# {mailto}

`{mailto}` automates the creation of a `mailto:` anchor links and
optionally encodes them. Encoding emails makes it more difficult for web
spiders to lift email addresses off of a site.

## Attributes

| Attribute Name | Required | Description                                                                                   |
|----------------|----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| address        | Yes      | The e-mail address                                                                            |
| text           | No       | The text to display, default is the e-mail address                                            |
| encode         | No       | How to encode the e-mail. Can be one of `none`, `hex`, `javascript` or `javascript_charcode`. |
| cc             | No       | Email addresses to carbon copy, separate entries by a comma.                                  |
| bcc            | No       | Email addresses to blind carbon copy, separate entries by a comma                             |
| subject        | No       | Email subject                                                                                 |
| newsgroups     | No       | Newsgroups to post to, separate entries by a comma.                                           |
| followupto     | No       | Addresses to follow up to, separate entries by a comma.                                       |
| extra          | No       | Any extra information you want passed to the link, such as style sheet classes                |

> **Note**
>
> Javascript is probably the most thorough form of encoding, although
> you can use hex encoding too.


## Examples

```smarty
{mailto address="me@example.com"}
<a href="mailto:me@example.com" >me@example.com</a>

{mailto address="me@example.com" text="send me some mail"}
<a href="mailto:me@example.com" >send me some mail</a>

{mailto address="me@example.com" encode="javascript"}
<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">
   eval(unescape('%64%6f% ... snipped ...%61%3e%27%29%3b'))
</script>

{mailto address="me@example.com" encode="hex"}
<a href="mailto:%6d%65.. snipped..3%6f%6d">&#x6d;&..snipped...#x6f;&#x6d;</a>

{mailto address="me@example.com" subject="Hello to you!"}
<a href="mailto:me@example.com?subject=Hello%20to%20you%21" >me@example.com</a>

{mailto address="me@example.com" cc="you@example.com,they@example.com"}
<a href="mailto:me@example.com?cc=you@example.com,they@example.com" >me@example.com</a>

{mailto address="me@example.com" extra='class="email"'}
<a href="mailto:me@example.com" class="email">me@example.com</a>

{mailto address="me@example.com" encode="javascript_charcode"}
<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">
    {document.write(String.fromCharCode(60,97, ... snipped ....60,47,97,62))}
</script>
```

See also [`escape`](../language-modifiers/language-modifier-escape.md),
[`{textformat}`](../language-custom-functions/language-function-textformat.md) and [obfuscating email
addresses](../../appendixes/tips.md#obfuscating-e-mail-addresses).