Solved File context menu ‘Send to>Mail Recipient’ no longer works

wiganken · Mar 18, 2023

DELL laptop - Thunderbird (TB) is set as the default email client but recent updates to both Windows and TB have caused the ‘Send to>Mail Recipient’ to no longer work in the file context menu but it works okay on my HP desktop machine. Tried the following on the DELL: -

A new battery in the mouse.
Using the touchpad instead of the mouse in case it was a mouse/signal issue.
Checked that TB is the default email client.
Uninstalled and reinstalled TB.
Both machines have the same Windows 11 build 22621.1413 and Thunderbird v102.9.0.
The DELL OS is the ‘Home’ version and the HP OS is the ‘Pro’ version.

None of these worked. TB works fine and I can still attach files from within TB.
The right-click on a file to bring up the context menu works but then there is no response to clicking on ‘Send to>Mail Recipient’.

Could it be a Windows 11 Home (DELL laptop) bug that is not present in Windows 11 Pro (HP desktop) and may get fixed?

Is anyone else seeing this issue?

OAT · Mar 18, 2023

You need to check the content of :
%UserProfile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo (as Admin)
Look for Mail Recipient
Right click/properties/Assign Thunderbird as the mail client.

Try3 · Mar 18, 2023

Personally, I'd go to the SendTo folder on the HP [the good computer] and copy the Mail Recipient entry from there.
C:\Users\%UserName%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo

I'm not on my Win11 computer at the moment or I'd send you mine.

Denis

OAT · Mar 18, 2023

Try3 said:
Personally, I'd go to the SendTo folder on the HP [the good computer] and copy the Mail Recipient entry from there.
C:\Users\%UserName%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo

I'm not on my Win11 computer at the moment or I'd send you mine.

Denis

Hi Denis, can you reread what I posted and tell me if I am missing someting?
I sure wouldn't want to confuse the OP with redundant info.
The path you provided is exactly the same, the variable I used allows for a different drive letter.

wiganken · Mar 18, 2023

Thank you.

I did that and now the 'Mail recipient' option has disappeared altogether. See photos.

wiganken · Mar 18, 2023

I find that I can't change it back from Thunderbird to 'Unknown application' as it was before.

I have a Macrium image from yesterday so may restore to that unless anyone has a better isea?

OAT · Mar 18, 2023

Don't know what to tell you there. As you can see on my system:

Try3 · Mar 18, 2023

OAT said:
Hi Denis, can you reread what I posted and tell me if I am missing someting?

I have never had to use that Change button.
I believe that Unknown application is the normal entry in that Properties dialog.
Do note that the Mail recipient item is not a shortcut.

All the best,
Denis

Try3 · Mar 18, 2023

wiganken said:
I did that and now the 'Mail recipient' option has disappeared altogether

wiganken said:
I find that I can't change it back from Thunderbird to 'Unknown application' as it was before.

Ken,

You could browse a system image to the relevant folder & copy the original version of Mail recipient.

Best of luck,
Denis

OAT · Mar 18, 2023

'I have never had to use that Change button.'

I have using Thunderbird, Mail recipient changes itself to Mail recipient.MAPIMail.
Right click from 'Send To' launches Thunderbird mail pane.

Try3 · Mar 18, 2023

OAT said:
Right click from 'Send To' launches Thunderbird mail pane.

But it's supposed to do that even without any changes being made.

Denis

OAT · Mar 18, 2023

Unless you have MS365 Outlook installed as primary client.
The 'Send To' option allows me to launch Thunderbird ( not Outlook or MS Mail which it would otherwise), each with different mail boxes on each as well as different sender options, with different contacts. well and truly separated.

wiganken · Mar 18, 2023

Try3 said:
You could browse a system image to the relevant folder & copy the original version of Mail recipient.

