[debjerry]

How do I change the default e-mail from windows mail to my old standby yahoo.

[fairnooks]

Do you have a desktop client for your Yahoo mail or is it web-based only? If the latter, you're talking apples and oranges. Mail is a desktop client in which you could configure Yahoo to be your only or primary account if you have a paid account at yahoo. Otherwise you need to sort of work around the problem because there is no stand alone desktop client for Yahoo. If you have Yahoo messenger installed and have it notify you when there is mail with a little tray popup, you can click on that and it will open your default browser to the yahoo mail sign in page or you might be able to go right to the inbox if messenger will sign you in automatically.

[debjerry]

Ok you kind of lost me. The problem is when I click to send a e-mail to someone windows mail opens. What I would like is for yahoo mail to open.

I quess what you are saying is I can't set my vista do to this?

[fairnooks]

No, you can't do it just by choosing one or the other because Windows Mail is on your computer and contacts the server online to receive or send mail, while Yahoo mail is already a server somewhere on the Internet so there's nothing that can open up on your computer to send to.

But there are alternatives, one of which is that if you have a paid Yahoo account (or use Yahoo POPS add on) you can set up Windows Mail to contact and receive and send mail from/to your Yahoo account. That way even though Windows Mail would still open up it would be using your Yahoo mail account.

If you go to your Yahoo account and find the setting/help area it will tell how to set up your account on a desktop client such as Windows Mail, though I would recommend using Windows Live! Mail instead.

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by debjerry

Ok you kind of lost me. The problem is when I click to send a e-mail to someone windows mail opens. What I would like is for yahoo mail to open.

I quess what you are saying is I can't set my vista do to this?

Were ever able to do this with any other Windows OS?

[bearone2]

only if if what you wanted as default was listed in control panel/internet options/programs/email.

[fairnooks]

Yeah, its not so much the OS though, rather if there's a little "stub" of a program made available that is downloaded and sits on the desktop. Google notifier works like that now I think and Yahoo used to have Yahoo Mail! which after installation could be set as the default in the path mentioned by bearone2, which for Yahoo would of course just open the default browser on the yahoo mail website. I don't know if the desktop client stub is still available for Yahoo mail or not as that was before they went to the new online format.

[broncojoe]

In previous versions of Windows (pre-Vista) you could choose the Yahoo Mail as your default mail. This meant when you clicked on an email address in IE it would open a new message in Yahoo Mail by opening up a new browser window.

It appears this is very much more difficult or not possible in Vista. I would like to find a way to do this as well - it was very handy.