Re: [h-e-w] mailcap file and filename/type associations for Windows 95

[Stephen Leake]

"Michael R. Wolf" <address@hidden> writes:

> The following message is a courtesy copy of an article
> that has been posted to gnu.emacs.gnus,gnu.emacs.help as well.
> 
> 
> 1) Could you please post your working ~/.mailcap file that
> meets these requirements for presenting the incoming file
> attachment in the appropriate viewer.
> 
>         display Word files in Word
>         display Excel files in Word
>         display images in Internet Explorer

application/octet-stream; start "" %s
application/pdf; start "" %s
application/*; start "" %s
archive/*; start "" %s
audio/*; start "" %s
image/*; start "" %s
text/html; start "" %s

Note that getting "Internet Explorer" for "images" will depend on your
Registry settings.

> 2) Does this file also associate a file extension with a default
> type applied to outgoing attachments, or does that happen elsewhere?

I'm not clear where the default mime type comes from. As you say, the
mail readers I'm familiar with (all on Windows) use the file
extension, not the mime type.

> 3) It seems to me that there is a 3-tuple going on here.
>         a - mml type
>         b - viewer application
>         c - file extension

Yes, and it is redundant.

> AFAICS
> 
>  - the .mailcap file makes an a::b association for the
>     "open" (or "view") event

Yes.

>  - the Windows system makes a b::c association for use in an "open"
>  event (right mouse "open" or double-click)

Yes.

> 4) Is there a *standard* set of associations that can work right out
> of the box so that I don't have to code the "obvious" associations
> into my ~/.mailcap file to make stuff work? Perhaps it could refer
> to the existing file associations already set up on Windows 95?

That's what 'application/*; start "" %s' should do. But I had to add
the others for 'octet-stream' and 'pdf'; I no longer remember why
(sigh). 

-- 
-- Stephe