Runbox MailTo Client for Windows

carverrn · 16 Jun 2003, 09:07 AM

Runbox MailTo Client (for Windows)

NOTE: This program is only experimental. It has not been through extensive testing yet. I have tried it with Windows 98 using IE 5.5, Mozilla 1.4b and Opera 7.11 with no apparent problems. The various browsers do have some behavior differences that I have noted below.

The Runbox MailTo Client is a Win32 program that allows you to use the Runbox webmail as your default mail client.

After setting up the Runbox MailTo Client to be your default mail client, selecting a mailto link will launch a URL to a Runbox webmail compose page, passing all parameters of the link (e.g. mailto/To, CC, BCC, Suject and Body) to the appropriate fields of the compose page.

If you are not logged-in to Runbox, you will go to the login screen. You will have to login then either go back a page and refresh the browser or reclick the mailto link to get the compose screen. The ability to login and automatically go to the compose screen would have to be a functionality supported by Runbox webmail.

Setup

Put the RBMailTo.exe program in any directory/folder (e.g. C:\WINDOWS). From that folder, run the RBMailTo.exe
program by clicking on it. When RBMailTo.exe runs without any parameters it will come up in setup mode.

The Current Default Mail Client is the value of the string currently contained in the Windows Registry key "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\mailto\shell\open\command" which defines the default "mailto:" handler. You may want to save this information in case you need to manually restore the old "mailto:" information. In most cases you can restore the old handler using the browser option/preference settings.

Step 1 This is the complete path/name to the browser program to be used. If you leave it blank the default browser will be used. Setting a browser path/name can be useful if you have multiple browsers installed and don't want to use the default browser as the mailto client.

With IE 5.5, if you use the default browser, it will open the compose screen using the same window as the mailto link. If you specify the path to IE it will open in a new window but it if you were already logged-in, the new windows doesn't seem to recognize that and sends you to the login screen.

Mozilla 1.4b and Opera 7.11 always seem to open a new window but will recognize if you are logged in already or not.

Step 2 This is the URL to the Runbox compose screen. It must include the "http://" protocol specification, followed by the complete Runbox domain (e.g.www.runbox.com, fast.runbox.com, runbox.no), followed by the path to the compose screen (/mail/compose), followed by the parameter separator (?) and optionally followed by a folder specification to designate the preferences (e.g. folder=Inbox). If no folder is specified, Runbox uses Inbox.

Examples:

h t t p : / / r u n b o x . n o / m a i l / c o m p o s e ?
h t t p : / / f a s t . r u n b o x . c o m / m a i l / c o m p o s e ?
h t t p : / / w w w . r u n b o x . c o m / m a i l / c o m p o s e ?
h t t p : / / w w w . r u n b o x . c o m / m a i l / c o m p o s e ? f o l d e r = I n b o x
h t t p : / / w w w . r u n b o x . c o m / m a i l / c o m p o s e ? f o l d e r = O u t b o x

Step 3 Press "Make This My Default Mail Client Setting!" to save the new mailto settings.

lux · 16 Jun 2003, 12:49 PM

Well done...

COUME · 16 Jun 2003, 04:48 PM

Hello carvernn!

That's a good idea

I don't know if you had the idea from another freeware or if you imagine it yourself, but good work...

I just tried it with MozillaFirebird and it doesn't work.
I will try again a bit later and let you know!

But very good idea!
Ludo

carverrn · 16 Jun 2003, 08:23 PM

What version of Windows are you using?
What were your "Setup" settings? Browser Program path/name (if any), Runbox Webmail Compose Screen URL? If you run RBMailTo.exe again, what does the it show for Current Default Mail Client (you can just cancel "X" to exit)?

I don't have Firebird but basically it should be able to work with any browser that can be setup as a default browser or that can launch a URL from it's command line.

If the browser requires an extra command line switch it probably won't work unless you use it with via the default browser mode. In this mode, it passes the URL to be executed and relies on the Windows OS to properly handle launching "http://" commands.

Regards,
Rich

carverrn · 16 Jun 2003, 08:34 PM

Oh ... I totally forgot to mention something about the browsers!

