Make Windows Live Mail Windows' Default Email Program

This tutorial shows you how to make Windows Live Mail the default email program, or default mail handler, on Windows XP and Windows Vista. Both versions of Windows let you set the default email application from the Control Panel, but the Options dialog in Windows Live Mail lets you do that in a much easier way. Clicking a Make Default button and confirm are the only two steps needed to make it your default email program.

You can also set Windows' default email application from the Control Panel:
• Set the default email program in Windows XP
• Set the default email program in Windows Vista

Set Windows Live Mail as default email client on Windows XP/Vista

Instead of going through the multi-step process of setting the default email program through Windows' Control Panel, you can do it directly from Windows Live Mail's Options dialog.

Click the Show Menu button, and choose Options; if you see the traditional menus, go to Tools > Options. Both open the Options dialog: under the General tab, which should be selected by default, locate the bottom section, labeled "Default Messaging Program":

If Windows Live Mail is not currently the default email program on Windows, the text next to the first button will read "This application is NOT the default Mail handler". Click the Make Default button, and it will be disabled (grayed out).

Confirming your change of default email client

The text has now changed to "This application is the default Mail handler". This is a bit misleading, because Windows Live Mail will not become your default email application until you actually have clicked the Ok or Apply button to confirm the change in configuration.

So click Ok (no need to Apply first), and Windows Live Mail's option dialog will close, integrating your new option choices. It is that easy to make Windows Live Mail your default email program. (If Windows Live Mail was already your default email client, nothing will happen.)

Testing Windows' Default Email Program

You can double-check that Windows Live Mail has in fact become your default email client by clicking this test email link.

A new, blank email window will open: if it is Windows Live Mail, you have successfully changed it to be your default email program!

In case of problem, you can always set the default email client from Windows' Control Panel on Windows XP or Windows Vista.

• Internet Fax Service
• anonymous email
• Email Hosting
• Email Fax
• email marketing software
• Personal Email Address