Help configuring e-mail


You must have your e-mail program "mailto" settings configured in order for your browser to automatically launch your e-mail.


To see if your e-mail program "mailto" settings are configured properly click this button:   Click here to test if your e-mail program is configured properly

  • If your e-mail program is configured properly,
    a new e-mail message will be launched.
    The subject will be "TEST E-MAIL" and the body contain:

    "Congratulations - your e-mail program 'mailto' setting is configured properly!"
    (use Esc to close or cancel this test e-mail)

  • If your e-mail program is not configured properly, no message will appear.
    To automatically use your e-mail program, you will need to configure your browser e-mail parameters.

To configure your e-mail program, please follow these hints for the browser you use:

For e-mail programs under Windows 2000/XP

  • If you are having problems using e-mail programs under Windows 2000/XP,
    go to Control Panel > Folder Options > File Types.

    Find and select "(None) URL:MailTo Protocol".


    Click Advanced and select "open", or if it doesn't exist, create it, and set your desired "application used to perform action."  If it is already set, try unchecking "Use DDE" if it is checked.

    Please see Microsoft Knowledge Base article Unable to Set Different E-Mail Programs for Different Users and this TIP.

    • Firefox and Mozilla browsers

  • Launch Firefox and view the configuration strings using the URL about:config
    Type "mailto" the "Filter" control and press Enter
    You should see one or more entries entitled "network.protocol-handler.external.mailto", "network.protocol-handler.expose.mailto".  These settings must be enabled in order for Firefox to automatically launch e-mail.
    Verify any (file / directory) paths shown are correct and link to your personal mail client program.  Double click the string to set (or reset) it if necessary.

    In older versions of Firefox, you may NOT have any "network.protocol-handler.app.mailto" settings.  You can create one by following these steps:
    a) right-click
    b) choose New > String
    c) new string: network.protocol-handler.app.mailto
    d) new value: /usr/bin/mozilla-thunderbird (or whatever your e-mail program is)
    •

    AOL

  • AOL doesn't have a regular client mail client in its online software.

    Please consult AOL for help configuring your mail client with the online AOL system.