@Try3 - I did that but Windows still shows the 'Mail recipient' opening with Thunderbird. The image is from yesterday when 'Mail recipient' was set to 'Unknown application' but Windows changes it to Thunderbird, which is today's setting.
@OAT - I'll try the exe you sent. Hopefully it will sort it so that I don't have to do a full system restore from Macrium image.

wiganken · Mar 18, 2023

@OAT - I ran 'Troubleshoot compatibility' on that exe you linked me to and the only option it gave me was Windows XP, not Vista. Testing it caused three 'Access denied' popups so it didn't run smoothly but I then ran it as Administrator and it showed 'Done' immediately. It was so quick it was as if nothing happened but the 'Mail recipient' option has reappeared. It still doesn't work though. A partial success in that I am where I was at the beginning at Post #1.

Maybe a full system restore from yesterdays Macrium image? Probably still won't solve it but at least the system should be as it was before today's tweaking. On second thoughts I don't know whether to bother with restoring from yesterday's image.

Hopefully a future Windows update will fix it.

Thanks for your efforts. @Try3 included.

OAT · Mar 18, 2023

wiganken said:
@OAT - I ran 'Troubleshoot compatibility' on that exe you linked me to and the only option it gave me was Windows XP, not Vista. Testing it caused three 'Access denied' popups so it didn't run smoothly but I then ran it as Administrator and it showed 'Done' immediately. It was so quick it was as if nothing happened but the 'Mail recipient' option has reappeared. It still doesn't work though. A partial success in that I am where I was at the beginning at Post #1.

Maybe a full system restore from yesterdays Macrium image? Probably still won't solve it but at least the system should be as it was before today's tweaking. On second thoughts I don't know whether to bother with restoring from yesterday's image.

Hopefully a future Windows update will fix it.

Thanks for your efforts. @Try3 included.

Well so at least we are back at square one without a restore, and I am out of ideas.
Maybe as @Try3 suggested, copy from one of the working machines.

Try3 · Mar 18, 2023

wiganken said:
I did that but Windows still shows the 'Mail recipient' opening with Thunderbird.

If your default email app is Thunderbird then it is supposed to open in Thunderbird.
Perhaps we're talking at cross-purposes.
- If you want to open your default email application then I believe that no modification of the Mail recipient item is required. That is certainly my experience.
- If you need to open an email client that is not your default one then OAT's suggestions can be useful.

This is an unadulterated, unused copy of the Windows 11 Mail recipient item. I tested it [after making the zip] to make sure it worked correctly.

My default email application is MSOffice Outlook so that's what this item opens on mine.

Being an Outlook user, I do not need to use the Mail recipient item in SendTo because it is easy for me to add a more useful alternative, ........\OUTLOOK.EXE" /c ipm.note /a, which is a shortcut that opens Outlook with the dropped file attached to an email that uses my email template including my signature [just as if I had opened Outlook, created a new email then attached the desired file to it].

All the best,
Denis

OAT · Mar 18, 2023

Try3 said:
If your default email app is Thunderbird then it is supposed to open in Thunderbird.
Perhaps we're talking at cross-purposes.

I must admit I am a bit lost now.

wiganken · Mar 18, 2023

@Try3 - I tried your Mail recipient file but it made no difference. I'm thinking it is a Windows bug since Patch Tuesday. It happens on my wife's profile as well on the same DELL laptop. But it only happens on the DELL and not the HP machine.

Ah well! Not stressing any more about it but if a Windows update fixes it I will report back via this thread.

I'll call this thread 'Dormant' for now and stop following it.

Try3 · Mar 18, 2023

OK.
I assume you've tested it with different file types just to bowl out the possibility that the problem is something to do with a specific file type [.txt files are probably the simplest test files].

wiganken said:
I'm thinking it is a Windows bug since Patch Tuesday.

My Windows 11 Home x64 is now fully up to date. I re-tested my mail recipient item after completing the latest update [KB5023706 CU] and it's still working.

All the best,
Denis

Edwin · Mar 18, 2023

@wiganken
Make sure Thunderbird is set as Default within Thunderbird itself...,
then open the Registry to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Clients\Mail, in the right pane change the string to Mozilla Thunderbird

(Edit: If you're still missing the Send to: Mail recipient right click entry, you'll have to Reset all your Defaults first!)

Solved File context menu ‘Send to>Mail Recipient’ no longer works

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