How do I prevent Outlook from changing the default E-mail program?

[Frank D. Nicodem, Jr.]

I use Outlook primarily for the Calendar application. My default E-mail
application is Outlook Express. Yet every time that I run Outlook to look
at my calendar, it resets *itself* as the default E-mail program! I do not
want it to do that, but I can't find a way to stop it.

I've used Internet Options to set Outlook Express as my default E-mail; and
I have Outlook Express constantly checking, as well. But Outlook keeps
changing it anyway. How do I stop it from doing that?!?!?

 

[Vijay]

In the Outlook 2003
Goto
1 . Tools>>options>>other(Tab)
Check if there's option Checked "Check if outlook is the default E-mail
Client"

 

[Frank D. Nicodem, Jr.]

In the Outlook 2003
Goto
1 . Tools>>options>>other(Tab)
Check if there's option Checked "Check if outlook is the default E-mail
Client"

Thank you, Vijay. That's where I would have expected to find the setting.
However, the box is not checked. In other words, Outlook *appears* to NOT
be checking if it's the default E-mail client. Yet it still *resets* to
Outlook any time I open Outlook to check my calendar.

Any other thoughts???

 

[Frank D. Nicodem, Jr.]

OK, I'm going to try this one more time. I've gone into Outlook, into the
Tools/Options menu, on the "Other" tab, and *cleared* the box that says to
make Outlook my default E-mail client. In fact, I've toggled it both
ways -- first setting it (and Applying, and exiting Outlook, and getting
back into it), then clearing it once again (and Applying, and exiting). But
no matter what I do, the instant that I just *open* Outlook, and then take a
look in Internet Options at the default program for E-mail, it has been
changed to Microsoft Outlook!!

I do NOT want Outlook as my default E-mail client. I do NOT even want to
*SEE* the Mail portion of Outlook. I just want to use it as a Calendar --
appointments, To Do items, etc. In fact, I'd prefer that it *open* to the
Calendar option, and not even show the Mail option.

But above all, I do NOT want Outlook constantly making itself the default
E-mail client! And I can't seem to get it to stop doing that.

For clarification, this is Microsoft Office 2003, running on a Windows XP
Media Center (i.e., XP Professional) system.

Any other ideas???

 

[Vijay]

try this
start->run->regedit
browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Clients\Mail\Microsoft Outlook
towards right double click DLLPath and paste the below
"%ProgramFiles%\Outlook Express\msoe.dll"
Please let me know if it worked.
Vijay

 

[Frank D. Nicodem, Jr.]

try this
start->run->regedit
browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Clients\Mail\Microsoft Outlook
towards right double click DLLPath and paste the below
"%ProgramFiles%\Outlook Express\msoe.dll"
Please let me know if it worked.

Thank you, Vijay. Here's what happened when I tried that.

First, I made the change to the Registry. Then I made sure that Outlook
Express was set to be my default E-mail client. (I did this in the Internet
Options Control Panel applet -- under the Programs tab.)

Then I started up Outlook. Nothing else -- just started it up, and
immediately closed it. When I went back to the Internet Options window, the
default E-mail client had been *changed* to Microsoft Outlook once again!!
But when I went back into the Registry, to where I had made your suggested
change, it still showed the change -- i.e., it still pointed to msoe.dll,
not mapi32.dll. (However, there is another key at that same node of the
Registry, called DLLPathEx. It still pointed to the mapi32.dll file -- but
a different copy of the file. Instead of being in "%ProgramFiles" -- i.e.,
C:\Program Files -- it's pointing to C:\Program Files\Common
Files\SYSTEM\MSMAPI\1033\msmapi32.dll. I have not changed that entry, since
you didn't mention it.)

So something in Outlook is *still* resetting the default E-mail client. And
all I have to do is *open* Outlook -- nothing more.

I'm stumped... Any other suggestions?

