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Open email links directly in Gmail using Chrome

posted 15 Mar 2012, 01:35 by Chris Barrow   [ updated 10 May 2012, 03:58 ]
I used to avoid clicking on email links on the web because an application on my computer that I never used would pop up and interrupt me. Instead, I would copy the email address, switch to Gmail, click compose and paste it in.

Starting today, thanks to the magic of HTML5 things are getting simpler. Now, when you go to Gmail in Chrome, you will be asked if you want Gmail to open all email links. Say yes, and clicking on email links in any application on your computer will open a fresh Gmail compose window. 


Allow or disable site handler requests

By default, web services are allowed to show messages about protocol links when you visit their sites. To disable or re-enable these messages in Chrome, follow the steps below.

  1. Click the wrench icon Wrench on the browser toolbar.
  2. Select Settings > Under the Hood.
  3. Click Content settings.
  4. In the dialog that appears, find the “Handlers” section:
    • To allow requests, select “Allow sites to ask to become default handlers for protocols.”
    • To disable requests, select “Do not allow any site to handle protocols.”

Choose a default handler or remove a handler

Use the Settings page to manage the web services you’ve allowed to act as handlers.

Choose a default handler

  1. Click the wrench icon Wrench on the browser toolbar.
  2. Select Settings > Under the Hood.
  3. Click Content settings.
  4. In the dialog that appears, find the “Handlers” section.
  5. Click Manage handlers.
  6. Use the drop-down menu next to a listed protocol to select the web service that should be used by default.

If for some reason you’d like to use a different handler to open a link on a page, right-click the link and select “Open link with” to choose a handler. Your default handler settings won’t be affected.

Remove a handler

  1. Click the wrench icon Wrench on the browser toolbar.
  2. Select Settings > Under the Hood.
  3. Click Content settings.
  4. In the dialog that appears, find the “Handlers” section.
  5. Click Manage handlers.
  6. Select the handler you'd like to remove.
  7. Click remove this site.
You can set Gmail as your default mail client in Firefox and Internet Explorer, too.

Chris Barrow
Aragorn Consulting - Google Apps Authorized Reseller
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