mailto:

[Bob Heiney]

Why is it that when I create an email link, MS Outlook insists on placing
'mailto:" in front of the emai address? When a user clicks on the link, they
get "mailto:[email protected]". This of course makes the link unusable
unless the user is savvy enough to cut 'mailto:" out.

Is there a solution to this?

Thank you,
Bob

 

[Pat Willener]

'mailto:' will make the email address into a clickable link; clicking on
it will open a new message with "(e-mail address removed)" as the 'To:' address.

The 'mailto:' is only visible in Plain Text format; in HTML 'mailto:' is
invisible (but the functionality remains the same).

 

[Bob Heiney]

Hi Pat,

Thank you for your response. I don't know why, but the 'mailto:' is not
invisible when I create the link. To create a link, I use the 'hyperlink'
command and then select 'email'. I think 'mailto:' may be invisible for
those who are using Outlook but I suspect that it shows up as visible in
other email clients. And when it does, it includes 'mailto:' in the address
line which of course means it's going to be kicked back as a bad address.

For example, I clicked on my email link using Lotus Notes. Sure enough, the
link had the correct email address, but it also had 'mailto:' in front of it.
So, I clicked on it and it came back undeliverable. When I cut 'mailto:' out,
it went right through.

I would like to be able to remove 'mailto:' from my links inivisible or not.

Bob

 

[Pat Willener]

Bob,

What happens if you just paste the plain email message into the text? It
should still become a clickable link, but without the 'mailto:' in front.

Pat

 

[Bob Heiney]

Hi Pat,

Yes, you're correct. That will definitely work. The problem occurs when you
want to create a link as follows:

Example: "Order here" set up as a link with the link property being
"(e-mail address removed)".

When you invoke the hyperlink coommand to perform this task, the application
automatically inserts "mailto:" in front of the email address. I suspect this
is done for some sort of security purpose. I have tried to cut 'mailto:' out
but the application won't permit it. In many email clients, you must remove
'mailto:' from the email address or it won't send. If a beginner computer
user clicks on my link using many email applications, the link won't work.

Thank you very much for your suggestions, though!

Bob Heiney

 

[Pat Willener]

Bob,

I think if you want to have a "Order here" with an email link embedded,
then the 'mailto:' is needed, otherwise the system cannot recognize what
protocol is involved; it could as well be 'http:'.

And in this case the recipient would not see 'mailto:' - it should
automatically open an email message with the address in it (without
'mailto:').

I think this is more of a problem of the recipient's email client than
Outlook. Does this problem occur for many recipients, and what are
their email client software?

Pat

 

[David H.]

I have the same basic problem. What I get when I click on a mailto: link is
an Outlook email message, apparently addressed correctly and ready to go.
But if I right-click on that address and select properties, I see that the
name and the email address are correct, but the Email Type is "MAILTO"
instead of "SMTP". And, as Bob complained, that type of address is rejected
by the mail server and bounced as undeliverable.

I don't know exactly where the problem lies, but it is an annoying one.
Explanations or fixes would be welcome.

David H.

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