241572 - Drop file into HTML message body should not generate "file://" URL text

Status: NEW

(MailNews Core :: Composition, defect)

Description

[Mike Cowperthwaite]

When a file is dragged into the message body during HTML compose, and it is not 
an image, it is converted into a link with text that looks like a file:// URL. 
The URL text is the entire local file path; it includes any illegal URL 
characters that are in the name (such as parens), except that spaces in the name 
are escaped as %20.  

The text that gets inserted should *not* be the "file://blahblah" URL, for the 
same reasons as presented in bug 136782.  Also, when sent or displayed as plain 
text, the file:// URL is autorecognized (another bug) but even when that URL 
points to an existing file, the link does not work.

Note that the link's href is transmitted in the proper cid: form pointing to an 
embedded MIME type, which works correctly.  When sent (or displayed) as plain 
text, the link appears as:    file://path/filename <cid:blah.blah.blah@domain.
tld>.

Comment 1

[Mike Cowperthwaite]

Suggested text to include instead:  "Included file /name.ext/" with no further 
path information.  Also, there is no need to escape spaces or anything else.

Note that if the message is converted to plain text on sending, the file will 
not be included anyway.  This breaks the cid: link.  This problem is related to 
bug 187064 (but I think it needs a new bug...)

Comment 2

[Mike Cowperthwaite]

The problem mentioned in comment 1 is bug 180997.

Comment 3

[Mike Cowperthwaite]

*** Bug 269755 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

Comment 4

[Eric Shepherd [:sheppy]]

I think you should be able to attach files by dragging them into the message body; this is far more intuitive than dragging them into the header area.

This also mirrors the behavior of Apple's Mail program, which would make Thunderbird more accessible to Mac users.

Comment 5

[Mike Cowperthwaite]

(In reply to comment #4)
> I think you should be able to attach files by dragging them into the message
> body; this is far more intuitive than dragging them into the header area.

That's bug 113435.

Comment 6

[(not reading, please use [e-mail] instead)]

sorry for the spam.  making bugzilla reflect reality as I'm not working on these bugs.  filter on FOOBARCHEESE to remove these in bulk.