I am doing a basic html page, using a free web template that I found online. In the "contact" section, I would like to set it up such that
Myself
allows emailing to myself from the page directly. However, when I click on the link, nothing comes up, no emailing program... nothing. Could it have something to do with the fact that I got a free web template with it's own included css file, which could be overriding whatever emailing functionality the html might provide? This seems relatively simple, but for whatever reason nothing happens when I click the email link.
The "mailto:" function opens a new e-mail in your default e-mail client. Since it looks like you are using GMail, then I am just guessing (correct me if I'm wrong) but you are using the web interface to compose and check you gmail messages and don't have a default email client set up. Either setup your default client (Outlook, Thunderbird, Mail, etc) OR if you are using Chrome web browser you can set it as your default gmail client (Making Gmail your default mail application).
Look which Standard-Email-Client you are using. In Firefox: Options > Applications > Filter > Search for "mailto". I guess the Client-list is empty or not set.
CSS can't block mailto, but JS can.
Try to put your code in a simmple blank HTML file and click the link:
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
Myself
</body>
</html>
You need an email client that processes the URL:Mailto filetype.
Without a proper default email client nothing ever happens when the link gets clicked.
Btw. mailto usage can be extended to include a draft and receivers in the created email.
<a href="mailto:someone#yoursite.com
?cc=someoneelse#theirsite.com, another#thatsite.com, me#mysite.com
&bcc=lastperson#theirsite.com
&subject=Big%20News&body=Body-goes-here">mail now</a>
Related
I learned to write html and css code a month ago. I am in the process of making a blog website for my friend. I got there when I made the about page. And I made a button there that would have made it possible to talk to my friend via email. And it didn't work :(
(I can't code in PHP)
I tried this:
<button type="button">Let's Talk!</button>
I thought it would open a page with only the email and nothing else. (of course the recipient and the subject)
The HTML you wrote should work, even if it's not strictly valid. To be clear:
You cannot send an email directly via HTML, it is up to the web browser itself how a href="mailto:" link is handled.
For example, Firefox will attempt to start the default email client of the operating system when a mailto: link is clicked. You can also configure what Firefox should do with mailto: links. There are similar configurations for other browsers and operating systems.
Websites and apps can also ask the browser or operating system for permission to become the default email client.
In short, control of mailto: links is up to the browser, and not something you can control from HTML.
Is JavaScript supported in an email message?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-mail_clients
Old clients, such as Lotus Notes, Mozilla Thunderbird, Outlook Express, and Windows Live Mail all seem to have supported some sort of JavaScript execution. Nothing else does.
It seems like a bad idea security-wise, so I would expect this to be a feature that won't always be around, even in these clients.
Short answer
No
Descriptive answer
It depends. But the email is not guaranteed to behave in the way you want it to. Different email clients handle JS differently. Most of the newer email clients do not support any of it since it is potentially very dangerous to support script execution in a desktop application which contains so much of your personal info.
I had a use case where I needed to use JS in an email. I tried out on the web client of outlook and desktop client as well, and it turns out outlook just wipes out the script part of your HTML email. There might be some other email client which does support JS execution, but given that you cannot control the client where your email would be viewed in the client machine, it's not a good idea to embed any scripts in the HTML email.
Its advised to keep your HTML email as simple as possible, no JS, and the least CSS you can do with (because, again, different email clients have varying support for CSS as well) eg: outlook's web client was not even recognizing an HTML button tag in the email. I had to use an anchor tag and some CSS on top of it to mimic the display of a button.
Bottom Line - Don't rely on Javascript when working with HTML email content.
No, generally speaking email readers do not allow javascript.
Other answerers have suggested that the answer is "No."
On the other hand, an html attachment will probably get opened in an environment that runs Javascript.
EDIT: It was suggested that I haven't properly answered the question so here goes a more complete effort.
Summary: I would expect that many or most users receiving an html-formatted email containing embedded Javascript will see it run and have run tests to confirm that this is true in some environments. But Javascript WILL be blocked for some users.
The protocols (specifically RFC2854) explicitly address scripting (within the text/html message body type) with the statement that:
In addition, the introduction of scripting languages and
interactive capabilities in HTML 4.0 introduced a number of
security risks associated with the automatic execution of programs
written by the sender but interpreted by the recipient. User
agents executing such scripts or programs must be extremely careful
to insure that untrusted software is executed in a protected
environment.
So the protocols do support Javascript, but which user agents do?
My (ancient) email reader uses a table to specify which viewer software to use for each mimetype, diverting html content to my favorite web browser. Almost all current web browsers support Javascript (and some issue dire warnings when you try to turn it off!) Do modern email agents include internal html interpreters and, if so, is the javascript turned on or off? I've checked documentation on Thunderbird and find that javascript seems to be turned on by default but can be turned off: http://codeverge.com/mozilla.support.thunderbird/simple-html-tags-reference-docume/2030160
I have noticed that some (?many?) users now access their email from a browser directly (webmail is one such platform) rather than running separate email software. All such platforms which I have tested so far do run any Javascript embedded in the html of the email message. However some such environments, depending on user security settings, do not automatically fetch external links (Javascript or pictures or other) and so can only run external Javascript from a file which is included as an attachment to the message. The same would be true of any offline email reader on a device without a current internet connection.
The above applies to javascript embedded in the main message part of the email body. One can also have html explicitly given as an "attachment", which if saved and then opened would be displayed in a web browser, wherein Javascript is available with very high likelyhood. Therefore, one might included a second copy of the javascript enabled email as an html attachement with an alternative text/plain main body and/or tag in the main text/html directing the user to the attachment.
