How does mailto really work?

[clintonG]

Example:
<a href="mailto:so******@somewhere.com>Send Mail</a>

I've been trying to find documentation via W3 and the RFCs but I have
yet to find documentation that explains how a click event on an anchor
tag can launch a client-side e-mail program and populate its To: field
with an e-mail address.

I've found RFCs that briefly describe mailto but they fail to describe
the actual mechanism that enables the functionality.

Comments? Documentation?

--
<%= Clinton Gallagher
A/E/C Consulting, Web Design, e-Commerce Software Development
Wauwatosa, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin USA
NET csgallagher@ REMOVETHISTEXT metromilwaukee.com
URL http://www.metromilwaukee.com/clintongallagher/

[Nicholas Paldino [.NET/C# MVP]]

clintonG,

You aren't going to find any. This is an implementation detail that is
left to the actual client viewing the HTML. It just has to be able to
understand the protocol that is used in the URL, and then perform an action
based on that.

Hope this helps.
--
- Nicholas Paldino [.NET/C# MVP]
- mv*@spam.guard.caspershouse.com
"clintonG" <csgallagher@RE************@metromilwaukee.com> wrote in message
news:eO*************@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...

Example:
<a href="mailto:so******@somewhere.com>Send Mail</a>

I've been trying to find documentation via W3 and the RFCs but I have
yet to find documentation that explains how a click event on an anchor
tag can launch a client-side e-mail program and populate its To: field
with an e-mail address.

I've found RFCs that briefly describe mailto but they fail to describe
the actual mechanism that enables the functionality.

Comments? Documentation?

--
<%= Clinton Gallagher
A/E/C Consulting, Web Design, e-Commerce Software Development
Wauwatosa, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin USA
NET csgallagher@ REMOVETHISTEXT metromilwaukee.com
URL http://www.metromilwaukee.com/clintongallagher/

[James Curran]

The text inside a HREF is a URI. A URI begins with a "scheme" which
could be an URL protocol, in which "mailto" is one.

Regardless, the URI is passed onto the OS for processing as it sees fit.

In this case, your email client has told your OS, "When you see a
mailto, let me handle it"

--
Truth,
James Curran
Home: www.noveltheory.com Work: www.njtheater.com
Blog: www.honestillusion.com Day Job: www.partsearch.com
(note new day job!)

"clintonG" <csgallagher@RE************@metromilwaukee.com> wrote in message
news:eO*************@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...

Example:
<a href="mailto:so******@somewhere.com>Send Mail</a>

I've been trying to find documentation via W3 and the RFCs but I have
yet to find documentation that explains how a click event on an anchor
tag can launch a client-side e-mail program and populate its To: field
with an e-mail address.

I've found RFCs that briefly describe mailto but they fail to describe
the actual mechanism that enables the functionality.

[clintonG]

Thanks for the rehash of the W3 and RFC documents ;-)

<%= Clinton Gallagher

"James Curran" <Ja*********@mvps.org> wrote in message
news:Of*************@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...

The text inside a HREF is a URI. A URI begins with a "scheme" which could be an URL protocol, in which "mailto" is one.

Regardless, the URI is passed onto the OS for processing as it sees fit.
In this case, your email client has told your OS, "When you see a
mailto, let me handle it"

--
Truth,
James Curran
Home: www.noveltheory.com Work: www.njtheater.com
Blog: www.honestillusion.com Day Job: www.partsearch.com
(note new day job!)

"clintonG" <csgallagher@RE************@metromilwaukee.com> wrote in message news:eO*************@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...

Example:
<a href="mailto:so******@somewhere.com>Send Mail</a>

I've been trying to find documentation via W3 and the RFCs but I have yet to find documentation that explains how a click event on an anchor tag can launch a client-side e-mail program and populate its To: field with an e-mail address.

I've found RFCs that briefly describe mailto but they fail to describe the actual mechanism that enables the functionality.

[Daniel O'Connell [C# MVP]]

"clintonG" <csgallagher@RE************@metromilwaukee.com> wrote in message
news:%2****************@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...

Thanks for the rehash of the W3 and RFC documents ;-)
If you want IE specifics, read
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/de...w/overview.asp <%= Clinton Gallagher

"James Curran" <Ja*********@mvps.org> wrote in message
news:Of*************@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...

The text inside a HREF is a URI. A URI begins with a "scheme"

which

could be an URL protocol, in which "mailto" is one.

Regardless, the URI is passed onto the OS for processing as it

sees fit.

