Outlook window opens – email is Yahoo

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My email is Yahoo. When I want to email something from the net an Outlook window opens. If I type my message in this window and hit send, I get an error message and the email goes nowhere. What do I need to do? Thanks
Jimmy

For the sake of other readers, let me take a step back and describe this issue in greater detail.
Jimmy comes across an email address on a web page. When he clicks on it, an Outlook window with the email address in the “To:” field opens. Jimmy quickly realizes that this might be a way to send email. He puts in the email subject and composes the message. Everything seems fine but when he hits the send, an error message is displayed. Probably, the Outlook window remains open which further confirms that the email hasn’t left his computer.
OK Jimmy here is what you have to do.

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Is it an Outlook window or an Outlook Express window?

We first need to ascertain whether the window that opens is of Outlook or Outlook Express because the two are different programs with similar sounding names and that has often lead to a lot of confusion.The name will either be displayed in the title bar or can be got from “About” under the “Help” menu. FYI, both programs are from Microsoft – Outlook Express is just a scaled-down and free version of Outlook.

Why do we need to know whether the window is of Outlook or Outlook Express? Because, as we shall see later, we would be using that program to set up email on our computer.

Why does the Outlook window open?

Outlook and Outlook Express are two very popular email programs also known as email clients. They not only help us send/receive messages but also store the emails on our computer! FYI, Outlook Express used to come pre-installed with the Windows operating system till the Vista version where it was replaced by Windows Mail.

If an Outlook Express or an Outlook window opens on your computer when you click on an email address, it means that this program has been set as the default email client on your computer.

But that’s not the way it should be because your email is Yahoo, right Jimmy? Keep reading to clear the murky clouds of confusion.

Using Yahoo email as the default on your computer

Yahoo! Mail is a web based email service. This means, you just need a web browser to use the Yahoo email account. But web based email accounts have one major drawback. Without an active internet connection you are left stranded and would not be able to check the emails. This problem is solved by using email clients such as Outlook or Outlook Express because once you configure or set up the email account in them, the messages are download and stored on your computer.

There are many popular email programs and you can use any email account (including Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail or one from your ISP) with the software as long as its compatible.

To make Yahoo the default email on your computer, you can choose one of the following options:

For further information, I suggest you read how to setup a Yahoo email account on your computer.

Finally, please understand that your computer can have only one default email program – yes, you can download and install tens of these if you want but only one should (ideally) be used to send and receive emails.

Answers Email Outlook Express Yahoo