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Windows 8.1 RT Mail app Hyperlinks not working

Hello All


Can anyone assist me in trying to why if I use send an email with a link to my ".live" email account, the hyperlink to the news article behaves differently depending on what application or tool I use to open the email...   I'm sending the email from my Lumia 1020 using the share feature in internet explorer on the phone.


My results...


If I open the email using the windows phone mail app, the link to the news article works fine and I'm sent to the website to enjoy my article


If I open the email using the Outlook App on my Surface @, the link to the news article works fine and I'm sent to the website to enjoy my article


If I open the email using the web site Outlook.com, the link doesn't work (the hyperlink doesn't show up at all, just the address in plan text and nothing happens if you attempt to click on the address...You can copy and paste the address into the web browser and then you're directed to the news article.


If I open the email using the Metro Mail app on the Surface, the link doesn't work (the hyperlink doesn't show up at all, just the address in plan text and nothing happens if you attempt to click on the address...Same as above..



Oddly enough if I find the same news article and share it from my Surface 2 using IE11 and share charm (share via email..) the emailed link works in all of the cases.....


Any ideas?

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Hi Johnny,

 

Please let us know if this happens with a particular hyperlink on the email or with all the hyperlinks on the same email.

 

You may also post this query on the Outlook.com Forums and check what they have to say on this. To post this question on Outlook.com Forums, you may please click on this link:

 

Outlook.com Forums

Regards,
Rajesh Govind - Microsoft Support Engineer

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Hello Rajesh


In all examples either all the hyperlinks work fine or all the hyperlinks don't work depending on which method or tool if use to open the email..  I don't think I've came across an instance in which an email contains a could links that work and a couple that don't.



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Microsoft,

I have the same problem.  No hyperlinks will work on Window 8.1 mail.  Examples of websites were Microsofthup.com or 123greetings.com.

I can click on links that are images (for example in a Groupon email), but if it is a written link--this will not work.

Andrew

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This is expected.  Typically, the person who writes the email can decide if an link can be clicked.  For example, observe how I can type out a clickable version of www.microsoft.com and a not-clickable version of www.microsoft.com.  The same process works in an email message -- the person who wrote it can make a link clickable or not.


But, some email programs are programmed to scan a page and detect anything that might look like a link.  For example, it might search the page for the letters HTTP or WWW and automatically convert what it finds into a link.  Programs such as Windows Mail and Outlook do this.


The Windows 8 Mail app does not do this, it has not been programmed to do so.


If this is a feature you'd like to see in the Windows 8 Mail app, please send your feedback and it will be taken into consideration in future versions of the app.  See How to submit product suggestions or feedback for details.



Shawn "Cmdr" Keene | Microsoft MVP - Windows Insider | CmdrKeene.com | tweet: @CmdrKeene
Microsoft MVPs are independent experts offering real-world answers. Learn more at mvp.microsoft.com.

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Thanks for the response. I just can't think of a practical reason why you would ever want a link to not be clickable! When someone is typing a link to me in an email they're not thinking of whether to insert a hyperlink or not. 

It seems like a bizarre oversight, particularly when every other mail app I can think of (including Outlook on the same device) will automatically convert the link.  It just seems obvious?

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Clickable links can be spoofed.  For example, if you click my link here to google.com you'll see it doesn't actually take you to Google.  For the same reason, a lot of bank and financial websites don't give you clickable links, and they give you the full address and ask you to copy/paste it or type it yourself so you know it's not been spoofed to fool you into a phishing attack.


Of course that can't be the reason here, because the Mail app still allows the sender to make a clickable link, so it doesn't do anything to stop this spoofing.


More likely it wasn't an oversight but just ran out of development time.  Updates come out for this app every few weeks.



Shawn "Cmdr" Keene | Microsoft MVP - Windows Insider | CmdrKeene.com | tweet: @CmdrKeene
Microsoft MVPs are independent experts offering real-world answers. Learn more at mvp.microsoft.com.

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Sure, I can appreciate that, but I think most people have an expectation that when they see a link they can click it (especially when you can open the same email in Outlook on the device and be able to follow the link). It's not that easy to highlight the link and open it in the browser just using touch controls on the Surface. Our work email system notifies you if the link and URL text don't match, preventing spoofing.

Anyway, thanks for this and I'll report it to Microsoft using the links you provided.

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Why isn't there just a simple reply to a very simple problem

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Fix it Microsoft.  Not business grade.

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Not 'retail consumer grade' either. I understand the 'protect people from themselves' / anti-malware motivations, but at least allow an exception in the email parser to activate links from known contacts like friends and family. Very frustrating. 

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Last updated March 26, 2021 Views 12,402 Applies to: