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How do I use Thunderbird to email someone an article I just selected?

  • 12 replies
  • 4 have this problem
  • 2 views
  • Last reply by sfhowes

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I used to be able to read an article and then send it to friends by simply selecting "send to" , which would open Thunderbird and allow me to select email addresses, write a comment and out it would go. I use Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 11 along with the latest version of Thunderbird, which has been set up as my default email.

I used to be able to read an article and then send it to friends by simply selecting "send to" , which would open Thunderbird and allow me to select email addresses, write a comment and out it would go. I use Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 11 along with the latest version of Thunderbird, which has been set up as my default email.

Chosen solution

You're halfway there, in that TB opens when you send a link from IE, but it doesn't launch a new message with the URL in the message body. I've about exhausted my knowledge in this area, but you could try the step of repairing the file, mapi32.dll, that is used when a program communicates with the default mail program. Instructions are here, but I'm only speculating. Another possible solution is offered here.

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All Replies (12)

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Send to is a function of your operating system. Read this article and substitute Thunderbird for Outlook.

https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/office/en-US/0aefa8d4-a5e5-4295-bea6-6bd48b6d80e6/send-to-mail-recipient-not-working-in-outlook-2010?forum=outlook Usual problem is Thunderbird is no longer the default email client as far as your operating system is concerned.

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Usual problem is not my problem as Thunderbird has definitely been set at the default email client.

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Open Control Panel, Programs, Default Programs, 'Set program access and computer defaults', select Custom and click the drop-down to display the entry for 'Choose a default email program', select Thunderbird. In IE, select File/Send and choose 'Page by email' or 'Link by email' to have TB open a new message.

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I had already done as you suggested, but when Thunderbird opens it doesn't open to a screen that lets me select an email address nor to an email write screen.

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Please post a screen shot of what you are seeing. Hello,

In order to better assist you with your issue please provide us with a screenshot. If you need help to create a screenshot, please see How do I create a screenshot of my problem?

Once you've done this, attach the saved screenshot file to your forum post by clicking the Browse... button below the Post your reply box. This will help us to visualize the problem.

Thank you!

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Attached are 3 screens from my attempt to email an article to several people: 1. shows my computer's default configuration 2. shows the article I want to email and Internet Explorer's file screen (where I selected Send Link by e-mail) 3. the first screen when Thunderbird opens. As you can see there is no way to select the email addresses for the article from that screen nor a way to link the article to a Thunderbird-written email. Also if I try to email a worksheet from Microsoft Office Excel, I get a message: "General Mail Failure. Quit Microsoft Office Excel, restart the mail system, and try again."

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Chosen Solution

You're halfway there, in that TB opens when you send a link from IE, but it doesn't launch a new message with the URL in the message body. I've about exhausted my knowledge in this area, but you could try the step of repairing the file, mapi32.dll, that is used when a program communicates with the default mail program. Instructions are here, but I'm only speculating. Another possible solution is offered here.

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Until a few days ago, viewing an article and using IE 11 to select "Send e-mail link", TB did open to a write email page with the article's URL already in the message body. I changed something unknowingly and now I can't do that anymore.

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Do you know of a way to find the URL for the "write a message" page of Thunderbird? I could then set that as the start page in TB so at least I would be on the desired page when opening TB with internet Explorer (or Excel or Word, for that matter).

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clgr said

Until a few days ago, viewing an article and using IE 11 to select "Send e-mail link", TB did open to a write email page with the article's URL already in the message body. I changed something unknowingly and now I can't do that anymore.

Perform the steps mentioned in my first reply and see if you can recover the earlier behaviour.

TB remembers the pane layout in place when you exit TB, so to have 'Write a new message' displayed, select an account (not a folder) in the Folder Pane before you close TB.

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I have the same problem, and I already tried all of the above suggestions. It appears to *NOT* be a MAPI problem, as Firefox correctly launches Thunderbird, starts a new message, and passes the "Send link by email" URL to the new message---- Internet Explorer ceased doing that about four weeks ago, and I have spent about 40 hours trying to fix the problem.

It isn't MAPI32.DLL

It isn't a DLL register server problem as far as I can see: the MAPI DLLs are registered.

It appears to be a I.E. problem, but there are many tens of thousands of web pages stating the same "solution" to the problem, and they are all wrong.

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Desertphile said

I have the same problem, and I already tried all of the above suggestions. It appears to *NOT* be a MAPI problem, as Firefox correctly launches Thunderbird, starts a new message, and passes the "Send link by email" URL to the new message---- Internet Explorer ceased doing that about four weeks ago, and I have spent about 40 hours trying to fix the problem.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1164348