May 24, 2011

How to set Gmail and Google Apps Mail as the default mailto client in Firefox 4

Do you want to use Gmail or your own Google Apps domain as the default email client in Firefox 4? Do you want to be able to click on email links and have Gmail pop up? Here is how to make Gmail the default email in Firefox 4 and Firefox 3:

Open up Firefox 4.
Type in "about:config" in the address bar.
Say OK to the warnings.
Search for:

gecko.handlerService.allowRegisterFromDifferentHost

Toggle this from "false" to "true" by double-clicking on it. Keep this tab open because you will want to set this back to "false" when you are done!
Paste this into the address bar in a new tab:

javascript:window.navigator.registerProtocolHandler("mailto","https://mail.google.com/a/yourdomain.com/mail/?extsrc=mailto&url=%s","yourdomain.com")

(You should substitute your Google Apps domain name for "yourdomain.com")

Hit enter after you've pasted this into the address bar.
Add this application for mailto links by clicking on the "Add Application" button.
Go to Firefox Options > Applications and find "mailto".
Choose the new application to use for email (yourdomain.com) by clicking on it.

Double click on the "gecko.handlerService.allowRegisterFromDifferentHost" to set it back to false by double-clicking on it.
Restart the browser.