I've been thinking about this because some of my acquaintances insist on sending me "email greeting cards" which consist of a text message directing me to a link which I've found so unsatisfactory that I refuse to even consider loading it just on principle. I have written and sent email greeting cards with interactive graphics and music and even games using embedded javascript and been satisfied with the result.
Therefore, I maintain that the correct answer is "Yes" both on the grounds that the protocols specifically address scripting and on the grounds that all the email agents I personally use ran the Javascript in my test emails.
You aren't going to get executable JavaScript onto a server and into a mail client. But emails DO support links, you can always link to your content within an email.
For most mail clients, no.
No email client support javascript due to security concern
Try to send a mail with this HTML content
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<button onclick="this.innerHTML=Date()">The time is?</button>
</body>
</html>
It may be, but mail clients won't read it & mail servers may reject it. So leave it out.
Javascript is not supported in emails.
You can view an email with JavaScript working with Windows Live Mail, but can't add JavaScript to a new email you wish to send.
JavaScript also works with saved .eml files.
Mozilla Thunderbird version 60.7.0 can't view or add JavaScript.
(If you save an eml file with Thunderbird, the code will work if file is then loaded with Live Mail)
You can send an email with JavaScript using PHP code.
Some email websites may support it, but the few I used don't. (AOL, uk2.net, GMail)
Short answer: No it is not supported in an email message
Long answer:
I have tested it with two email readers. Outlook (online) and OE Classic. As OE Classic is very outdated (I use it on windows 7), it does support JavaScript and I tested it with an alert button. However, the newer Outlook does not even support buttons, which showed up as plain text. So to conclude JavaScript is only enabled on some, usually older, email readers but not on new ones such as Outlook.
so i've made styled e-mail but now i don't know how to send it using gmail or any other e-mail platform. Apparently just copying and pasting the code into the e-mail doesn't work. Any ideas? Thanks
Interesting question! We have always used a whole tool-stack for these things (e.g. a CMS in which contents are edited and an mailing-tool, which would read the mail content from a URL provided by the CMS).
However, if you do it locally on your machine with Outlook, this link might help (just tried it and it works for me):
http://www.soltech-solutions.com/how-to-import-html-into-outlook-email.html
Note that creating HTML based mail that displays well on many platforms is quite a challenging task with many caveats.
Create a new email, click on “Attach File”. Find your .html file, then, click on the drop down arrow next to “Insert”. Scroll down and click on “Insert as Text”.Your .html file should now be displayed in your e-mail as you were intending. Just make sure to test any of links, etc. before sending.
I developed a web page in asp.net to send HTML email.
I did the coding for sending the mail in asp.net.
The issue is, after sending the mail I need to open a popup window from the mail using hyperlink.
Is this possible?
From a comment on another answer:
I need to open it as a popup window. Not in a new tab.
That requires JavaScript. You cannot run JavaScript in an email. Therefore you cannot achieve what you want.
Try:
description
This should make it open as a pop-up (unless default browser setting are different)
Although it's not recommended to use pop ups anymore because most users find it extremely annoying.
Hope this helped.
It's possible, just put your:
<a href='yourULR'>description</a>
in your email
So I have an html email that I am creating for my company for an email campaign we are going to be sending soon for an organization we represent. It contains 2 primary links, one to email a person at the organization we represent, and one to go to the landing page on the site of the organization. The landing page link works fine, the mailto: link does not when the email is viewed from Hotmail. It works on other clients besides Hotmail including Gmail and Outlook.
This is not because the computer which I am testing on does not have an email client installed. It has Outlook 2010 installed and registered as the mailto application. When mailto links are clicked on other sites (not hotmail) they work great...outlook launches a new message window as it should and fills in the subject and email. When we went to test on Hotmail, it shows the mailto link in the status bar, but no action occurs when you click the link. It's as if the link was not a link at all.
This is the link we are trying to use: (edited slightly for privacy)
<div class="button">Email a Resident Advisor</div>
This is placed within an html table cell. It has some basic css styling applied (all embedded in the html email itself). The button class is just designed to make the link stand out in the email...give it a red border and bold the link.
To be much more clear:
Works:
Gmail - IE9, Chrome, Firefox
Outlook - worked.
Does not work:
Hotmail - All browsers tried
The email was sent using the preview function of CampaignMonitor (handled by our QA guy, I don't have access to it as I'm rather new to the company).
I just need to figure out a way to make this work. Thanks in advance.
Two other programmer and I spent 2 days dealing with this problem earlier this week. I don't have the relevant links handy, but the long and short of the story is that this is a known issue and currently unresolved.
mailto: links will under no circumstance, work in Hotmail, they are removed or something.
We ultimately ended up adding copy instructing recipients to email foo#mail.com in lieu of clicking the link.
Here's a possible solution I found at http://windowsxp.mvps.org/hmposturl.htm that I modified for my purposes. It would require sending unique creative with a custom link to only your Hotmail recipients but it seems to work for me. Here's the href string I used:
http://www.hotmail.msn.com/secure/start?action=compose&to=email#domain.com&subject=My Subject Line&body=Email Body
This is a common problem with most webmail based systems. mailto: doesn't invoke them. Google mailto hotmail and you will find answers for Windows and for specific browsers. I think this will set it up for you
http://email.about.com/od/windowslivehotmailtips/qt/How_to_Make_Windows_Live_Hotmail_Your_Default_Email_Program.htm
Just add target='_blank'...use the 'a' html tag as...
<a href='mailto:Your MAILTO ID' target='_blank'>SOME Support</a>
This works in hotmail client, but it launch new browser instance additionally.
Known problem, I can confirm, is not working on Hotmail web mail only, rest of them work fine, we had the same problem here and we give up trying.
If you really really want that the only way is to use JavaScript, onClick change window location but that introduces a new dependency: JavaScript.