Table of Contents. When you click a mailto link on the web, you’ll be directed to your operating system’s default email application. That could be Mail on a Mac or Mail on Windows 10.
You don’t need to stick with those, though. You can escape the clutches of Microsoft or Apple and fly into Google’s open arms. It promises, after all.
In this article, I will explain how to set your default email to Gmail on your mac for the purposes of clicking on weblinks that open. Change the program used to open email links. Firefox normally uses your operating system's default mail program to send an email message. This article explains how you can change the program that is launched when you click on. Click on Set your default programs. Under Programs, click the email program you'd like to use (e.g., Thunderbird.
Evil or not, it has a reliable, well-developed web application. If you prefer using it to the one built in to your OS, you’ll need to set your system up to make the switch. Figuring out how to do that isn’t easy, though, which is why we’ve put together this guide on how to make Gmail your default email client. After the, you may have concerns about email privacy. If so, our guide will interest you.
These tips vary, depending on your OS and browser, so keep reading to find what you need. Many of the OS tips open a browser that is configured to default to Gmail, so if you’re only interested in opening web-based mailto links, skip to the browser guides. Besides being the most secure browsers, Chrome and Firefox are best for Gmail. Our solutions for Edge and Safari are not ideal, but, then again, neither are they. Fortunately, there are good options for all the operating systems we looked at. Linux users need to install an application, but we doubt that will trouble them too much. Setting Gmail as the Default Email Client on Windows 8 and 10 To make Windows use Gmail by default, you first set your browser of choice as the default email application.
You then set it to use Gmail, using the relevant guide. Press Windows + S to bring up the search window. Then type “control panel” and press return. When the control panel appears, type “default” into the search box. Choose “default programs.” Then, on the next screen, click “set your default programs.” A settings screen will appear, showing your default applications for various functions, including your default map, music, photo, video and browser apps, as well as your default email program. For some good photo applications, read our article.
Since Gmail doesn’t have a desktop app, you’ll need to access it via a browser, so select your browser as your default for email. Now that you’ve chosen a browser to open links with, you’ll need to make sure it handles mailto links correctly, so check the guides below for your browser of choice. MacOS If you want to change the default Gmail handler on Mac, you’ll have to open the default “Mail” application and adjust its settings. Open the “Mail” menu, then select “preferences”. On the “general” tab, change “default email reader” to use your browser of choice. Read the browser-specific guides below to finish setting up.
Linux Mint (and Others) Linux users who want to use Gmail, or other webmail, can use the package. It also works for Hotmail, Yahoo and Zoho.
To install it, type “sudo apt-get install desktop-webmail” in the command line. Once you’ve configured Gmail, you can set yourself up with a virtual private network to make sure nobody is snooping on your connection. Check out our helpful list of the for suggestions. Guides For Browsers If the guide for your OS points you to a browser for the last step, look for it below and follow the instructions. Don’t forget, you can switch browsers if the instructions for yours don’t suit you. Safari users, in particular, might need to do so.
Chrome To set Gmail as your default email handler in Chrome, open the settings via the three dots icon at the top right. Find the “privacy and security” section by scrolling down and clicking “advanced.” Click “content settings,“ then hit “handlers” and make sure the “allow sites to ask to become default handlers for protocols” option is selected. It will be colored, not gray, if it is. Open Gmail like normal. In the URL bar, there should be a gray diamond at the top right. Click it to make Gmail your default.
After you do so, it will load automatically when you click “mailto” links. Firefox On Firefox, the first time you click a mailto link, you’ll be given the chance to select your application of choice.
The selection dialogue has a checkbox that lets you set it as the default on subsequent occasions. If you’ve already picked a default and want to change it, open the Firefox options page via its drop-down menu. With “general” selected, scroll down until you see the “applications” section.
Have a look in there for the mailto content type, then select “use Gmail” from the list of options. Safari Things are tricky for Safari users. There is a plugin that worked on older versions of the browser available, but it hasn’t been updated for the latest release.
You can try pestering the developers to update it on github. Since it is open source, you can even try updating it yourself. Failing those, though, your best option is to switch browsers. Edge Edge uses your Windows default application to open mailto links.
That means if you configure Windows to open Gmail in another browser, Edge will open that browser when you click the links. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a way to open Gmail automatically in Edge itself. Final Thoughts If you’ve followed these instructions to the letter you should be good to go.
Be mindful, though. Operating systems update themselves from time to time and have a sneaky habit of overwriting your settings. What works now might not work next week. I think there is confusion with Handlers option, having set Chrome as your default Email in default programmes, just check that the handlers is on (there is no other options apart from on/off ) the illustration seems to imply you should see an email set up. This is actually a separate screen not part of the handlers option. Now that you have done the first two steps open Gmail as normal and you will see the diamond shape, when you click on the diamond shape you can then choose gmail as your default email.
I tried it earlier today as I was having problems with Outlook and after following the steps it worked for me. All well and good, yet the convenience of a true “default e-mail client” should extend beyond in-browser handling of mailto: links. From a Microsoft perspective, one element missing from this discussion is integration of useful native Windows & Office features, such as the File Explorer context-menu function, “Send To - Mail recipient” and the various “Send as Attachment/PDF” options in the Office suite apps. To enable this functionality, you need a resident Windows MAPI client that works directly with Gmail. I’ve found that Affixa (free version) works for this; another currently maintained option is called MAPI for Gmail. Various open-source efforts exist but are dated & not reliably maintained to keep pace with the constant changes Google and Microsoft impose on us.
(I have no interest in/association with any of the proprietary software mentioned, except as a casual user).
Changing from the default apps to others acquired from the Mac App Store or elsewhere can be useful for those using macOS in a working capacity. For example, a web developer may want to open text files in Panic's Coda, while a photographer could prefer for images to open in Pixelmator or another tool instead of the standard Preview. Email If you want to change your Mac's email client from the default Mail, the option is available within Apple's own app. Open Mail, then select the Mail menu option, then Preferences to bring up a settings window.
Changing the app for just one file. If there is one specific file that needs to be regularly opened in a different app to the default, but all others don't need to be changed, this can be accomplished using a similar process. Follow the instructions in the 'Apps that open files' section, but stop before selecting Change All. At this point, this file is set up to open using the alternative app, and the window can be closed without further changes.
A temporary alternative It is worth remembering that it is possible to open alternative apps on an occasional basis without going through the trouble of changing defaults. If you right-click a file and select Open With, a list of apps macOS thinks will work with it will be created, which can be used to open the alternative app for this particular instance.
If the app isn't available, click Other to find the app you want to use.