TB as default mail sender on OS X Yosemite

[Antonio]

hello. I have TB 31.3.0 installed on my iMac, with OS Yosemite.
everything is newly installed and updated. I have 4 e-mail accounts
configured in TB, including @icloud.com.
whenever I want to send a link to a webpage or a Word document as an
attached file to a mail message, I expected that a TB instance would
open. instead Apple's "Mail" will open but of course it finds no e-mail
accounts configured in it. so I have to manually open TB and manage to
attach the file or whatever to the message to be sent.
is there a way to set TB as the default mail sender in Yosemite?
thanks in advance
antonio

[Ken Springer]

Open Apple Mail, and select Preferences. Click on the General tab, and
change the default email reader from Mail to Thunderbird. Close
Preferences and Apple Mail.

FYI, if you want your default browser to be something other than Safari,
you have to do similar in Safari.



--
Ken
Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 25.0
Thunderbird 24.6.0
"My brain is like lightning, a quick flash
and it's gone!"

[Mike Easter]

Apparently Yosemite sets the system's default mail client from within Mail.

"Launch the Mail client in OS X (it's inside the Applications folder)
and then go to Mail > Preferences. Click on the General tab and look for
"Default email reader". Select another mail client or browser from the
drop down menu and then close the Preferences window."
http://applesliced.com/ask/how-do-i-change-my-default-mail-client-in-os-x
How Do I Change My Default Mail Client In OS X?

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH19206?viewlocale=en_US Mail (Yosemite):
General preferences


--
Mike Easter

[Antonio]

thank you Mike and Ken. but this option was already set in Mail >
Preferences. what I am looking for is to set TB as the default SENDER.
so that when I right click on a file, then choose "share" > Mail, a TB
message window should appear. the icon beside "Mail" in the path
Share>Mail is the TB icon but it doesn't open the message window

[Mike Easter]

Antonio wrote:

>> Apparently Yosemite sets the system's default mail client from within
>> Mail.
>

> thank you Mike and Ken. but this option was already set in Mail >
> Preferences. what I am looking for is to set TB as the default SENDER.

Normally an operating system such as Windows or Linux (I'm not familiar
with Mac) uses/selects the OS's default mail client when you execute a
function (including send) which requires the use of a mail agent.

> so that when I right click on a file, then choose "share" > Mail, a
> TB message window should appear. the icon beside "Mail" in the path
> Share>Mail is the TB icon but it doesn't open the message window

When Windows gets something system related wrong, sometimes it is
helpful to change the function such as default mail agent to something
else (which is actually unwanted), such as Mail, save/close, then change
back, open change to Tb, save/close. Of course, Windows uses a registry
hive while Mac uses Properties list files in a linux-ish way.

Here's a skyscraper vs houses article
http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/38451/windows-registry-versus-os-x-preferences/
Windows Registry versus OS X Property List Files

More sophisticated treatment
http://www.macforensicslab.com/ProductsAndServices/index.php?main_page=document_general_info&cPath=11&products_id=271
Comparing the Mac OS X Property List to the Windows Registry

--
Mike Easter

[Ken Springer]

If by "share" you are referring to the sharing features of social media
(Facebook, Twitter, etc.) I'm afraid I can't help. I do not participate
in social media, never have, never will. So I have no idea how it's
supposed to work.

Not to mention, I don't use Yosemite, I'm still using Mountain Lion, as
this is the only contemporary Mac unit I own, so I don't need all the
integration and such that comes with Yosemite.

AH!!!!! I think I see what you're saying. I just right clicked on a
file on my desktop. In the pop up menu, I selected "Share", and another
popup up says Message and Air Drop. I don't think either one of these
is meant to mean email. If my guess is correct from a little
experimenting, Message will let you send the file to someone's Yahoo,
Google Talk, etc. instant messenger account. Provided the instant
messenger program is supported. Air Drop apparently lets you send the
file wirelessly to someone near by.

I don't have any way to test what I just wrote, it's all just a guess.

[Antonio]

> AH!!!!! I think I see what you're saying. I just right clicked on a file on
> my desktop. In the pop up menu, I selected "Share", and another popup up
> says Message and Air Drop. I don't think either one of these is meant to
> mean email. If my guess is correct from a little experimenting, Message will
> let you send the file to someone's Yahoo, Google Talk, etc. instant messenger
> account. Provided the instant messenger program is supported. Air Drop
> apparently lets you send the file wirelessly to someone near by.
>
> I don't have any way to test what I just wrote, it's all just a guess.

exactly! that's what I meant. look at this screenshot (Yosemite in
italian, "condividi" = "share":

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5ddo52mbjbup1gb/Schermata%202015-01-13%20alle%2022.45.39.jpg?dl=0

you can see that the icon next to "Mail" is the TB one. so I thought
that TB would open letting me compose a message with the file attached.
instead, Mail will open.... :-(

[Ken Springer]

I think the problem may be with Yosemite, not with Thunderbird.

I am still using Mountain Lion, 10.8.5. I do not have the Mail and
Altro options.

I think you should try the Apple forums,
https://discussions.apple.com/welcome and ask in Yosemite support. The
link is in English for me, and I don't know how the forums work for
other languages. There are other sites with knowledgeable people on the
web.

You may be able to change it via the Terminal, I don't know. There
appears to be a lot of things you can do in Terminal that cannot be
accomplished via the GUI interface. I changed the default screenshot
file type from PNG to JPG. I've had a lot of knowledgeable Unix types
tell me the Terminal has far more power than the Windows command prompt
currently available.

[Eckard]

This is an old bug in the Mac version:
"Send To" unavailable when Thunderbird is the default Mail client on
OS X <https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=309708>

See also Bug 606918 (feature request)
<https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=606918> "Create a OS X
Service to attach files from the Finder to a Thunderbird compose window".
In his comment #2 Nomis101 proposes to download a "Send with
Thunderbird.zip" file (attachment 563994) which is simply an Automator
service workflow.
Unzipping the file results in a "Send with Thunderbird.workflow" which
must be dragged in the folder "Services" of your user library.
Now you will find an option "Send with Thunderbird" in the Finder
right-click "Services" menu.