How to associate a new "protocol" with an existing program?

xaunloc · 10 Nov 2011

The control panel Default Programs options only work for programs that Win7 admits exist (with some VERY strange omissions, like MS Office) but it is easy to work around that by using windows explorer to let you associate any program that you can browse to with any file type that is already on your system.

BUT how to you associate a new "protocol" with a program (specifically Internet Explorer).

My problem is that I have one email provider that automatically changes every incoming email hyperlink from http://etc to blockedhttp://etc

With WinXP and Outlook Express there was no problem because clicking on the link would automatically open IE8 which would of course fail to open the site, but I could easily click into the address bar and delete the "blocked" from in front of http

Now I'm running Win7 and Windows Live Mail (I am not sure which of these two is more annoying) and I can't get the links to open anything. When I click on the link, I get an error message "There is no probram associated to perform the requested action. Please install a program or, if one is already installed, create an association in the Default Programs control panel."

I have tried each of the functions under Default Programs and none of them will let you enter a NEW association. I found the one that says Internet Explorer is associated with http:// and https:// but there is no way to add any new protocol. Unlike filetypes you can't work around the protocols by using explorer.

fseal · 10 Nov 2011

Ugh, well is that a "feature" you can turn on of that isp email account?

I don't know of any fix directly but right clicking a "bad" link and selecitng "copy shortcut" will allow you to paste it into IE and edit out the blocked part anyway :/

[Edit] Actually you can probably add a new web address type with somec reative registry hacking. Maybe someone will give it a go if your lucky :) [/edit]

xaunloc · 10 Nov 2011

No way to turn off the 'feature' -- it's a government agency email account that always does that to all links in incoming email.

Right clicking to Copy Shortcut works in about 2/3's of the emails, depending on exactly how the original email was formatted. If the link is a picture instead of just text, a lot of the time right clicking just gets you the "Save Picture" option.

I wouldn't object to fixing the problem with a registry tweak, but it is ridiculous that there is no way to do it from control panel. (Of course, ridiculous omissions are not any big surprise with Win7 -- but at least it's better than Vista was)