555546 - Links in emails do not open automatically if Thunderbird is not the preferred application

Status: UNCONFIRMED

(Thunderbird :: Message Reader UI, defect)

Description

[[:nickname] blackmonkmeme]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-GB; rv:1.9.1.8) Gecko/20100214 Ubuntu/9.10 (karmic) Firefox/3.5.8
Build Identifier: 3.03

html links in email body: click on them, nothing happens. In order to open a link, I am presently cutting and pasting it into my browser (Firefox).

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. View mail body that contains html link to any webpage
2. Click on said link
3.
Actual Results:  
Nothing happens

Expected Results:  
Link opens as web page in browser 

Newly installed Thunderbird v3.0.3. Firefox browser. Was using Thunderbird 2 before and links worked fine for me then.

Comment 1

[Ludovic Hirlimann [:Usul]]

Have you tried safe mode? (see https://support.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/kb/Safe+Mode for more information)

What happens when you run gconf ?

Comment 2

[Micah Gersten]

Also, is this a Mozilla build or an Ubuntu build?

Comment 3

[[:nickname] blackmonkmeme]

The fault was not entirely Thunderbird's.

It was a fresh install of OS and Thunderbird. The links were not opening because Thunderbird was not selected as the preferred email application. I seem to remember Thunderbird did ask on install if it wanted to be the preferred application. And I selected Yes, if I remember correctly. But there may have been some confusion with an install of Evolution. 

Nevertheless, the links were not opening. Since I selected Thunderbird as the preferred email application in [> System > Preferences > Preferred Applications], it does open links.

I would suggest that the program should not have to be the preferred application in oder for links to open.

Comment 4

[[:nickname] blackmonkmeme]

Build:

Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-GB; rv:1.9.1.8) Gecko/20100227 Thunderbird/3.0.3

Comment 5

[[e-mail]]

Same problem in TB 3.1.4
also when trying to access under Help/ unable to access Help Contents and Release Notes.  The whole line just grays out when clicking on either.

Comment 6

[Markus W]

@[e-mail]

Have you tried what Mark wrote?

> Nevertheless, the links were not opening. Since I selected 
> Thunderbird as the preferred email application in 
> [> System > Preferences > Preferred Applications], 
> it does open links.

Comment 7

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

(In reply to Mark from comment #3) 
> 
> Nevertheless, the links were not opening. Since I selected Thunderbird as
> the preferred email application in [> System > Preferences > Preferred
> Applications], it does open links.
> 
> I would suggest that the program should not have to be the preferred
> application in oder for links to open.

does this still reproduce?
And, Magnus, do you agree/confirm?