Vim as external editor for thunderbird

[Guido Milanese]

Greetings from a rainy Northern Italy!

After a new installation of my Linux box (xubuntu 16.10) I noticed that in the current version of thunderbird I cannot use (g)vim as external editor, nor was an appropriate plugin listed in the thunderbird pages ( _Muttator_ does not call vim, it should simulate vim). I found some plugins, but is it possible to call the editor from within thunderbird? It used to be possible in the recent past.

thanks as usual!
guido

[aro...@vex.net]

> the current version of thunderbird I cannot use (g)vim as external editor,
> nor was an appropriate plugin listed in the thunderbird pages

Wouldn't this be better addressed to the Thunderbird people? They seem to
have been the ones who broke it.

[Cesar Romani]

You can use "External Editor" from:
http://globs.org/articles.php?lng=fr&pg=8

--
Cesar

[rameo]

Guido,

I use http://www.listary.com/text-editor-anywhere

Saluti da una ventosa Francia. :)

~R.

[Guido Milanese]

Thanks for the suggestions. However:

1. "External Editor" <http://globs.org/articles.php?lng=fr&pg=8> does not work with the version of thunderbird I recently installed (45.7.0 on Linux xubuntu). Firefox refuses even to download it, but I succeeded with Chromium.

2. As I mentioned, I am using Linux (xubuntu): _Text Editor Anywhere_ is for Windows, and also the 'portable' edition offers an *exe* file, not the source.

So I think I'll ask the thunderbird folk.

Best wishes and thank you again,
guido

[Axel Bender]

@Guido Milanese (wow, that's an italian name for a change ;-)

1) Just to mention it: there are four variables that can be configured in the advanced settings of Thunderbird (view_source.editor....) which have not been working for me since Thunderbird 3.x (if I recall it correctly). As far as I know this fact is subject to a bug report filed to Mozilla, but nobody seems to care.

2) Have you tried ThunderHTMLEdit?

3) If you find a solution, would you please be so kind as to report it back to us?

[Guido Milanese]

Good news. I found an extremely simple solution here:

http://globs.org/thread.php?lng=fr&pg=3099&cat=1

The trick is:
1. open a 'write' session (a new message or a reply)
2. click on the toolbar (= composition toolbar)
3. drag the 'external editor' icon to the toolbar.

Obviously, all of this after installing the External Editor add-on and setting (g)vim as external editor. Do not forget the '-f' or '--nofork' flag.

That's all. Solved, good to know because vim is my natural environment...

guido, from Genoa, Northern Italy