How do I set up Entourage mail so that when I compose a message any e-
mail addresses and URLs are automatically formatted so that recipients can
click on them to activate the address or web page? I think Outlook does it.
Some systems require the URL to be formatted correctly. Usually this means
that you need to enclose the URL in 'braces' (<
www.barryw.net), but some
systems (notably Entourage & Eudora) require the protocol to be explicitly
stated (<
http://www.barryw.net>).
[There is (of course) an exception to this - Œmailto:¹ URLs need not
explicitly state the protocol in Entourage. The presence of the Œ@¹ symbol
with a period in the second part makes the URL instantly recognisable and it
will be hot even without the protocol being stated.
<mailto:
[email protected] is equivalent to <
[email protected]]
So:
www.barryw.net will work on some systems, but is not to be recommended as
the preferred format.
<
www.barryw.net> will also work on a few systems, with the notable exception
of Entourage and some others.
<
http://www.barryw.net> should work on all systems capable of making hot
linked URLs.
Of the three, the latter is preferable, not only because it will be
correctly handled by the most systems, but because it is sure to work with
all URLs. This is the 'standard' way of expressing a URL. The plain '
www.'
URL will usually work (on systems that allow it) because addresses beginning
with 'www' are almost certainly HTTP web pages. But, not all web pages begin
with 'www' - what about news.bbc.co.uk ? How does that show up? And how is
the system to know that this is a web page address, and not an ftp or ph or
gopher site?
Also, use of the angled braces ('<' & '>') also prevents the breaking of
long URLs by linewraps in the email message. URLs of up to 255 characters
can be interpreted correctly if properly enclosed in this way.
