On Thu, Jun 18, 2009 at 12:34 PM, Paul E Condon <pecon...@mesanetworks.net> wrote: > > I'm learning to use icedove after a long and happy relationship with mutt. I > remember having this question from before I knew about mutt and it still > puzzles me: Why the checkbox labeled "Always check to see if icedove is the > default mail client on startup" > > How does icedove/thunderbird behavior differ if it finds it is NOT the > default or it finds is IS the default? Is there some reason why it matters to > me which way I have this, checked or unchecked? I can't find > any explanation of what this is, other than the tautological "Tell icedove if > it is you default mail client." Where have I set my default main client? > > TIA
I believe it matters more in Windows or OS X environments than in *nix environments. Basically, if you have the box ticked, and Icedove/Thunderbird determines it is not your default email client, you will get a notification pop-up alerting you to the fact that Icedove is not your default client and it will offer to change your settings to make it your default. You can accept or decline the offer. If you decline, nothing happens. If you accept, Icedove tries to change your settings so that it is your default. That's it. Generally, your defaults are set by your desktop environment, so where you've set that depends upon what desktop environment you're using. If you aren't using a desktop environment, you don't have any defaults, except as set with update-alternatives. I don't think Icedove can change that setting, because that setting can only be changed by root or via sudo. I suspect, if you are running Icedove without using a desktop environment, that the check box will have no effect at all. But I could be wrong about that. The only reason it might matter to you is so you can control what happens when you click on a mailto: link, say in a browser, or what you want to happen when you try to send an email. For example, if you use Gnome-Do, you can just activate it (Super+Spacebar, by default) and start typing the name of the person you want to email, assuming that person is in your address book. Gnome-Do will then launch your default email client, with a compose window addressed to your intended recipient, so you can compose the message. Obviously, it would be convenient in this scenario if your default email client is actually the email client you want to use. :-) Other than that, it doesn't really matter. Michael M. -- "Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law' because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual." --Thomas Jefferson -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
