Universal "Send by email" service menu [was: can I get default email client in command line?]

[Charles T. Bell]

Donatas G. wrote:
> On 2009 m. Lapkritis 24 d., antradienis 16:39:46 Alvin wrote:
>   
>> On Tuesday 24 November 2009 15:29:45 Donatas G. wrote:
>>     
>>> On 2009 m. Lapkritis 24 d., antradienis 15:56:02 Alvin wrote:
>>>       
>>>> On Tuesday 24 November 2009 12:59:40 Donatas G. wrote:
>>>>         
>>>>> I am trying to write a Dolphin service menu that would allow to
>>>>> attach a file to an email, but with a twist: I want the service menu
>>>>> to be universal enough to guess which email program the user is
>>>>> using.
>>>>>
>>>>> For that I need to find out how to get the name of the default email
>>>>>  program via shell.
>>>>>
>>>>> Any ideas? Is there any dbus call I could make?
>>>>>
>>>>> If it were just kmail, the desktop file contents would look like
>>>>> this:
>>>>>
>>>>> [...]
>>>>> If I could get the default email program by executing some program in
>>>>>  command line I could proceed...
>>>>>           
>>>> Take a look at xdg-email (in xdg-utils).
>>>>         
>>> OK, thank you, I see /usr/bin/xdg-email uses kreadconfig tool, but the
>>>  script is evidently wrong; upon trying to use it I get an error, and the
>>>  particular line
>>>
>>> kreadconfig --file emaildefaults --group PROFILE_Default --key
>>> EmailClient
>>>
>>> produces empty output.
>>> And I could find no clues online on how to use kreadconfig in KDE 4...
>>> I will have to dig deeper.
>>>       
>> kreadconfig also gives empty output here.
>>
>> I just tried xdg-email and it doesn't work. It says to install
>>  kmailservice. You need to install kdelibs4c2a for that.
>>
>> After installation, xdg-email works:
>> $ xdg-email --subject "test" --body "test" kubuntu-users at lists.ubuntu.com
>>     
>
> Yes, but kdelibs4c2a is from kde3... 
>
> So I deviced a possibly better idea: I found out that if the default email 
> client in KDE is not kmail, then the file ~/.kde/share/config/emaildefaults 
> contains a variable EmailClient with the program name.
>
> I am attaching a desktop file and a script that seem to make a potentially 
> universal "send by email" service menu. The *.sh script goes to /usr/bin (and 
> needs to be made executable), and the *.desktop file goes to 
> /usr/share/kde4/services/ServiceMenu/
>
> The service menu appears under „actions“ in the Dolphin context menu. 
>
> Could someone using thunderbird test it? I do not have it configured currently, 
> and am lazy to configure it just to test the script...
>
> Limitations: 
>
> * no internationalization for the Subject: line (it would be possible if sh 
> script is not used, and the command for a particular email client be written 
> in the *.desktop file itself).
> * only thunderbird and kmail supported. Other clients would result in a 
> kdialog message warning the user that their default email is not supported.
> * some advanced configurations are not supported (like thunderbird launched 
> with a particular profile - the script would launch using the default 
> profile...)
>
> If anyone sends me proper command line strings for attaching files to other 
> email clients, I will gladly update the script.
>
> If this service menu idea turns interesting to others, I will put it into kde-
> apps.org.
>
> Donatas G.
>   
It does start Thunderbird compose window, but it does not seem to
include the attachment.  I could be missing something here, however,
I always thought that the attachment would be showing just like it
does after manually adding it to a message; that is not the case here.

Tom Bell

 Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?  -- Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis (Juvenal), Roman Poet, late 1st, early 2nd century AD
("Who will protect us from the protectors?")


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