Add New Content Type

[br1...@sky.com]

How do I add a new content type for handling an attachment - Thunderbird
3.0.1 on Ubuntu 9.10? In Preferences there seems to be only a way of
changing existing entries but not adding a new type.
Brian

[brian]

[Ron Hunter]

Chicken or the egg question. You need to have a message with that
file/content type in order to be able to add an action for it to TB.
Strange, but that's the way it's done.

--
Ron Hunter -- rphu...@charter.net

[brian]

Ron, I do have a message with a new file/content type. However, when I
click on the attachment (a .pps file) Tb downloads it to a temporary
folder and then when I try to open it I get this message,
'/tmp/Flowchart.pps could not be opened, because the associated helper
application does not exist. Change the association in your preferences.'
So I'm back to the beginning.
Brian

[JoeS]

Go to Tools>>Options>>Attachments and delete the bad pps association.
Now open the message in question, and select the proper app (check "do this always" if you want to)

--
JoeS Using TB3
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Thunderbird_3.0_-_New_Features_and_Changes
https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Thunderbird/Thunderbird_Binaries

[brian]

On 02/02/10 00:52, JoeS wrote:
> On 2/1/2010 7:14 PM, brian wrote:
>> On 01/02/10 22:55, Ron Hunter wrote:
>>> On 2/1/2010 8:32 AM, br1...@sky.com wrote:
>>>> How do I add a new content type for handling an attachment -
>>>> Thunderbird
>>>> 3.0.1 on Ubuntu 9.10? In Preferences there seems to be only a way of
>>>> changing existing entries but not adding a new type.
>>>> Brian
>>>
>>> Chicken or the egg question. You need to have a message with that
>>> file/content type in order to be able to add an action for it to TB.
>>> Strange, but that's the way it's done.
>>>
>>>
>> Ron, I do have a message with a new file/content type. However, when
>> I click on the attachment (a .pps file) Tb downloads it to a
>> temporary folder and then when I try to open it I get this message,
>> '/tmp/Flowchart.pps could not be opened, because the
>> associated helper application does not exist. Change the association
>> in your preferences.'
>> So I'm back to the beginning.
>> Brian
>
> Go to Tools>>Options>>Attachments and delete the bad pps association.
> Now open the message in question, and select the proper app (check "do
> this always" if you want to)
>

Thanks guys. I've concluded there must be something wrong with the file
as the content handler successfully opens other .pps files. Strange
because when I save the rogue file it opens successfully in openoffice
impress (equivalent of Ms Powerpoint).
Brian

[Ron Hunter]

The 'associated helper app' for .pps is the Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer.
Download and install, then try double-clicking on the .pps file.

[Ken Whiton]

*-* On Tue, 02 Feb 2010, at 02:15:57 +0000,
*-* In Article <E9-dnUfsr5ZDF_rW...@mozilla.org>,
*-* brian wrote
*-* About Re: Add New Content Type

> On 02/02/10 00:52, JoeS wrote:
>> On 2/1/2010 7:14 PM, brian wrote:
>>> On 01/02/10 22:55, Ron Hunter wrote:
>>>> On 2/1/2010 8:32 AM, br1...@sky.com wrote:
>>>>> How do I add a new content type for handling an attachment -
>>>>> Thunderbird 3.0.1 on Ubuntu 9.10? In Preferences there seems to
>>>>> be only a way of changing existing entries but not adding a new
>>>>> type.
>

>>>> Chicken or the egg question. You need to have a message with that
>>>> file/content type in order to be able to add an action for it to
>>>> TB. Strange, but that's the way it's done.
>
>>> Ron, I do have a message with a new file/content type. However,
>>> when I click on the attachment (a .pps file) Tb downloads it to a
>>> temporary folder and then when I try to open it I get this
>>> message, '/tmp/Flowchart.pps could not be opened, because the
>>> associated helper application does not exist. Change the
>>> association in your preferences.'
>>> So I'm back to the beginning.
>

>> Go to Tools>>Options>>Attachments and delete the bad pps
>> association.
>> Now open the message in question, and select the proper app (check
>> "do this always" if you want to)
>
> Thanks guys. I've concluded there must be something wrong with the
> file as the content handler successfully opens other .pps files.