In this case, your email client has told your OS, "When you see a
mailto, let me handle it"

--
Truth,
James Curran
Home: www.noveltheory.com Work: www.njtheater.com
Blog: www.honestillusion.com Day Job: www.partsearch.com
(note new day job!)

"clintonG" <csgallagher@RE************@metromilwaukee.com> wrote in

message

news:eO*************@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...

> Example:
> <a href="mailto:so******@somewhere.com>Send Mail</a>
>
> I've been trying to find documentation via W3 and the RFCs but I have > yet to find documentation that explains how a click event on an anchor > tag can launch a client-side e-mail program and populate its To: field > with an e-mail address.
>
> I've found RFCs that briefly describe mailto but they fail to describe > the actual mechanism that enables the functionality.

[clintonG]

Thanks for commenting Nick. Maybe more to be said later...

<%= Clinton Gallagher


"Nicholas Paldino [.NET/C# MVP]" <mv*@spam.guard.caspershouse.com> wrote
in message news:ea**************@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...

clintonG,

You aren't going to find any. This is an implementation detail that is left to the actual client viewing the HTML. It just has to be able to
understand the protocol that is used in the URL, and then perform an action based on that.

Hope this helps.
--
- Nicholas Paldino [.NET/C# MVP]
- mv*@spam.guard.caspershouse.com
"clintonG" <csgallagher@RE************@metromilwaukee.com> wrote in message news:eO*************@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...

Example:
<a href="mailto:so******@somewhere.com>Send Mail</a>

I've been trying to find documentation via W3 and the RFCs but I have yet to find documentation that explains how a click event on an anchor tag can launch a client-side e-mail program and populate its To: field with an e-mail address.

I've found RFCs that briefly describe mailto but they fail to describe the actual mechanism that enables the functionality.

Comments? Documentation?

--
<%= Clinton Gallagher
A/E/C Consulting, Web Design, e-Commerce Software Development Wauwatosa, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin USA
NET csgallagher@ REMOVETHISTEXT metromilwaukee.com
URL http://www.metromilwaukee.com/clintongallagher/

[clintonG]

Thank you for the reference to the article Daniel. It was most helpful
to identify the correct terminology, i.e. "pluggable protocol" that I
can
now also Google.

About Asynchronous Pluggable Protocols
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/de...w/overview.asp

<excerpt>
About Pluggable Protocols
Internet Explorer uses two mechanisms for registering new URL protocol
handlers. The first method is to register a URL protocol and its
associated
application so that all attempts to navigate to a URL using that
protocol
launch the application (for example, registering applications to handle
mailto: or news: URLs). The second method uses the Asynchronous
Pluggable Protocols API, which allows you to define new protocols by
mapping the protocol scheme to a class.
</excerpt>
--
<%= Clinton Gallagher
A/E/C Consulting, Web Design, e-Commerce Software Development
Wauwatosa, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin USA
NET csgallagher@ REMOVETHISTEXT metromilwaukee.com
URL http://www.metromilwaukee.com/clintongallagher/

"Daniel O'Connell [C# MVP]" <[e-mail]> wrote in
message news:#N**************@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl...

"clintonG" <csgallagher@RE************@metromilwaukee.com> wrote in message news:%2****************@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...

Thanks for the rehash of the W3 and RFC documents ;-)

If you want IE specifics, read

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/de...w/overview.asp

<%= Clinton Gallagher

"James Curran" <Ja*********@mvps.org> wrote in message
news:Of*************@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...

The text inside a HREF is a URI. A URI begins with a "scheme"

which

could be an URL protocol, in which "mailto" is one.

Regardless, the URI is passed onto the OS for processing as it

sees fit.

In this case, your email client has told your OS, "When you see a mailto, let me handle it"

--
Truth,
James Curran
Home: www.noveltheory.com Work: www.njtheater.com
Blog: www.honestillusion.com Day Job: www.partsearch.com
(note new day job!)

"clintonG" <csgallagher@RE************@metromilwaukee.com> wrote in

message

news:eO*************@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...
> Example:
> <a href="mailto:so******@somewhere.com>Send Mail</a>
>
> I've been trying to find documentation via W3 and the RFCs but I

have

> yet to find documentation that explains how a click event on an

anchor

> tag can launch a client-side e-mail program and populate its To:

field

> with an e-mail address.
>
> I've found RFCs that briefly describe mailto but they fail to

describe

> the actual mechanism that enables the functionality.