Mailto link in Chrome

[roy-in-richmond]

I have put a PDF with a link to an email address embedded in the document. In Acrobat, in the link's Actions, it has an "Open a web link" action that uses an HTML "mailto:" link.

If I test this link in Acrobat it works fine, bringing up my mail program. If I post this on my client's WordPress site, however, the link does not respond when I try it in Chrome. It works on other browsers just fine (Safari, Explorer and Firefox). This is where things get strange...

If I put the same PDF on my firm's web hosting server it works on Chrome right away. What's really strange is that if I copy and paste the URL from my client's site to a new tab, the link works! It's the very same document in the exact same location on the server. The original presentation of the PDF is in a new tab/window generated from a link on a web page on the site.

I can't fathom how the same document would behave differently if loaded into Chrome from a web link on a page as opposed to being brought up by pasting the same URL into a new tab!

And ideas about this would be appreciated. If anyone's interested, the site in question is www.camfound.org and the PDF (Sacred Landmarks Grants) can be loaded from the "What We Fund" menu (submenu from the first item).

[Moved from the Lounge (which is where you can connect with your peers for conversations that don't directly relate to product help and support) to a product-specific support forum - moderator]

[Barb Binder]

Hi. You posted your question in the non-technical Lounge forum, which is where you can connect with your peers for conversations that don't directly relate to product help and support. I'll move it over to the Editing & Exporting PDFs forum so that you will get an answer to your question.

~Barb

P.S. For a list of all available product forums, see https://forums.adobe.com/welcome/

[try67]

Chrome uses an internal plugin to view PDF files. It has nothing to do with Adobe.

You should report problems with that plugin to its developers.

[Pariah Burke]

Hi, @roy-in-richmond

Am I correct in the following understanding of your description?

• You have a mailto link in a PDF.
• The mailto link works when clicked from within Acrobat
• The mailto link works when clicked from within the PDF on your company's server
• The mailto link DOESN'T work when clicked from within the PDF hosted on a WordPress site.

Are these correct? If so, please answer these questions (test to get answers if you don't already have them):

1. Does the mailto link on the WordPress site work in another browser, say Firefox, Safari, or Edge?
2. Do mailto links in other PDFs work on the WordPress site?
3. How are you putting the PDF on the WordPress site? Is it as a post attachment? Embedded in the post? Or some other method?
4. Please add a screenshot of the WordPress edit screen showing how the PDF is included.

[roy-in-richmond]

Hi,

Here's an update (and answer to your questions...)

Here's a revision of my description of the decision, replying to your bulleted points:

1. I have a PDF with an embedded "mailto:" link. The link works if clicked on in Acrobat.
2. I have uploaded it to both my client's server and our server. In both cases there is a link to the PDF on a WordPress page or menu item. The link opens the PDF in a new tab.

3. In either case, if the PDF is opened via this link, the "mailto:" link is ineffective—it does nothing at all.

4. In either case, if I open the PDF in a new tab by copying the URL from the previous tab and hand loading it in the browser, it works fine. It's the very same document in the very same place on the server(s). There's something about the initial loading in the new tab from the previous page that seems to be causing this. I can't think of a reason.

5. Everything works as it should if I try the "mailto" link, loaded from the in-page link or menu item, in Safari, Firefox and Explorer.

6. I created an alternative page and PDF testing this with a different, minimal PDF with a "mailto" link. It has the same problems.

The original environment and PDF where this behavior first came up can be found at www.camfound.org if you select the "Sacred Landmarks Grants" submenu link in the "How to Apply" menu area. The mailto link in this PDF is on the last page ("Michelle Hornby"). 

The simple test that I set up on our server can be found at:
http://www.communicationdesign.com/test-pdf-strangeness/

Again, if you click on either link in my test page the resulting PDFs have mailto links that do not work initially, but if you copy and paste the same URL in a new window or tab, they work fine.

Hope this is clear! Thanks.

[Bernd Alheit]

roy-in-richmond  wrote

...

Again, if you click on either link in my test page the resulting PDFs have mailto links that do not work initially, but if you copy and paste the same URL in a new window or tab, they work fine.

...

Contact the support of Google.

[Pariah Burke]

Thanks for the details, Roy.

I went to www.camfound.org and navigated that path and to the direct link. In both cases the link in the PDF worked for me in Chrome on MacOS Sierra and Windows 7 and Windows 10. In all cases it started an email in GMail, my email client.

I think you might have to change something within Chrome to get it working on your end. Check out the below to see if they help.

html - Mailto links do nothing in Chrome but work in Firefox? - Stack Overflow

Google Groups Mailto links are not working in Chrome