Hyperlinks don't work in Thunderbird/Firefox

ticktock01 · 03-24-2008, 05:03 PM

Not sure if this is a Windows problem, Firefox problem or Thunderbird problem.
A while back clicking on a link to any website that appeared in an email to me did not automatically open Firefox and go to that website. If I opened Firefox and then went back to the email and clicked on it, I would go to the website, but Firefox had to be opened first.
Now, all of a sudden, that is not working. Even if Firefox is open and I click on a link in an email, it does not go to the website. I have to copy the link to the clipboard first, then paste the link into my web browser.
I have no idea why this happened. I have gone through my Firefox and Thunderbird options and don't see anything there.
Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Terry

keithy397 · 03-24-2008, 08:19 PM

Hi Terry,

Did you set Firefox as your default browser? You can do that in Firefox but you want to set the system default too. Open the 'Program Access and Defaults' via the Start button or Control Panel and you can set both Firefox and Thunderbird as your default browser and mail client/news reader.

In Firefox it's - Tools > Options > Advanced > General > System Defaults.

Have you got any Link or Tab related extensions installed that could effect default behaviour like Tab Mix, Linky etc?

ticktock01 · 03-28-2008, 03:27 AM

Keithy,
Thanks for your help, but I've done all that already and links still don't work. It is very annoying to have to copy and paste links into Firefox rather than just clicking on them.
Any other possibilities?

Terry

keithy397 · 03-28-2008, 04:39 AM

I missed your reference to Thunderbird first time around Terry. Is this link behaviour (or lack of) affecting Thunderbird and Firefox? What about other browsers?

Also, you didn't mention if you had any extensions that could affect link behaviour.

ticktock01 · 03-28-2008, 04:49 PM

The link behavior only affects links in my Thunderbird Email that link to websites in Firefox. Links in Firefox that link to other websites work fine. I don't have any other browsers. I uninstalled IE a while ago.

I do have several Firefox extensions. I will try uninstalling them and see if that makes a difference.
Thanks,

ticktock01 · 03-28-2008, 04:58 PM

Unfortunately disabling my Firefox extensions didn't make a difference. Still have the same problem. I wonder if it could be a registry problem.

keithy397 · 04-06-2008, 02:28 AM

Sorry for the delay.

So, the link problem is with Thunderbird. I'll go check a few pref's and see what I can dig up.

A thought has occurred to me in light of your last post or two. I don't know if you know, but there is an extension for Thunderbird called ThunderBrowse which allows you to open links within Thunderbird without opening your browser. Follow the link and check it out. I've been using it for a while and it's good.

jazzyrick · 04-09-2008, 12:54 AM

I recently encountered this problem as well. Being a fan of Firefox and Thunderbird, these were the default browser and email client. It actually seems the problem lies in Internet explorer and the way some of the updates change the way Windows handles these links??? I'm not sure exactly why or how, but I hadn't updated to IE7, simply because I didn't use IE, but upon being stumped for many days about this link problem I ran Windows update and installed IE7, because I was having a problem with IE Tab not quite working correctly as well. This completely fixed the link problem in Thunderbird as a not intended effect of trying to fix another smaller glitch I was having with IE Tab.

If you are having this link problem in Thunderbird and you haven't updated to IE7 do so and this should fix the problem if you've tried the other suggestions. This obviously is only valid with Windows...and likely only Windows XP.

fluteman · 06-16-2008, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ticktock01

Unfortunately disabling my Firefox extensions didn't make a difference. Still have the same problem. I wonder if it could be a registry problem.

Hi ticktock01,

Just wondering if you were ever able to resolve your Thunderbird / Firefox web link problem? I've got the same problem and I've tried ALL of the various recommended solutions to no avail (in fact the problem persisted even after I did a total reinstall of XP - but that's another story).

Any ideas / help would be appreciated.

