. I haven't used it, but it seems to do what you want.
posted by DecemberBoy at 5:53 AM on June 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Well I reinstalled gmail notifier, unchecked the first box, and now it seems to be working the way it should. I still get the annoying exclamation point, but I can live with that.

I'll try Greasemonkey and Lifehacker if the current method stops working.

Thanks everybody for the suggestions. Favorites all around!
posted by vincele at 6:07 AM on June 8, 2009

Best answer: Gmail notifier has a problem with Gmail accounts set to always use https for security. It results in the error you mentioned. There's a patch out there:

Gmai Notifier
posted by monkeymadness at 6:15 AM on June 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

I use the greasemonkey script linked to by DecemberBoy, works well.
posted by jrishel at 7:27 AM on June 8, 2009

Response by poster: monkeymadness, I think your patch solved my problem. I do have the https setting enabled for gmail.* Thanks for the patch. I wouldn't have known to look for it.

jrishel, thanks for confirming DecemberBoy's script works.

*For others reading this thread, you can force gmail to use https. Go to Settings--> General--> Browser Connection --> Select https

What a helpful thread. Thanks everyone.
posted by vincele at 4:16 AM on June 9, 2009