Not all browsers will use the "default mailto client" by default!!!

For IE 5.5, it uses the default automatically. I guess this is IE's mechanism for handling mail.

For Opera 7, you have to choose File|Preferences|E-mail then pick "Use detault e-mail client on computer".

For Mozilla 1.4b, I had to manually create a file called "user.js" in the profiles directory (C:\WIN95\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\default\1ilxrgi8.slt on my Windows 98 system) to get it to use the "deafult mailto client". This file has just one line in it:

user_pref("network.protocol-handler.external.mailto", true);

I also read that if you install/reinstall Mozilla without it's mail client it will use the system default.

I bet Firebird works like Mozilla.

Regards,
Rich

carverrn · 16 Jun 2003, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by COUME
Hello carvernn!

That's a good idea
I don't know if you had the idea from another freeware or if you imagine it yourself, but good work...

But very good idea!
Ludo

Thanks. Actually, I've used the Yahoo! Mail Client for a long time and wanted something I could use with Runbox.

I started playing with the idea a while ago but had set it aside. When I saw a couple others mention wanting to be able to use Runbox webmail to handle "mailto" links I decided to work on it again.

This is strictly a "mailto" protocol handler however. It will not work for the browsers "Send Page" or "Send Links" which I guess require a MAPI client. Although I do have a Bookmarklet that can do the "Send Link".

Regards,
Rich

carverrn · 17 Jun 2003, 03:37 AM

I have updated the Runbox MailTo Client for Windows so that it works with Windows 2000.

Windows 2000 sends the "cc", "bcc", "subject" and "body" in lower case, whereas Windows 95/98 sent them as "CC", "BCC", "Subject" and "Body".

Regards,
Rich

Sydney · 17 Jun 2003, 05:49 AM

Works like a charm in Firebird

Thanx for making this carverrn!

carverrn · 17 Jun 2003, 07:32 AM

Your Welcome!

For my reference, what version of Windows and Firebird are you running?

Regards,
Rich

Sydney · 17 Jun 2003, 07:48 AM

I use windows XP and Firebird 0.6

16 Jun 2003, 09:07 AM	#1
carverrn Intergalactic Postmaster Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 5,606 Representative of: Runbox.com	Runbox MailTo Client for Windows Runbox MailTo Client (for Windows) NOTE: This program is only experimental. It has not been through extensive testing yet. I have tried it with Windows 98 using IE 5.5, Mozilla 1.4b and Opera 7.11 with no apparent problems. The various browsers do have some behavior differences that I have noted below. The Runbox MailTo Client is a Win32 program that allows you to use the Runbox webmail as your default mail client. After setting up the Runbox MailTo Client to be your default mail client, selecting a mailto link will launch a URL to a Runbox webmail compose page, passing all parameters of the link (e.g. mailto/To, CC, BCC, Suject and Body) to the appropriate fields of the compose page. If you are not logged-in to Runbox, you will go to the login screen. You will have to login then either go back a page and refresh the browser or reclick the mailto link to get the compose screen. The ability to login and automatically go to the compose screen would have to be a functionality supported by Runbox webmail. Setup Put the RBMailTo.exe program in any directory/folder (e.g. C:\WINDOWS). From that folder, run the RBMailTo.exe program by clicking on it. When RBMailTo.exe runs without any parameters it will come up in setup mode. The Current Default Mail Client is the value of the string currently contained in the Windows Registry key "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\mailto\shell\open\command" which defines the default "mailto:" handler. You may want to save this information in case you need to manually restore the old "mailto:" information. In most cases you can restore the old handler using the browser option/preference settings. Step 1 This is the complete path/name to the browser program to be used. If you leave it blank the default browser will be used. Setting a browser path/name can be useful if you have multiple browsers installed and don't want to use the default browser as the mailto client. With IE 5.5, if you use the default browser, it will open the compose screen using the same window as the mailto link. If you specify the path to IE it will open in a new window but it if you were already logged-in, the new windows doesn't seem to recognize that and sends you to the login screen. Mozilla 1.4b and Opera 7.11 always seem to open a new window but will recognize if you are logged in already or not. Step 2 This is the URL to the Runbox compose screen. It must include the "http://" protocol specification, followed by the complete Runbox domain (e.g.www.runbox.com, fast.runbox.com, runbox.no), followed by the path to the compose screen (/mail/compose), followed by the parameter separator (?) and optionally followed by a folder specification to designate the preferences (e.g. folder=Inbox). If no folder is specified, Runbox uses Inbox. Examples: h t t p : / / r u n b o x . n o / m a i l / c o m p o s e ? h t t p : / / f a s t . r u n b o x . c o m / m a i l / c o m p o s e ? h t t p : / / w w w . r u n b o x . c o m / m a i l / c o m p o s e ? h t t p : / / w w w . r u n b o x . c o m / m a i l / c o m p o s e ? f o l d e r = I n b o x h t t p : / / w w w . r u n b o x . c o m / m a i l / c o m p o s e ? f o l d e r = O u t b o x Step 3 Press "Make This My Default Mail Client Setting!" to save the new mailto settings.

