can't open links

[gtoman]

im using SimplyMepis 3.3. i like it. works real good but has a couple of flaws. i just got online in thunderbird email and clicked on a link in a message and it wouldnt open. i went to a couple of websites and had the same problem. how can this be fixed?
Thanks,Jim

[irlandes]

Depending alas on the distro, that decision is made in either a script file which has to be manually edited, and in some cases, there is a control panel which might let you select the program which is the default for clicking a link. (actually the program which 'serves' that function.

I have seen it both ways over the years. Sorry I don't know mepis. But, thought I'd at least give you an idea of what to expect.

[Krendoshazin]

I had the same problem, but the fix is pretty simple, go into ~/.thunderbird/yourprofile and edit prefs.js, yourprofile should be something along the lines of z2jea3ep.default.
In that file add these lines:

user_pref("network.protocol-handler.app.http", "/usr/bin/firefox");
user_pref("network.protocol-handler.app.https", "/usr/bin/firefox");

Start up thunderbird once that's done and saved, and links should now work.

[gtoman]

Hi Krendoshazin. Hows life in England? I'd love to go there someday. I live in California.
As you know, I'm brand new to Linux. Which program do I go into to get to the command path you show: ~/.thunderbird/yourprofile?
It must be similar to a Windows DOS type of program with the command paths looking the same. Could you give me a more detailed explanation of how to get there and how to fix it?
I would appreciate your help,
Thank you, Jim

[Krendoshazin]

Hi Krendoshazin. Hows life in England? I'd love to go there someday. I live in California.
As you know, I'm brand new to Linux. Which program do I go into to get to the command path you show: ~/.thunderbird/yourprofile?
It must be similar to a Windows DOS type of program with the command paths looking the same. Could you give me a more detailed explanation of how to get there and how to fix it?
I would appreciate your help,
Thank you, Jim

It's not bad here, we could do with some more sunshine and it tends to rain a lot, but you get used to it.

To edit that file, follow these commands (all are quoted for clarification, remove quotes to use them); first pull up a terminal and use the command 'cd', this will make sure you're in your home directory.
The . before the directory name (and for files) means it's a hidden file, you can see these with 'ls -lA', do 'cd .thunderbird', issue 'ls -lA' one last time and you should see the name of the profile I mentioned, e.g z2jea3ep.default

cd ( 'cd directory' ) to the profile and in here you'll find the file prefs.js, you can open this with 'vi prefs.js', all distros should have vi or one of its varients, so I'll quickly run over some of the commands.

In vi, you'll need to press the i key to go into insert mode, once here you can put the two lines I gave you at the end of the file, once finished press escape and you're back to normal mode. To save the file press the colon key : and you should see a prompt, prefixed with a colon, here type wq and press enter to save and quit.

You might find it easier to open up a graphical editor and just search for the file and then edit it, but I use the command line, so I tend to give information based on that.

If you're confused about anything feel free to ask, I'll be happy to clarify any misunderstandings.