 

[Vijay]

ok i guess this one should work
-> start->run->regedit
-> browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Clients\Mail\Microsoft Outlook
right click on Microsoft Outlook and export to a desktop as backup.
now right click on the same key and delete it.
goto internet properties and select the option outlook express and you
must also notice that outlook would no longer show as a Email in the
programs tab.
hope this works...


Vijay

 

[Frank D. Nicodem, Jr.]

ok i guess this one should work
-> start->run->regedit
-> browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Clients\Mail\Microsoft Outlook
right click on Microsoft Outlook and export to a desktop as backup.
now right click on the same key and delete it.
goto internet properties and select the option outlook express and you
must also notice that outlook would no longer show as a Email in the
programs tab.

Vijay,

This is absolutely unbelievable! I did exactly as you said -- I exported
that section of the Registry, and then deleted it. I went into Internet
Options, and looked under Programs. And sure enough, Outlook Express was my
default E-mail client, and Microsoft Outlook did not even appear in the
drop-down list. So far, so good.

So now, I closed Outlook Express, and tried to bring up Microsoft Outlook
(so that I could look at my calendar). As soon as Outlook opened, I got the
following error message:

"Either there is no default mail client or the current mail client
cannot fulfill the messaging request.
Please run Microsoft Office Outlook and set it as the default mail
client."

What's even more surprising, I then went back into Internet Options, and
looked under Programs. The E-mail program (which had been Outlook Express)
was BLANK! Outlook apparently couldn't set *itself* as the default E-mail
client (which it was doing before), so it REMOVED Outlook Express as the
default E-mail client!!!

This is absurd! What is it about Outlook that wants to completely take over
my E-mail function -- when I do NOT want it to?!?!?!? I'd be just as happy
if the "Mail" option in Outlook didn't even appear -- if it just "went
away". But it apparently won't.

I'm going to restore that section of the Registry (from the exported file),
just so I don't keep getting this error message each time I try to open
Outlook and look at my calendar.

I'm still open to other suggestions... :>)

 

[Vijay]

Hmm.... thats strange that it prompted again! i guess some third party
program is trying to get the outlook back as the default E-mail Client.

Try the same steps i posted in safemode with networking and check if it
works or not.

Vijay

 

[Frank D. Nicodem, Jr.]

Hmm.... thats strange that it prompted again! i guess some third party
program is trying to get the outlook back as the default E-mail Client.

Try the same steps i posted in safemode with networking and check if it
works or not.

Exact same response, Vijay. I made the changes to the Registry, noticed
that Microsoft Outlook was no longer available as an E-mail client on the
Internet Options window, made sure that the default E-mail program was set
to Outlook Express, then rebooted into Safe Mode with Networking.

The *only* thing I did in Safe Mode was to start up Microsoft Outlook -- not
another thing. And the instant Outlook started, I got the same message as
before:

"Either there is no default mail client or the current mail client
cannot fulfill the messaging request.
Please run Microsoft Office Outlook and set it as the default mail
client."

And, as before, when I looked at the Internet Options programs again, the
E-mail program field was now *blank*. Outlook had "wiped it out" again --
even though it could no longer make itself the default (since I modified the
Registry).

So it has to be Outlook doing this. I can't think of another application --
third-party or not -- that I have, that might be doing this. And when I was
in Safe Mode, I did check *before* running Outlook, and the E-mail program
was set correctly to Outlook Express. Just the very act of starting up
Outlook is what a) gave me the error message, and b) wiped out the default
E-mail client information!

I'm about ready to give up on this. As I said before, the only reason I use
Outlook is for the calendaring. And I'm about ready to find an alternate
calendar/appointment/to-do list application that I can run, besides Outlook.
I don't need it for sharing, it's strictly for my own personal calendar.
I'm sure I can find something that is less "territorial" than Microsoft
Outlook! (I'm open to suggestions, if you have any.)

Thanks for the continued help.

 

[Vijay]

i would recommend you to uninstall and reinstall the Outlook.

Vijay