Mailto links don't work

[adieu]

I am having trouble getting mailto links to work in pdfs created in indesign.

They used to, but now don't. On my computer, Windows 10, I use gmail as my default email.

Trying to think if there is something I have done to my computer, but don't think so. Don't think it's my browser since other mailto links I've found online seem to work fine.

Here's a sample.

Any help appreciated.

[BobLevine]

Interactive PDF in a browser is nothing but a crapshoot. Anything outside of Acrobat or Reader is not going to be very reliable.

Additionally, keep in mind that mailto links will launch an email application. If you the viewer is using webmail it won’t work correctly.

In short, without more info on what you’re doing I can’t offer an alternative.

[Jeffrey_Smith]

There are a number of mail to links in your file, is there one in particular that is not working or all of them? The mail to links work for me using: Acrobat, Reader and browser (Chrome PDF Viewer)

[adieu]

None seem to work, in the sample or in other documents that I have created.

Viewed in a browser, the links seem to do nothing.

When open in Acrobat Pro DC, they launch a new window in a browser, to my home page. Until recently, the links worked fine, launching a new gmail tab in Chrome.

[BobLevine]

But they do work from Acrobat. Again, browsers support is hit or miss and with Chrome, that’s a miss.

[adieu]

Well, they don't work from Acrobat, at least not for me. They open a webpage, my home page which is not an email program.

[Steve Werner]

I couldn't find your "mailto:" example in the sample PDF you provided. Would you like to point out where it is so we can test it.

[BobLevine]

They are tiny, Steve. You’ll find a ton of them in the descriptions.

[Steve Werner]

The Mailto: links are working fine on my Macintosh Mac OS X 10.11.4 using Acrobat DC:

With Acrobat, I first get a security warning:

When I choose  Allow, it opens in Mail:

Maybe it's a Windows 10 problem.

[adieu]

Thanks Steve,

Perhaps it's me or Windows 10 or some setting I haven't discovered. It's not working for me at all.

I tried Firefox. It's reacting like Acrobat does, opening a Chrome browser window, but perhaps that is because Chrome is my default browser.

How it always worked in Chrome is it opened a new Chrome tab with an addressed Gmail letter ready to be filled. It was perfect.

Might it have anything to do with the %40 characters instead of @? Googling suggests it is not a problem.

[BobLevine · Accepted solution]

Windows 10 will let you set webmail as your default for email. I’m on Win 10 here and it launches Outlook.

Like I said earlier…mailto links are unreliable.

[adieu]

Maybe that is the problem. Not sure it is correct but I will give you the credit.