"EmailTo" should show list of contacts, to allow using gmail

[Tom6]

Hi,
EmailTo is not behaving as I expected. Am I missing something?

Use case:
1) Open Alfred and search for 'find file.pdf'
2) Click right
3) Click 'Email to'

Now I see 2 issues:
1) I can't find a contact that exists in my Contacts (if I open Alfred and search for a specific contact, it finds it). In fact, I'm not sure where it's getting its contacts from. I would rather have one directory of contacts (e.g. in the Mac's Contacts app)
2) It then opens the Mac app 'Inbox', instead of gmail which I want (in Alfred settings of contacts I did choose for gmail to handle. so this is an inconsistency)

 

[deanishe]

8 hours ago, Tom6 said:

In fact, I'm not sure where it's getting its contacts from

 

From Contacts.app. Are you sure the contact you're trying to send an attachment to has an email address? That would explain why it shows up in the main search, but not in "Email To…".

 

8 hours ago, Tom6 said:

in Alfred settings of contacts I did choose for gmail to handle. so this is an inconsistency

 

It's not really an inconsistency, it's a fundamental limitation of using Gmail as your email client. It's not possible for Alfred (or any application) to pass a file from your local filesystem to webmail running in your browser.

 

To create an email with an attachment, Alfred has to use the AppleScript API of a local email client, so when you use "Email To…", Alfred will choose the most appropriate application you have.

[Tom6]

16 hours ago, deanishe said:

It's not really an inconsistency, it's a fundamental limitation of using Gmail as your email client. It's not possible for Alfred (or any application) to pass a file from your local filesystem to webmail running in your browser

Makes a lot of sense. I would have preferred it to still open Gmail (because I don't use the default client at all. It could then copy to clipboard for me the path, so I can use it to import it manually).
But I can see how this would make a better option for most people (would have been great if I were able to choose. I guess my alternative solution is to define my default mail client app with SMTP server for sending only)

Thanks for your answer!