03-24-2008, 05:03 PM	#1 (permalink)
ticktock01 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 4 OS: Windows XP SP2	Hyperlinks don't work in Thunderbird/Firefox Not sure if this is a Windows problem, Firefox problem or Thunderbird problem. A while back clicking on a link to any website that appeared in an email to me did not automatically open Firefox and go to that website. If I opened Firefox and then went back to the email and clicked on it, I would go to the website, but Firefox had to be opened first. Now, all of a sudden, that is not working. Even if Firefox is open and I click on a link in an email, it does not go to the website. I have to copy the link to the clipboard first, then paste the link into my web browser. I have no idea why this happened. I have gone through my Firefox and Thunderbird options and don't see anything there. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Terry

03-24-2008, 08:19 PM	#2 (permalink)
keithy397 Alternative Computing Team Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Anglesey, North Wales Posts: 358 OS: w2k pro	Re: Hyperlinks don't work in Thunderbird/Firefox Hi Terry, Did you set Firefox as your default browser? You can do that in Firefox but you want to set the system default too. Open the 'Program Access and Defaults' via the Start button or Control Panel and you can set both Firefox and Thunderbird as your default browser and mail client/news reader. In Firefox it's - Tools > Options > Advanced > General > System Defaults. Have you got any Link or Tab related extensions installed that could effect default behaviour like Tab Mix, Linky etc? __________________ Cheers, Keith Remember to clear Firefox cache regularly

03-28-2008, 03:27 AM	#3 (permalink)
ticktock01 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 4 OS: Windows XP SP2	Re: Hyperlinks don't work in Thunderbird/Firefox Keithy, Thanks for your help, but I've done all that already and links still don't work. It is very annoying to have to copy and paste links into Firefox rather than just clicking on them. Any other possibilities? Terry

03-28-2008, 04:39 AM	#4 (permalink)
keithy397 Alternative Computing Team Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Anglesey, North Wales Posts: 358 OS: w2k pro	Re: Hyperlinks don't work in Thunderbird/Firefox I missed your reference to Thunderbird first time around Terry. Is this link behaviour (or lack of) affecting Thunderbird and Firefox? What about other browsers? Also, you didn't mention if you had any extensions that could affect link behaviour. __________________ Cheers, Keith Remember to clear Firefox cache regularly

03-28-2008, 04:49 PM	#5 (permalink)
ticktock01 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 4 OS: Windows XP SP2	Re: Hyperlinks don't work in Thunderbird/Firefox The link behavior only affects links in my Thunderbird Email that link to websites in Firefox. Links in Firefox that link to other websites work fine. I don't have any other browsers. I uninstalled IE a while ago. I do have several Firefox extensions. I will try uninstalling them and see if that makes a difference. Thanks,

03-28-2008, 04:58 PM	#6 (permalink)
ticktock01 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 4 OS: Windows XP SP2	Re: Hyperlinks don't work in Thunderbird/Firefox Unfortunately disabling my Firefox extensions didn't make a difference. Still have the same problem. I wonder if it could be a registry problem.

04-06-2008, 02:28 AM	#7 (permalink)
keithy397 Alternative Computing Team Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Anglesey, North Wales Posts: 358 OS: w2k pro	Re: Hyperlinks don't work in Thunderbird/Firefox Sorry for the delay. So, the link problem is with Thunderbird. I'll go check a few pref's and see what I can dig up. A thought has occurred to me in light of your last post or two. I don't know if you know, but there is an extension for Thunderbird called ThunderBrowse which allows you to open links within Thunderbird without opening your browser. Follow the link and check it out. I've been using it for a while and it's good. __________________ Cheers, Keith Remember to clear Firefox cache regularly

04-09-2008, 12:54 AM	#8 (permalink)
jazzyrick Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 1 OS: Windows XP Pro SP2	Re: Hyperlinks don't work in Thunderbird/Firefox I recently encountered this problem as well. Being a fan of Firefox and Thunderbird, these were the default browser and email client. It actually seems the problem lies in Internet explorer and the way some of the updates change the way Windows handles these links??? I'm not sure exactly why or how, but I hadn't updated to IE7, simply because I didn't use IE, but upon being stumped for many days about this link problem I ran Windows update and installed IE7, because I was having a problem with IE Tab not quite working correctly as well. This completely fixed the link problem in Thunderbird as a not intended effect of trying to fix another smaller glitch I was having with IE Tab. If you are having this link problem in Thunderbird and you haven't updated to IE7 do so and this should fix the problem if you've tried the other suggestions. This obviously is only valid with Windows...and likely only Windows XP.