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How to associate custom link types with custom services?

cloudchasingfun
cloudchasingfun
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Hello. Firefox's preferences allows us to define the desired associations for each file/link type (PDF files, mailto: links, etc.). But how can I set a custom association?

For example (and just for example), associate RSS feed links (such as https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1303676/feed) with a custom service, of which I know the URL pattern to use (like "https://randomRSSservice.com/addnewfeed/%s")?

It seems I can customize the URL pattern for services I already have associated with some link types, such as calendar and mailto, but I can neither add a new service to existing link types nor add a new link/file type (such as RSS feeds in my example). Firefox is all about customization, so I thought this would be one of the things easier to do in Firefox than in other browsers.

Obs.: I know I could install this or that add-on to interact with RSS links, but they all require "read all your data everywhere" permission, and Firefox is also about privacy, so users shouldn't be required to trust strangers (specially developers of non-recommended/non-watched add-ons) to customize the browser, if what makes Firefox special are privacy and customization.

BTW, https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/change-firefox-behavior-when-open-file doesn't help at all.

Hello. Firefox's preferences allows us to define the desired associations for each file/link type (PDF files, mailto: links, etc.). But how can I set a custom association? For example (and just for example), associate RSS feed links (such as https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1303676/feed) with a custom service, of which I know the URL pattern to use (like "https://randomRSSservice.com/addnewfeed/%s")? It seems I can customize the URL pattern for services I already have associated with some link types, such as calendar and mailto, but I can neither add a new service to existing link types nor add a new link/file type (such as RSS feeds in my example). Firefox is all about customization, so I thought this would be one of the things easier to do in Firefox than in other browsers. Obs.: I know I could install this or that add-on to interact with RSS links, but they all require "read all your data everywhere" permission, and Firefox is also about privacy, so users shouldn't be required to trust strangers (specially developers of non-recommended/non-watched add-ons) to customize the browser, if what makes Firefox special are privacy and customization. BTW, https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/change-firefox-behavior-when-open-file doesn't help at all.

Modified by cloudchasingfun

All Replies (1)

Wesley Branton
Wesley Branton
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There's no way to do this within Firefox without an add-on installed. The reason being that the custom associations (like PDF and mailto) are handled using Uniform Resource Identifiers (URI).

A link that looks like mailto:example.com opens an email program and a link like tel:555-123-4567 could be used to open a telephone application. The part before the colon, is the scheme, which tells Firefox what action needs to be taken.

There are also many that only use URIs. Instead, they work based off of file extension, like .pdf to open the PDF reader.

In your specific case, the URI scheme that Firefox is being told to use is HTTPS, which is the same as any other website connection. And since there's no specific file being opened, it can't be handled with a file extension handler.

Since what you are attempting to do doesn't fit into the URI or file extension rules, you would need an extension that's capable of handling a specific website path. I'm sure there are plenty of trustworthy add-ons on addons.mozilla.org that can accomplish this for you.

Hope this helps.