mailto:

[Franklin P Patchey]

How do you have it so that when you click on a mailto: link it automatically
prefills the email client subject heading with a predetermined subject as
well as prefilling the email address to field?

I've seen this done, but cant find the website where I found it!

 

[brucie]

How do you have it so that when you click on a mailto: link it automatically
prefills the email client subject heading with a predetermined subject as
well as prefilling the email address to field?

you don't

you cannot tell how the persons computer that is emailing you is
configured, they can have all sorts of browser/email client/operating
system configurations, they may not even have an email client. putting
anything other than the email address in an email link produces
unpredictable results that could cause the email to be lost forever in
the most putrid burning pit of hell (or somewhere like that).

you need a form and server side script if you want to have subjects or
bodies automatically added to your emails.

<quote>
RFC1738 Uniform Resource Locators (URL)
3.5. MAILTO The mailto URL scheme is used to designate the Internet
mailing address of an individual or service. No additional information
other than an Internet mailing address is present or implied.
</quote> http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1738.txt

RFC2368 The mailto URL scheme updates the above but it hasn't been
universally adopted and/or the persons particular configuration may
cause problems and/or people use non-supporting UAs which either
causes problems on the client machine and/or with the servers the
email is processed through (or none at all).

the point is you _and_ the person emailing you don't know if it's
going to work or not and most likely wont know when it doesn't work.

"it works for me" is not a reason unless the only email you send and
receive is from yourself on your own computer.

<a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>

form scripts:
http://www.hotscripts.com/PHP/Scripts_and_Programs/Form_Processors/
http://www.hotscripts.com/Perl/Scripts_and_Programs/Form_Processors/
http://www.hotscripts.com/ASP/Scripts_and_Components/Form_Processors/
remotely hosted:
http://www.hotscripts.com/Remotely_Hosted/Form_Processors/

 

[Mitja Trampus]

<a href="mailto:[email protected]?subject=hello">

Works with all major mail programs.

Mitja

 

[Andrew Davidson]

<a href="mailto:[email protected]?subject=hello">

Works with all major mail programs.

Dohhh!

 

[EightNineThree]

<a href="mailto:[email protected]?subject=hello">

Works with all major mail programs.

Except my $400 contact management software.

 

[Hywel Jenkins]

<a href="mailto:[email protected]?subject=hello">

Works with all major mail programs.

Really?

 

[-=Be4U=-]

Hywel Jenkins <[email protected]> delighted us to no end
by taking a lime green crayon and scribbling in

Really?

lol This is a joke, right?

 

[Hywel Jenkins]

Hywel Jenkins <[email protected]> delighted us to no end
by taking a lime green crayon and scribbling in


lol This is a joke, right?

Which - the point that mailto with a subject works or the point that
I'm hinting that it doesn't?

 

[Mitja Trampus]

I'm not saying most people own $400 worth mailing agents...

As for compatibility, I'm sure about IE5+, but if I remember right it also
works with IE4 and newer versions of Mozilla/Netscape.

Mitja

 

[Steve Pugh]

I'm not saying most people own $400 worth mailing agents...

But surely the people who do are the sort of suckers..., erm,
customers that you want to attract.

As for compatibility, I'm sure about IE5+, but if I remember right it also
works with IE4 and newer versions of Mozilla/Netscape.

Have you missed the point? The browser is only part of the equation,
it's the interaction between the browser and the email client that
matters. It doesn't matter if I have the latest and greated browser if
my email client can't cope.

Please stop top posting.

Steve

 

[Mitja Trampus]

Have you missed the point? The browser is only part of the equation,

it's the interaction between the browser and the email client that
matters. It doesn't matter if I have the latest and greated browser if
my email client can't cope.

Sorry, I really was inaccurate. By naming the browsers I assumed people use
the accompanying mail agents, i.e. Outlook [Express] or Netscape's mail
composer.

But surely the people who do are the sort of suckers..., erm,
customers that you want to attract.

Got a point there
But if you're just creating a personal homepage or something where the
pre-filled subject field is just a fancy add-on (which is usually the case),
it doesn't matter anyway.

Please stop top posting.

Steve

There you go... I probably "top posted" again - I'm afraid I'm not familiar
with the term.

Mitja

 

[Mark Parnell]

Mitja Trampus wrote:
[mailto: with subject]

But if you're just creating a personal homepage or something where the
pre-filled subject field is just a fancy add-on (which is usually the
case), it doesn't matter anyway.

Maybe. It depends on what you define as not mattering. While it may work
for some email programs, mailto: won't work at all for some people - those
who use web-based mail (hotmail, yahoo, et al.), those who are in a web
cafe, etc. Adding a subject means it will work for even less people,
because lots of email programs don't recognise the "?subject=foo" bit of the
address. Some will just put the whole link in the address field, meaning
either the user has to remove it, or the email doesn't go where it is
supposed to. Some programs will just completely mess it up, and the user
will have to type the address in themself anyway.

The only reliable way to do it is to use a form processed by a server-side
script.

There you go... I probably "top posted" again - I'm afraid I'm not
familiar with the term.

No, you didn't. The term is fairly self-explanatory - it means posting at
the top of the quoted text.

More information:
http://www.allmyfaqs.com/faq.pl?How_to_post