Header syntax for "mailto"?

[Anon]

Is there anyway I can simulate the behavior you get when a link is <a href="mailto:somebody@somewhere">Some email link</a>?

Something like

header("Mailto: [e-mail]");

If not is there any other way I can simulate this behavior? Thanks.

[jcleary]

I dont understand, why can't you just echo it out? if quotes are the problem use this

echo("<a href='mailto:somebody@somewhere'>Some email link</a>");

i.e. put the e-mail in single quotes ' '

[Anon]

Because that's not what I want.

I'm trying to do something similiar to how email addresses are handled here on phpbuilder.com because we've been having problems with spammers harvesting email addresses from our website via email links. So I want to set something up where the email address doesn't look like an email address to a spider looking through the site, but unlike phpbuilder.com I don't want to have to send the email for them through a form and with our mail server. I just want to make the browser pop up their email client.

So I'd have to have a script that processes the email name, turns it into a real email address and then sends the proper headers (or whatever makes the email pop up, I'm not quite sure how it works so maybe it's not possible) to cause the client to open their email program.

[jcleary]

i understand now. I image that you could do something like that with JaveScript?

[Anon]

How so? There aren't any "mail triggers" for JavaScript that I'm aware of.

[klaus]

Hi,

You like to complicate things for nothing don't ya?!!
If you wanna do it in javascript than just do it. As far as I know the spider is not capable to read a js content so use that pop up of yours with document.write - just stuck it in the code.

You said you know js so do it. Trust me it's simple use that document.write command. ;-)))
HTH

-Klaus

[Anon]

I hardly think protecting users of my site from spam is "complicating things from nothing". I think most people would agree with me, too.

How exactly would I do it with document.write? I can't just write a link in a popup window because then the person would have to click twice: once to open the window and the second to send the email. That's not very good user interface design and is a hassle to the user. I don't mind things being a hassle to code if it makes it easier for the user but that is not the case obviously. Unless you are suggesting something else that I am missing?

I just want to have a script that decodes an argument (the email address) and causes the email client to start an email with the address already filled in, just like a mailto link does.

I'm guessing this can't be done though unless there is some sort of header("Mailto: [e-mail]") type of thing I can do (what I was originally asking) and since (thankfully) I can't execute programs such as the mail program on the client side of things.

[jcleary]

Ah-ha. So we could use the document.write to do this

<? echo "<a href='mailto:"; ?>

<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
document.write("<?echo $email_name?>");
document.write('@');
document.write("<?echo $email_domain?>");
</script>

<? echo "'>$real_name</a> ?>

I've not tried it, but it should work, and it should stop spiders because I'm pretty sure they wont evaluate the javascript.