Unable to find an application to support "mailto" navigation

While using Windows 7 (professional edition) I ran across this little bug that might cause you a lot of grief. The reason I ran across this bug was because I was trying to use Microsoft Groove to send "my contact info" via e-mail. However the error kept coming up whenever I tried to use the "mailto" link in groove.

I'm also assuming that this is the case for any mailto: link that might be in an address across the operating system. This error has most likely resulted because Microsoft decided to ship Windows 7 (which most people will be getting on October 22nd by the way) without a mail client. Therefore, Microsoft presumed that people will download Windows Live Mail or something else like Thunderbird for their e-mail needs.

In my opinion letting the users choose their desired mail program (instead of something like having Windows Mail in Vista and most people downloading Windows Live Mail because it was superior to Windows Mail anyway... causing a duplication of effort) is a good idea. But this also means that the operating system for some reason doesn't have a 'Default' mail program to go to in order to open mailto: links.

As such, to open mailto links, you'll first need to set Windows Live Mail or whatever else you plant to use as your default mail program.

How to set an application as the default mail program in Windows 7 (and solve the mailto problem)

1. Click on Start
2. Click on Default Programs
3. Click on 'Set program access and computer defaults'
   
4. Click on the chevron (arrows) beside "Custom"
5. Under "Choose a default e-mail program:" choose 'Windows Live Mail' or any other program you wish to use. If you don't have any other program under the options, you probably need to download and install one. I'd recommend you give Windows Live Mail or Thunderbird a try.
   
6. Click OK.
7. Close the window
8. Try clicking on the mailto link again.

This time it should work as it was supposed to!

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Open PDF files inside Firefox on Macs

One thing that I find annoying on a default Firefox installation is opening PDF files. Interestingly enough Safari seems to open them fine right inside the browser. However, Firefox by default requires you to download the PDF file first and then open it.

The downside to this of course is that if you need only simply "view" several files a day, each file you view adds to the clutter of the "download" folder on your computer. Of course, when you have a mix of necessary PDF downloads and unnecessary "temporary" downloads, the result is not optimal.

On the other hand, Firefox does have a plugin for Intel or PowerPC macs which will enable inline PDF viewing, a great tool if you view a lot of PDFs in a day. Simply go to https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7518 to install the plug-in for Firefox.

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Fix the “programs still need to close” problem in Windows 7

One sad thing about Windows 7 is that sometimes, it gets a little confused. Especially if you have applications like Norton or any similar anti-virus programs (which Windows 7 still needs by the way) installed.  And often, when you try to restart or shut down your progam, you’ll get a window that says:

Programs still need to close – Force Restart or Cancel

Of course, the easy way out of this would be just to click Force Restart all the time. Plus, if you see an open Microsoft Word document that you forgot to save, this screen will no doubt remind you of something you’d better save before restarting. But that won’t help when you don’t have any programs that you can save data in.
The ideal solution in such cases, in my opinion, would be to wait for a couple of seconds till the notorious programs close and then restart. But if you’re running something like Norton that doesn’t seem to be the case.

However, fear not! Because Windows 7 is still Windows, there are some great tricks were discovered 10 years ago, namely registry hacks, that can still be applied to Windows 7.
So without further ado:

How to automatically force restart your Windows 7 computer for a 1-click-quick-restart experience

Okay, yes, I really am that lazy. An extra click sucks. Nevertheless, it might save you time. So here’s how you can tweak your registry to force a restart as soon as possible. Essentially, what you need to do is set the ‘WaitToKillServicesTimeout’ parameter to a very low number so that the computer will kill (in terms of code execution of course) any open programs quickly and move on.

1. Log in with an administrator account
2. Click Start (blue windows orb)
3. Type in regedit where it says search in the start menu and click on it when it shown up in the start menu
4. Then, using the columns on the left hand side, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Control
5. On the right hand side, double click on WaitToKillServiceTimeout
6. Type in 1000 (this will set the time to 1000 ms (which = 1s)) in the box that pops up, under ‘Value Data’
7. 
8. Click OK
9. Close Registry Editor
10. Restart your computer (note you might still get the force restart button this time, but you won’t ever get it after you restart).

Then, simply enjoy the faster restarts/shutdowns! But make sure you remember to save your work before you click on shutdown or restart!

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