How to Change the Default Email App for Mailto: Links
Microsoft sets its own Mail app as the default email client. But here’s a look at changing it to what you want to use system-wide or based on protocol.
Microsoft has its Mail app set as the default email client for Windows 10. Usually, if you install Outlook or another email client, you don’t have a problem with it popping up. When you want to send or check your messages, you open that app directly.
However, there are times when you’ll find the Mail app (the app you probably forgot about) somehow creeps into your workflow. Particularly when clicking a “Mailto:” link in your browser, PDF or Word document, or other apps – including Outlook. For instance, you often see these types of links on webpages with a Contact Us hyperlink. So, wherever you encounter them, here is how you can change the default email app for them.
How Do I Change the Default Email Program for MailTo Links?
- Changing your default email client is generally the same as changing other default Windows 10 apps. To set your favorite email client as the system-wide default, head to Settings > Apps > Default Apps. Then in the right panel under the Email section, you will see it is set to the Mail app. Just click on it and choose the email app you want to use as the default from the list.
- Now, it’s also worth noting that you can set your default email app to a specific protocol – which is what Mailto: is. So, for example, maybe you want those types of links to open with an email client other than your system-wide default. You can set that by heading to Settings > Apps > Default Apps, scrolling down, and clicking the Choose default apps by protocol link.
- Then scroll down and find the MAILTO protocol and change the app accordingly. An easy way to test things out is to go to our Contact page and click on one of the email links, which are set as Mailto:, and make sure it opens with the correct app you set it to.
Having the Windows 10 Mail app open when clicking an email link on an invoice while already in Outlook, for example, is a bit jarring. It’s an odd behavior that usually happens when you start working on a new PC or fresh install of Windows 10. But now you know that you can set the default Windows 10 email app to the one you prefer.
