Can others confirm the empty pasted hyperlink problem?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mickey Segal
  • Start date Start date
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Mickey Segal

On three different Vista computers I get nonfunctional hyperlinks created by
Windows Mail when pasting a hyperlink into an HTML email message. The text
is colored blue, but the text is not linked to a location on the Web. To
the sender it seems like everything is OK since the hyperlink is colored
blue. However, the recipient gets a broken hyperlink, pointing to a blank
URL.

It seems that the problem does not occur on some computers: Frank Saunders
wrote that he did not see the problem on his computer.

The problem occurs in several different situations involving pasted
hyperlinks, but here how to see the simplest form:

1. Use "Create Mail" to open a new message, and make sure you are using
HTML format (Format | Rich Text (HTML))
2. Type http://www.cnn.com
3. Hit the Enter key twice
4. Copy the first line and paste it into the third line.
5. Send the message to yourself.

The typed hyperlink in the first line works, but the pasted hyperlink in the
third line does nothing. The HTML in the message source can be seen (by
right clicking on the message in the inbox, choosing Properties | Details |
Message Source) as:

<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; =
charset=3Diso-8859-1">
<META content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.6000.16397" name=3DGENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV><A href=3D"http://www.cnn.com">http://www.cnn.com</A></DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><A href=3D"">http://www.cnn.com</A></DIV></BODY></HTML>

Note that in the pasted hyperlink (last line) there is an empty string for
the URL (in the quotes). In contrast, for the typed hyperlink (two lines
up) there is http://www.cnn.com for the URL (in the quotes).

Do others see this problem or fail to see this problem? I see it on
computers with three different versions of Windows (Home Premium, Business
and Home), and although Firefox has been the default browser on all three
computers, the problem still occurs when setting Internet Explorer to
default.
 
Does anyone have any insight on the difference that could explain why I see
it on three different Vista computers? The computers are very different:

1. Tablet PC with clean install of Vista Business
2. Desktop computer with clean install of Vista Home
3. New desktop computer with Vista Home Premium

On computer #3 I even created a new profile and found the problem in the
first Windows Mail message I created. It seems odd that two other people
don't see the problem and I see it in all cases I examine.
 
Both hyperlinks work when I sent a test to myself, although there is
a distinct difference in the HTML coding:
<DIV><A href=3D3D"http://www.cnn.com">http://www.cnn.com</A></DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><A href=3D3D"">http://www.cnn.com</A></DIV></BODY></HTML>

Perhaps the hyperlink's effectiveness hinges on some setting in the
recipient's WinMail, such as Internet zone (which I use) vs. Restricted sites zone.

Gary VanderMolen
 
The last line of this code should produce a non-functional link if viewed in
HTML. I should have added:

6. Read the message in HTML

Are you set to read messages in plain text?
 
That is a good thought, and all 3 have NOD32, but I see the problem when I
examine the HTML in the sent folder, and I don't think the antivirus program
changes the message on the sending end.

Are you reading the message in HTML? When you view the HTML of your
messages, is the first CNN line different from the second CNN line?
 
NOD32 here as well and yes, it is read in HTML.

Any browser add-ons that might be affecting it?
 
The HTML code that you show should have the pasted link be non-functional.
It is hard to explain how the HTML that you showed would give a functional
link in the second CNN hyperlink.
 
In the new user profile I hadn't even opened either browser. When I opened
Firefox none of the add-ons present in other accounts were present.

When you examine the HTML in the message you received, do you see the empty
hyperlink HTML code for the second (pasted) hyperlink that Gary VanderMolen
described in his post (the same that I saw)?
 
I'm no HTML expert, but both links were fully functional,
which is also what DGuess found.

Gary VanderMolen
 
In the HTML that you showed the second (pasted) link should not work since
it has the text but not the hyperlink. It looks like some people have a
setting that allows defective HTML code to somehow be displayed as a
functional hyperlink.

It does not inspire confidence to know that one's messages are going off in
a form that will be nonfunctional on many computers. This seems to be fewer
computers than I thought, but more than others thought.
 
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