It's not the file, but the way it's identified in the message.

> Strange because when I save the rogue file it opens successfully in
> openoffice impress (equivalent of Ms Powerpoint).

This sounds like the same problem you had with a .wmv attachment
last March. Here's the thread from that discussion:

http://groups.google.com/group/mozilla.support.thunderbird/browse_thread/thread/017a3252752e74d5

Ken Whiton
--
FIDO: 1:132/152
InterNet: kenw...@surfglobal.net.INVAL (remove the obvious to reply)

[Ken Whiton]

*-* On Mon, 01 Feb 2010, at 20:31:04 -0600,
*-* In Article <wY2dncj5ZqX_E_rW...@mozilla.org>,
*-* Ron Hunter wrote

*-* About Re: Add New Content Type

> On 2/1/2010 6:14 PM, brian wrote:

>> On 01/02/10 22:55, Ron Hunter wrote:
>>> On 2/1/2010 8:32 AM, br1...@sky.com wrote:
>>>> How do I add a new content type for handling an attachment -
>>>> Thunderbird 3.0.1 on Ubuntu 9.10? In Preferences there seems to
>>>> be only a way of changing existing entries but not adding a new
>>>> type.
>

>>> Chicken or the egg question. You need to have a message with that
>>> file/content type in order to be able to add an action for it to
>>> TB. Strange, but that's the way it's done.
>
>> Ron, I do have a message with a new file/content type. However,
>> when I click on the attachment (a .pps file) Tb downloads it to a
>> temporary folder and then when I try to open it I get this message,
>> '/tmp/Flowchart.pps could not be opened, because the associated
>> helper application does not exist. Change the association in your
>> preferences.'
>> So I'm back to the beginning.
>

> The 'associated helper app' for .pps is the Microsoft PowerPoint
> Viewer.

Not in his case. He's on Linux.

[brian]

Jeez Ken, what a memory! I had completely forgotten. Yes, it is the same
problem. The content type is showing as application/octet-stream; and
not application/vnd.ms-powerpoint;
Thanks for the reminder.
Brian

[H-Man]

Would this work?

http://nic-nac-project.de/~kaosmos/index-en.html#openattach

I use it in Windows and it largely solved the problem for me.

--
HK

[Ken Whiton]

*-* On Tue, 02 Feb 2010, at 15:00:27 +0000,
*-* In Article <wsGdneGLovWRo_XW...@mozilla.org>,

*-* brian wrote
*-* About Re: Add New Content Type

> On 02/02/10 09:24, Ken Whiton wrote:
>> *-* brian wrote

> Jeez Ken, what a memory!

Not really. ;-)

> I had completely forgotten. Yes, it is the
> same problem. The content type is showing as
> application/octet-stream; and not application/vnd.ms-powerpoint;

When I read your "... the content handler successfully opens
other .pps files." I realized it was probably an
"application/octet-stream" issue. I've posted to a few related
threads in the past, so I did an "Entire Message" search for "octet"
in my "Posted" folder. When one of the search results was my post to
that thread of yours, I couldn't resist using that thread as the
reference in this one. ;-)

> Thanks for the reminder.

You're welcome.

Incidentally, in one of your posts to that older thread you
mentioned that you had tried (unsuccessfully) to fix the problem by
editing that "Content-Type:" header. Here's a post from another
related thread a couple of months later, where the poster says he was
able to fix it that way, in case you're interested:

http://groups.google.com/group/mozilla.support.thunderbird/msg/3ddcddb94da69fef

[brian]

Thanks Ken. I found I could use the Dafzilla Viewsourcewith extension,
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/394 to add a command.
H-Man has also suggested another add-on 'openattachment' which also works.
Brian