Webmailer is a System Preferences pane that offers a quick and easy way to set a variety of webmail clients as the default handler for composing new messages from mailto: links.

Gmail users already have options to achieve this, but this new utility makes the same feature available for users of a range of web-based services including .Mac, SquirrelMail, AOL, Hotmail, Horde, Roundcube and Yahoo!

After installing the preference pane, all you have to do is select webmailer as the default client and then select one of the preset webmail services:

The readme contains detailed instruction on how to create customised links for other webmail services.

The developer created Webmailer to ease a terrible affliction:

Ever click on a mailto: link, only to scream in frustration as Apple Mail opens yet again? The curse of the webmail user is that there is no way to get around this problem. That is, until now.

Webmailer comes in a Tiger and a Panther version due to the different ways in which default emailers are handed by the two systems.

Get the right one for you from the developer’s web site .

UPDATE: Works with Joyent too! See the comments.mail.app, apple mail, plugins, system preference, webmail, gmail, dotmac, .mac, yahoo, horde, squirrelmail, hotmail, email, mailto:

Apple Mail users with webmail-based email accounts have a number of options for getting their emails into Mail.app. I had occasion to look at them again today, although mistakenly.

Frequent changes in log in procedures due to the current rapid interface development in some services breaks them from time to time.

As far as I can tell, this is the current state of play.

The easiest to use, Mail Forward, is working fine. It has just been updated (3.2.2) to accommodate Windows Live Mail beta service changes and tell you more exactly why it can’t work with Yahoo! Mail Beta accounts. It works as a a “webmail translator” that forwards your AOL, Gmail, Hotmail, MSN, and Yahoo webmail transparently into Mail.app. (I know that there are more directly ways to get your Gmail and AOL email, but this app offers to do it too).

It retrieved emails from my Yahoo! (set not to use the beta) and Hotmail test accounts today without any problems. It works, it’s easy to set up but it’s shareware (19.95 USD)

MacFreePOPs is a GUI front-end for the open source FreePOPs project. It free, works with a wider variety of services and is harder to set up.

Even with the latest version (1.6) and the latest modules for Yahoo! and Hotmail, I couldn’t get it to work for me today. A quick glance at the support forum , reveals that lots of Hotmail and Yahoo! users are having problems at the moment. The developer is working on fixes for both.

HTTPMail is a specific plugin for older Hotmail and MSN accounts. Newer accounts need to be upgraded to Hotmail Plus in order for the plugin to work. I can’t test this. It’s freeware and comes in Jaguar, Panther, Tiger and Universal Binary flavours.

Have I missed any?mail.app, apple mail, webmail, hotmail, yahoo, msn, plugins, tips

Apple Mail users can easily get their webmail, read and send it using httpmail (freeware), MacFreePOPs (freeware) or Mail Forward (shareware), three apps that fool webmail services into allowing access for Mail.app.

With the WebMail extension, Thunderbird users can play too.

It offers support for Hotmail, Yahoo!, Lycos, Mail.com and more, although you can now read your AOL mail over IMAP and get POP access to Gmail directly.

Installation is a two-part process, involving the master WebMail extension and further service-specific extensions:

You might need to adjust your port settings and fiddle around a bit to avoid the infamous “negative vibes” error.

WebMail is freeware and available from the extension’s web site .

NB: I only tested this with Hotmail, where it works fine.thunderbird, extensions, webmail, hotmail, yahoo, gmail, email, not apple mail

A lot of people have been waiting for this.

A new version (1.49) of httpmail, a plugin that allows you collect and your Hotmail in Mail.app, has been released which is a universal binary.

This means that you no longer have to use work-arounds like running Mail under Rosetta if you are own an Intel Mac and want to access a Hotmail account.

httpmail is freeware and is available from the project’s SourceForge page .hotmail, msn, microsoft, webmail, mail.app, apple mail, plugins, universal binary

Jussar Interactive has created an AppleScript that will retrieve messages from a Hotmail account into Mail.app.

It does this using the open source MrPostman software to drag down the mail.

Unlike some other utilities for retrieving email from web-based services, Mail to Fetch promises to work with Intel Macs.

The script is available from MacUpdate and installation instructions from the developer’s web site .

I haven’t tested this. I’d be glad to hear if it works.

UPDATE: The author has updated this script to fix a significant problem that could occur after reoot. (28 June 2006)hotmail, webmail, pop, mail.app, apple mail, applescript, plugins, Microsoft, MSN

UPDATE: (11 August 2006) No need for this tip anymore. The httpmail plugin is now a universal binary.

A poster at macOSXHints has noticed that you can run some older non-universal plugins on an Intel Mac by forcing Mail.app to run under Rosetta.

HTTPMail, a plugin that allows you to download your email from Hotmail’s web interface into Mail.app, is the focus of the tip.

This plugin won’t work if Mail.app is running natively on an Intel Mac. But it will if you force Mail.app to run under Rosetta:

1. Use Finder to locate Mail.app in your Applications folders.
2. Hit Command-I or Command-Click and select “Get Info” from the Contextual menu.
3. Check the “Open with Rosetta” box.

This also works with other PPC-only plugins like MailTypeSelect, a plugin that bring Finder-like “quick location” to Mail’s Message List.

The obvious downside here is that Mail will run like a knackered mule.hotmail, apple mail, Mail.app, plugins, rosetta, legacy plugins, tips

Mail Forward is a “webmail translator” that allows you to use Mail.app to read your AOL, Gmail, Hotmail, MSN, and Yahoo webmail. It can also forward email from standard POP accounts.

It works by accessing your web mail or POP mailbox and forwarding each piece of mail through your SMTP mail server. You can manage up to 20 different accounts this way.

Mail checks can be scheduled and AppleScript support offers further options for tweaking the forwarding.

A new beta released today contains modifications to work with Hotmail service changes. It will also display a warning message if an SMTP server name that is known to be unsuitable for forwarding mail is entered in the Preferences dialog.

SMTP servers that send a multiline connection greeting are now supported.

MacFreePOPs does the same thing. It is free but harder to set up.

Mail Forward comes as a demo that will work for 30 days, after which registration will cost USD 19.95. You can get it from the developer’s web site .webmail, AOL, Gmail, Hotmail, MSN, Yahoo, mail.app, apple mail, plugins