IE7 & mailto links & new browser window opens with error

Hi.. I really hope someone can help me with this annoying problem!

On a webpage, I have a link coded like this: <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>

Just your normal standard link to open up your mail client (in my case it is Windows Mail).

In windows XP & IE6, clicking on a link like this would work properly.

However now that I am on Vista & IE7, when I click on this kind of "mailto" link, although it does open up my default mail client... it also opens up another browser window, which displays an error: "Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage" with a URL of: "mailto:[email protected]"

If I try clicking on the same link in a Firefox browser.. there is no problem.

It appears that IE7 and mailto don't want to play nicely together! (While I was researching this problem, I read somewhere that it might have to do with "trusted sites".. but not sure!)

Can someone give me a solution to stop the additional IE7 browser window being created? Most of the time it sits on top of the eMail window, so you are unsure of where the eMail went.. which can be very confusing.. in addition to not being able to find the original window you were viewing.

Any help will be greatly appreciated!
SunnyOz

Hello SunnyOz, and welcome to Vista Forums.

That is strange. I'm not sure why IE7 would try to open it as well when Windows Mail had opened with it as it should.

Double check to make sure that Internet Explorer and Windows Mail are set as the default program with all of their associations set to them as well to see if there may be something not set with them.

Do you have problems with any other mailto links opening like this? If not, then it may be a problem with that link from that website.

Shawn

Thanks for your quick reply.

Yes, both programs have all of their default associations.

However, while trying to research this problem, and answer your questions.. I realised that this problem only occurs when I am viewing html pages locally from my own PC.

This problem may now fall outside the scope of this particular forum.. but I thought I would go ahead and explain what is happening, in the hopes that some kind soul can explain the solution, or at least point me in the right direction!

I will give you an example of a simple webpage (that was not created by me): www.red-eye.com.au/contact_us.html

If I view this webpage at its online URL location as shown above... and click on the eMail link (simple mailto link), it works properly.. just opens up my mail client (windows mail) as it should.

Now, if I save this webpage (via the IE7 browser) just as a standalone html page - using "File / Save As / Webpage, HTML only" (keeping the default encoding selection of "Unicode UTF-8") - and save to a directory on my PC - and then open up the .html file from this saved location, and click on the eMail link, it again works just fine.. as you would expect it to. (Note: It will now be missing a picture and font formatting, but the mailto still works correctly).

HOWEVER, if I go back to my directory where I saved this file, select it, then copy and paste it (with a new name) into the same directory.. and then open this new copy up, and click on the eMail link.. it starts acting funny with the erroneous browser window opening.

So it appears that when I create/save an HTML file locally - I will always have this problem with the eMail links. As I am a webdesigner, all the work I do on webpages means that I usually access these files locally, and experience this problem EVERY TIME I click on an eMail link from a local file.

I used the example of the above webpage to prove it is not just happening with files I code. Can someone else follow the above instructions and let me know if they incur the same problem? Or is it just some setting on my PC that is causing this to happen?

Does anyone else have this kind of problem, who creates their own webpages, and has Vista and IE7.. ie: Can you click on a local html file that you created containing an eMail link, and click on that link, and not get this extra webpage opening up? (As I mentioned earlier, Firefox doesn't have this problem).

I am wondering if it has to do with encoding as you save?? (maybe a silly thought, but I am drawing at straws now!)

Thanks for any insight you can give me!

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Brink said:

Hello SunnyOz, and welcome to Vista Forums.

That is strange. I'm not sure why IE7 would try to open it as well when Windows Mail had opened with it as it should.

Double check to make sure that Internet Explorer and Windows Mail are set as the default program with all of their associations set to them as well to see if there may be something not set with them.

Do you have problems with any other mailto links opening like this? If not, then it may be a problem with that link from that website.

Shawn

Click to expand...

SunnyOz, I have EXACTLY the same problem you are experiencing. Have you had any luck in finding a resolution?

Thanks mtang45.

I am glad to find out that it is not just something strange happening on my PC.

No, I haven't been able to find an answer on my own yet, and haven't had any response from this group outside of the original reply from Brink.. but that was before I had been able to clarify exactly how the error was occurring.

Hopefully someone may notice this updated post, and can provide some more insight.

SunnyOz

mtang45 said:

SunnyOz, I have EXACTLY the same problem you are experiencing. Have you had any luck in finding a resolution?

Click to expand...

Can I ask if anyone got an answer to this?