diff --git a/0001-add-xdg-email-as-the-default-email-route.patch b/0001-add-xdg-email-as-the-default-email-route.patch
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9a0b461
--- /dev/null
+++ b/0001-add-xdg-email-as-the-default-email-route.patch
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+From 5f58670b43e5284d9460b561e774175c7a2dd7ab Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
+From: =?UTF-8?q?Caol=C3=A1n=20McNamara?= <caolanm@redhat.com>
+Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2016 10:42:16 +0100
+Subject: [PATCH] add xdg-email as the default email route
+
+because xdg-email is apparently the only route
+that knows how to support adding an attachment
+to thunderbird
+
+Change-Id: Ife1b56ccfe2434eb31ad67bef00f55197e96151e
+---
+ shell/source/unix/misc/senddoc.sh | 10 ++++++++--
+ 1 file changed, 8 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
+
+diff --git a/shell/source/unix/misc/senddoc.sh b/shell/source/unix/misc/senddoc.sh
+index 169af25..4519e01 100755
+--- a/shell/source/unix/misc/senddoc.sh
++++ b/shell/source/unix/misc/senddoc.sh
+@@ -384,7 +384,9 @@ case `basename "$MAILER" | sed 's/-.*$//'` in
+         # Try to be smart, and send the mail anyway, if we have the
+         # possibility to do so.
+ 
+-        if [ -n "$DESKTOP_LAUNCH" ]; then
++        if [ -x /usr/bin/xdg-email ] ; then
++            MAILER=/usr/bin/xdg-email
++        elif [ -n "$DESKTOP_LAUNCH" ]; then
+             # http://lists.freedesktop.org/pipermail/xdg/2004-August/002873.html
+             MAILER=${DESKTOP_LAUNCH}
+         elif [ -n "$KDE_FULL_SESSION" -a -x /usr/bin/kde-open ] ; then
+@@ -423,7 +425,11 @@ case `basename "$MAILER" | sed 's/-.*$//'` in
+                     shift
+                     ;;
+                 --attach)
+-                    MAILTO="${MAILTO:-}${MAILTO:+&}attachment="`echo "file://$2" | "${URI_ENCODE}"`
++                    if [ "$MAILER" = "/usr/bin/xdg-email" ]; then
++                        MAILTO="${MAILTO:-}${MAILTO:+&}attach="`echo "file://$2" | "${URI_ENCODE}"`
++                    else
++                        MAILTO="${MAILTO:-}${MAILTO:+&}attachment="`echo "file://$2" | "${URI_ENCODE}"`
++                    fi
+                     shift
+                     ;;
+                 *)
+-- 
+2.7.4
+
diff --git a/libreoffice.spec b/libreoffice.spec
index 6c33e66..893fe59 100644
--- a/libreoffice.spec
+++ b/libreoffice.spec
@@ -242,6 +242,7 @@ Patch12: 0001-Related-rhbz-1351369-gtk3-clipboards-have-to-live-to.patch
 Patch13: 0001-gtk3-style-combobox-never-becomes-sensitive-if-it-st.patch
 Patch14: 0001-Resolves-tdf-91533-rhbz-1364335-Tooltips-are-truncat.patch
 Patch15: 0001-Resolves-tdf-101165-crash-on-deselecting-all-filters.patch
+Patch16: 0001-add-xdg-email-as-the-default-email-route.patch
 
 %if 0%{?rhel}
 # not upstreamed