Mailto: for Firefox 12 (or Safari) on MAC

bobg22483 · 11 May 2012, 11:22 PM

I want to set up Fastmail as my mailto application in Firefox or Safari on my MAC running OS 10.7.

I have tried the procedures given before in this forum and in the Fastmail Wiki, for doing this but they don't work on my system,. Has anyone with a MAC done this on the current software and OS versions?

BrianF · 13 May 2012, 09:00 AM

I think that you may be getting confused between using Fastmail's web mail service versus setting up your Apple Mail app to access the Fastmail server via a POP or IMAP connection.
To use the webmail service your operating system is irrelevant. Simply go to the Fastmail website using whatever browser you like and sign up for their service. Emails will be sent or received directly via your browser. Simple! To use Mail it has a built-in set-up process which is easy to follow. About the only pieces of information you will need are your Fastmail password and the server address both of which you will get when you sign on to Fastmail as above. I think that the Fastmail website explains the difference between POP and IMAP protocols.
Hope this helps.

Pfolson · 13 May 2012, 10:32 AM

No, I think what bobg22483 is trying to do is set up Firefox to automatically handle mailto links in Firefox or Safari.

At least with Firefox, I don't believe this is a Mac-specific problem. A few versions ago, it stopped working for me on Windows, as well. The procedure found in this forum and in the Fastmail Wiki* used to work fine, but no more. These days, Firefox versions go by so quickly that I can no longer recall just when it stopped working, but I do know I haven't had any luck with it for quite some time.

If anyone out there has managed to set up Fastmail as the mailto handler in Firefox recently (perhaps it's started working again in one of the newer versions?) I would also like to hear about it.

* This was the procedure for earlier versions of Firefox:

1. Type "about:config" in the address bar
2. Search for allowRegisterFromDifferentHost, and it should find an entry called gecko.handlerService.allowRegisterFromDifferentHost
3. Right-click the entry and select Toggle to make it true (this opens a temporary security hole we close in step 7 below)
4. Ctrl-T to open a new tab
5. In the addressbar, enter:

javascript:window.navigator.registerProtocolHandler("mailto","http://www.fastmail.fm/mail/?MSignal=MC-FN**%s","FastMail")

6. It should popup something about "Add this handler?" Click the button to accept it. Close the tab.
7. Go back to the about:config tab, and toggle the setting again to false (this closes the temporary security hole)

PhiloVance · 15 May 2012, 07:22 AM

Pfolson nailed it. Also like he, I used to try to keep up. No more. Just give me the email and go to my FF session and send it. FF changes versions so fast it makes my head spin. You'd think they were trying to keep ahead of IE.

MattJhsn · 25 May 2012, 02:18 AM

The procedure for firefox 3 worked for me with firefox 11.0. Here are the instructions I followed:
http://fastmail.wikia.com/wiki/Firefox_3_default_mailto
You may also want to check out the mailto_url page for the gory details:
http://fastmail.wikia.com/wiki/Mailto_url
Or if you need even more info here is the fm wiki search I used:
http://fastmail.wikia.com/wiki/index...ulltext=Search

11 May 2012, 11:22 PM	#1
bobg22483 Junior Member Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 1	Mailto: for Firefox 12 (or Safari) on MAC I want to set up Fastmail as my mailto application in Firefox or Safari on my MAC running OS 10.7. I have tried the procedures given before in this forum and in the Fastmail Wiki, for doing this but they don't work on my system,. Has anyone with a MAC done this on the current software and OS versions?

13 May 2012, 09:00 AM	#2
BrianF Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 28	re Firefox or Safari on Mac I think that you may be getting confused between using Fastmail's web mail service versus setting up your Apple Mail app to access the Fastmail server via a POP or IMAP connection. To use the webmail service your operating system is irrelevant. Simply go to the Fastmail website using whatever browser you like and sign up for their service. Emails will be sent or received directly via your browser. Simple! To use Mail it has a built-in set-up process which is easy to follow. About the only pieces of information you will need are your Fastmail password and the server address both of which you will get when you sign on to Fastmail as above. I think that the Fastmail website explains the difference between POP and IMAP protocols. Hope this helps.

25 May 2012, 02:18 AM	#5
MattJhsn Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Minneapolis, MN, USA Posts: 20	The procedure for firefox 3 worked for me with firefox 11.0. Here are the instructions I followed: http://fastmail.wikia.com/wiki/Firefox_3_default_mailto You may also want to check out the mailto_url page for the gory details: http://fastmail.wikia.com/wiki/Mailto_url Or if you need even more info here is the fm wiki search I used: http://fastmail.wikia.com/wiki/index...ulltext=Search Last edited by MattJhsn : 25 May 2012 at 02:19 AM. Reason: spelling

13 May 2012, 10:32 AM	#3
Pfolson Essential Contributor Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 490	No, I think what bobg22483 is trying to do is set up Firefox to automatically handle mailto links in Firefox or Safari. At least with Firefox, I don't believe this is a Mac-specific problem. A few versions ago, it stopped working for me on Windows, as well. The procedure found in this forum and in the Fastmail Wiki* used to work fine, but no more. These days, Firefox versions go by so quickly that I can no longer recall just when it stopped working, but I do know I haven't had any luck with it for quite some time. If anyone out there has managed to set up Fastmail as the mailto handler in Firefox recently (perhaps it's started working again in one of the newer versions?) I would also like to hear about it. * This was the procedure for earlier versions of Firefox: 1. Type "about:config" in the address bar 2. Search for allowRegisterFromDifferentHost, and it should find an entry called gecko.handlerService.allowRegisterFromDifferentHost 3. Right-click the entry and select Toggle to make it true (this opens a temporary security hole we close in step 7 below) 4. Ctrl-T to open a new tab 5. In the addressbar, enter: javascript:window.navigator.registerProtocolHandler("mailto","http://www.fastmail.fm/mail/?MSignal=MC-FN**%s","FastMail") 6. It should popup something about "Add this handler?" Click the button to accept it. Close the tab. 7. Go back to the about:config tab, and toggle the setting again to false (this closes the temporary security hole)

15 May 2012, 07:22 AM	#4
PhiloVance Essential Contributor Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Cal-e-for-nia Posts: 377	Pfolson nailed it. Also like he, I used to try to keep up. No more. Just give me the email and go to my FF session and send it. FF changes versions so fast it makes my head spin. You'd think they were trying to keep ahead of IE.