mailto: links in content body of .aspx pages don't open properly

Question

I'm having a weird problem where mailto: links added to the body of ASP.NET pages using master pages and the asp:menu control don't work in IE8 (at least, maybe other versions). Steps to reproduce:

1. Create new project in VS2010 (ASP.NET Web Application).
2. Add this control to bottom of Default.aspx (I'm using VB. I'm not sure if I'd have the same results with a C# project): HyperLink
3. Hit F5 (needs to open in IE).

When I click on the mailto: link the following occurs.

1. A second tab opens in IE.
2. A blank email message opens in Outlook 2010 (this is good).
3. Second tab closes in IE. (I believe this is normal.)
4. The original page in IE now says "Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage" and the url in the browser's address bar is the email address from the hyperlink control.

The weird thing is that if I delete the control from the master page and try again, everything works.

I get the same results if I change the hyperlink control to regular HTML. HyperLink

I have searched everywhere for this and can't find anything. I'm sure that means I'm doing something wrong, but I can't figure this one out.

Thanks.

Answer 1

I've recreated your scenario and wasn't able to replicate your problem.

• You may have some add-on installed in IE that is causing this weird behavior
• Try opening your page in Firefox/Chrome, to make sure the problem is IE only
• Try reinstalling IE and any toolbars or browser add-ons you may have

If you still have issues after this, let me take a look at your source code.

Answer 2

I'm not sure this is a complete answer, but it seems to serve as a workaround for now at least. I found a thread here http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/officeappcompat/thread/6e4700a7-eed1-4834-9c69-aa8415699fae that was very similar. Ultimately, adding the TabProcGrowth = 0 registry value fixed my problem by essentially disabling Protected Mode for IE 8.