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Will you PLEASE make it easier to ensure the user's desired browser is executed when opening links in email?

  • 2 replies
  • 1 has this problem
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  • Last reply by hopper16

hopper16
hopper16
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There seem to be several settings with Thunderbird that can change how web URLs contained in emails will be opened on a user's system. Finding and altering these settings is difficult for your users. And it should not be necessary. I previously thought I had this problem solved by ensuring my "network.protocol-handler.app.http(s)" preferences were set to use Firefox. Then a few days ago, I installed Google Chrome on my Fedora 22 system. Suddenly my web links within emails were opening with Chrome. A search of my Thunderbird preferences revealed no references to Google Chrome anywhere. A search of my KDE preferences revealed no references to Google Chrome as the default browser. I see NOW that this is wrapped up somehow with -attachments- (guys, links are not attachments) within Thunderbird and I swear that I checked those settings and could not find the reference there either until I reset my "network.protocol-handler.warn-external.http" preference as described here: http://askubuntu.com/questions/130158/how-do-i-make-thunderbird-open-links-in-chromium.

The only "official" article on this matter I could find: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Changing_the_web_browser_invoked_by_Thunderbird is hopelessly out of date and insufficient considering the number of knobs and dials that have been added to alter this setting in the intervening years.

At a minimum, I would ask you to update the knowledge base with a more complete answer. A more optimal solution would be to improve the user experience to control these settings with greater certainty.

There seem to be several settings with Thunderbird that can change how web URLs contained in emails will be opened on a user's system. Finding and altering these settings is difficult for your users. And it should not be necessary. I previously thought I had this problem solved by ensuring my "network.protocol-handler.app.http(s)" preferences were set to use Firefox. Then a few days ago, I installed Google Chrome on my Fedora 22 system. Suddenly my web links within emails were opening with Chrome. A search of my Thunderbird preferences revealed no references to Google Chrome anywhere. A search of my KDE preferences revealed no references to Google Chrome as the default browser. I see NOW that this is wrapped up somehow with -attachments- (guys, links are not attachments) within Thunderbird and I swear that I checked those settings and could not find the reference there either until I reset my "network.protocol-handler.warn-external.http" preference as described here: http://askubuntu.com/questions/130158/how-do-i-make-thunderbird-open-links-in-chromium. The only "official" article on this matter I could find: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Changing_the_web_browser_invoked_by_Thunderbird is hopelessly out of date and insufficient considering the number of knobs and dials that have been added to alter this setting in the intervening years. At a minimum, I would ask you to update the knowledge base with a more complete answer. A more optimal solution would be to improve the user experience to control these settings with greater certainty.

Modified by hopper16

All Replies (2)

user01229325
user01229325
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Thunderbird uses the browser defined in your operating system as the default. The fact that Chrome, as most newly installed browsers, made itself the default is no fault of Thunderbird.

hopper16
hopper16 Question owner
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I believe I covered this in my original post. Chrome is NOT set as my default browser and was not prior to fixing this problem. More importantly, I had other preferences already configured within Thunderbird that--if they were functioning as previously advertised--should have overridden the operating system settings.