17 Jun 2003, 03:37 AM	#7
carverrn Intergalactic Postmaster Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 5,606 Representative of: Runbox.com	Runbox MailTo Client v1.1 (updated for Windows 2000) I have updated the Runbox MailTo Client for Windows so that it works with Windows 2000. Windows 2000 sends the "cc", "bcc", "subject" and "body" in lower case, whereas Windows 95/98 sent them as "CC", "BCC", "Subject" and "Body". Regards, Rich

16 Jun 2003, 12:49 PM	#2
lux The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 2,274	Well done...

16 Jun 2003, 04:48 PM	#3
COUME Master of the @ Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Twickenham, UK Posts: 1,306	Hello carvernn! That's a good idea I don't know if you had the idea from another freeware or if you imagine it yourself, but good work... I just tried it with MozillaFirebird and it doesn't work. I will try again a bit later and let you know! But very good idea! Ludo

16 Jun 2003, 08:23 PM	#4
carverrn Intergalactic Postmaster Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 5,606 Representative of: Runbox.com	What version of Windows are you using? What were your "Setup" settings? Browser Program path/name (if any), Runbox Webmail Compose Screen URL? If you run RBMailTo.exe again, what does the it show for Current Default Mail Client (you can just cancel "X" to exit)? I don't have Firebird but basically it should be able to work with any browser that can be setup as a default browser or that can launch a URL from it's command line. If the browser requires an extra command line switch it probably won't work unless you use it with via the default browser mode. In this mode, it passes the URL to be executed and relies on the Windows OS to properly handle launching "http://" commands. Regards, Rich

16 Jun 2003, 08:34 PM	#5
carverrn Intergalactic Postmaster Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 5,606 Representative of: Runbox.com	Oh ... I totally forgot to mention something about the browsers! Not all browsers will use the "default mailto client" by default!!! For IE 5.5, it uses the default automatically. I guess this is IE's mechanism for handling mail. For Opera 7, you have to choose File\|Preferences\|E-mail then pick "Use detault e-mail client on computer". For Mozilla 1.4b, I had to manually create a file called "user.js" in the profiles directory (C:\WIN95\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\default\1ilxrgi8.slt on my Windows 98 system) to get it to use the "deafult mailto client". This file has just one line in it: user_pref("network.protocol-handler.external.mailto", true); I also read that if you install/reinstall Mozilla without it's mail client it will use the system default. I bet Firebird works like Mozilla. Regards, Rich

17 Jun 2003, 05:49 AM	#8
Sydney Essential Contributor Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Amstelveen, Netherlands Posts: 252	Works like a charm in Firebird Thanx for making this carverrn!

17 Jun 2003, 07:32 AM	#9
carverrn Intergalactic Postmaster Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 5,606 Representative of: Runbox.com	Your Welcome! For my reference, what version of Windows and Firebird are you running? Regards, Rich

17 Jun 2003, 07:48 AM	#10
Sydney Essential Contributor Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Amstelveen, Netherlands Posts: 252	I use windows XP and Firebird 0.6