Within Underdog.io, the ‘Send Email’ button on the Candidate Profile functions as a mailto link. Mailto links are special HTML links that automatically activate your web browser’s default email client and pre-fill a specific address, allowing you to compose an email directly to the candidate of your choice.
If you haven’t used mailto links in the past, it’s possible you’ll find that your browser’s default email client and your preferred email client are not in alignment. However, you’ll be happy to hear that it’s simple to make the adjustment that will allow mailto links to open the appropriate email client so that you can communicate seamlessly with candidates.
Within Google Chrome:
Gmail: To begin, sign into the Gmail account you’d like to use when communicating with candidates. Now, locate the handler icon with your browser’s address bar. This icon looks like two interlocking diamonds, and will appear on the far right side of your address bar, to the left of the star icon. Once you’ve clicked on the handler icon, a dialogue box will appear that reads ‘Allow mail.google.com to open all email links?” Select ‘Allow’, and you’ll be all set!
If you don’t see a handler icon within your address bar, you’ll need to re-enable this icon. To do so, type chrome://settings/handlers into the address bar in Google Chrome and allow sites to automatically follow specific settings when you visit them:
Now, return to Gmail, and follow the previous steps to adjust the handler icon settings.
Other Webmail Clients: If you’re utilizing Chrome with another webmail client, we recommend the Chrome extension Mailto:, which will allow you to easily set Outlook, Yahoo! Mail, FastMail, Zoho Mail, or AOL Mail as your default email client. If you’re not utilizing one of these listed clients, it also offers you the option to ‘Add Another Service’.
Within Firefox:
To begin, navigate to your Firefox Options, and then choose Preferences. Next, select Application, and locate the mailto option. Choosing mailto will reveal a drop-down, from which you can select the email client of your choice:
You’ll also see two other handy options within the drop-down. ‘Always ask’ will prompt you to choose the email client of your choice each time you select a mailto link. ‘Use other…’ will allow you to choose a desktop email client, if this is your preference.
Within Internet Explorer:
As you can imagine, some web browsers play more nicely with mailto links than others. For instance, if you’re utilizing Internet Explorer and Gmail in tandem, you’ll need to install the Google Toolbar in order to make Gmail your browser’s default email client.
Once you’ve installed the toolbar, head to Options and then choose General from the left-hand column. Beneath the Web-browsing Tools heading, check the box beside ‘Use Gmail for Mailto: Links’, and you’ll be all set!
Within Safari or Opera:
Safari and Opera users will also need to utilize a third-party extension in order to make the appropriate adjustment. We recommend the Mailto: extension, which you can find here: Mailto Extension for Safari; Mailto Extension for Opera.
Using a Desktop Email Client:
If you’re utilizing a desktop email client, rather than a webmail email client, you have a few options. If you’re utilizing the client that is the default program for your operating system, you will not have to make any adjustments in order to utilize mailto links easily. However, if you’re using another client, you’ll need to adjust your settings accordingly:
For Windows users, navigate to your Control Panel, choose Programs, and then select Default Programs. Next, choose Set Associations and click on Associate a file type or protocol with a program. Within the list of Protocols, locate mailto and then double click on this option. You’ll then be able to select any email client you have installed as the default handler for these mailto links.
For macOS users, navigate to the Mail application, and then locate Preferences. This will open your General preferences by default. Now, choose the email client of your choice from the Default Email Reader drop-down.
Once you’ve made the appropriate adjustment and set your preferred default email client for mailto links, you will not have to adjust again in the future. We hope this makes your outreach to candidates as smooth as possible!