Chrome: unable to change default browser in Thunderbird

[caprus]

I've been using Thunderbird (2.0.0.24) with html attachments opening in Firefox.

I just installed the new Chrome browser (5.0.375.70) and like it very much, enough so that I decided to switch from Firefox now that the Add-Ons I like are available for Chrome (Lastpass, Adblock, AutoPager). I've made Chrome the default browser in KDE's "Configure Desktop>Default Applications", but html attachments in Thunderbird still open in Firefox.

I've tried most of the fixes offered on this and other forums as well as those offered by Mozilla's various help files, but nothing works. Most suggestions refer to fixes for 1.x versions of Thunderbird and no longer can be used.

Any new suggestions?

Note: I just checked another OpenSUSE 11.2 PC with the newer 3.04 version of T'bird and saw no solution there either.

[caprus]

Here's what I finally figured out:

In Thunderbird go to "Edit --> Preferences --> Advanced" in the Thunderbird menus and click on the "Config Editor" button.

Search for the following three entries:

network.protocol-handler.warn-external.http
network.protocol-handler.warn-external.https
network.protocol-handler.warn-external.ftp

Set the value of each of these three entries to true (you can do this by double-clicking on each entry)

Right click on white space in the Config Editor window and click on "New --> String".

Enter the preference name "network.protocol-handler.app.http", click on "OK" and then enter string value "/usr/bin/google-chrome".

Click "OK"

Repeat to create strings "network.protocol-handler.app.https" and "network.protocol-handler.app.ftp", both with the same value "/usr/bin/google-chrome"

Close the "about:config" window and click "OK" on the "Thunderbird Preferences" window.

Having completed these steps, the next time you click on an http, https or ftp link in Thunderbird, you will be presented with the "Launch Application" window. Press the "Choose" button on this window to select your browser of choice. This is a one-time task; having selected the browser once, links of the same type will now always be opened with the selected browser.

(Credit: I've quoted pits and pieces from a number of sources, too many to remember, and added some trial and error of my own to come up with this solution. Portions of the text above is based on Default browser - MozillaZine Knowledge Base)

[caprus]

Ok, this is going to sound strange, but it is what it is.

After upgrading to TB3 the links no longer worked. It seems TB3 no longer recognises the network.protocol-handler.app strings, so the fix no longer worked..

I spent a couple of days unable to figure the problem out and unable to find enough time to really work on it, then..

I was at Configure Desktop>Default Applications for reasons unrelated to this issue when I happened to notice that the Web Browser default entry was no longer "google-chrome" as I remembered it having been prior to the last on-line update by YAST (the same update that I'd foolishly allowed to include TB2 > TB3). It now said "chrome" instead, so I clicked on the little button to the right of the entry and reselected Internet>Web Browser>Google Chrome and clicked OK. The entry now reads "google-chrome again, and the function works. I can now once again click on a URL in a message in TB and have the linked page open in Chrome.

[bkorb]

Ok, this is going to sound strange, but it is what it is.

After upgrading to TB3 the links no longer worked....

Two years later and it works for me. *Thank you*. (The added config entry wasn't needed, but setting the network config entries to "true" was.)

And, just to be a bit snide, no thanks _at all_ to our t-bird developers. Yes, I know that there are too many configurables to put them all into a menu system. However, Chrome does correctly set the system wide settings so that Chrome is supposed to be the default browser, but T-Bird ignores it. Given that they have chosen to ignore the system setting, the *least* they can do is make the setting more easily set. This was absurd.

[robin_listas]

On 2012-11-19 19:56, bkorb wrote:
> And, just to be a bit snide, no thanks _at all_ to our t-bird
> developers. Yes, I know that there are too many configurables to put
> them all into a menu system. However, Chrome does correctly set the
> system wide settings so that Chrome is supposed to be the default
> browser, but T-Bird ignores it. Given that they have chosen to ignore
> the system setting, the *least* they can do is make the setting more
> easily set. This was absurd.

Maybe because there is no unique system standard?

--
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 11.4 x86_64 "Celadon" (Minas Tirith))

[pinkauf]

This worked for me. Thanks for the post !!

Here's what I finally figured out:

In Thunderbird go to "Edit --> Preferences --> Advanced" in the Thunderbird menus and click on the "Config Editor" button.

Search for the following three entries:

network.protocol-handler.warn-external.http
network.protocol-handler.warn-external.https
network.protocol-handler.warn-external.ftp

Set the value of each of these three entries to true (you can do this by double-clicking on each entry)

Right click on white space in the Config Editor window and click on "New --> String".

Enter the preference name "network.protocol-handler.app.http", click on "OK" and then enter string value "/usr/bin/google-chrome".

Click "OK"

Repeat to create strings "network.protocol-handler.app.https" and "network.protocol-handler.app.ftp", both with the same value "/usr/bin/google-chrome"

Close the "about:config" window and click "OK" on the "Thunderbird Preferences" window.

Having completed these steps, the next time you click on an http, https or ftp link in Thunderbird, you will be presented with the "Launch Application" window. Press the "Choose" button on this window to select your browser of choice. This is a one-time task; having selected the browser once, links of the same type will now always be opened with the selected browser.

(Credit: I've quoted pits and pieces from a number of sources, too many to remember, and added some trial and error of my own to come up with this solution. Portions of the text above is based on Default browser - MozillaZine Knowledge Base)