How do I stop hyperlinks in an email opening the new outlook?

Question

I am using the oclassic outlook by preference. If I receive an email that contains an email address as a hyperlink and I click on it it opens a new email in the new outlook - how do I make it open in the classic outlook?

I've seen solutions that refer to setting the MAILTO option in windows settings to classic outlook but I only have that option so nothing changes that way.

Answer 1

Hi Guido, 

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A Forum!

Have a good day aynd I hope you're doing well!

Thank you for your quick response and for sharing that additional useful information! I'm glad to hear that you've managed to resolve the issue yourself by setting the correct default app for the MAILTO protocol in Windows. This is a common and often confusing situation, especially since Windows sometimes doesn't clearly distinguish between different versions of Outlook (Classic vs. New). 

I completely understand the frustration when the system doesn't follow your desired setup. for example, you've chosen to use Outlook Classic, but mailto: links still open in the new Outlook. The fact that you discovered the need to go into Settings > Apps > Default Apps > Outlook Classic (instead of just changing the general Mail setting) is a very important point. This shows that Windows differentiates between Outlook apps, and assigning the correct one for MAILTO: is the key to fixing it. 

Even though you've already fixed it, I'll go ahead and provide a full, detailed guide below to help other users who might be facing a similar issue (e.g., hyperlinks in emails opening in New Outlook instead of Classic): 

1. Open Settings on Windows (you can press Windows + I for a quick shortcut). 

2. Select Apps > Default Apps. 

3. In the search box in the Default Apps section, type "mailto" (or scroll down to find the protocol-related section). 

4. When the results appear, click on the MAILTO entry (or "Email link" if that's how it's displayed). 

5. Choose the default app: Make sure to select Outlook (Classic) or the classic version of Outlook you're using (not the new Outlook or Windows' default Mail app). 

6. Close the Settings window and test it by clicking on an email link (mailto:) in any application. it should now open in Outlook Classic as desired. 

Additionally, this method can also be applied usefully to many other hyperlinks and protocols (such as HTTP, HTTPS, or FTP), not just MAILTO, allowing you to customize default apps for various link types. 

I hope this detailed guide will be helpful for you and many others dealing with similar situations. If anyone else has any further questions, feel free to ask. I'm always ready to help and share experiences! 

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Answer 2

Hi Pavel,

Thanks for your prompt response.

I have subsequently found an answer via copilot. Previous settings changes had directed me to Settings\Apps\Default Apps\Mail where where I actually should have been is Default Apps\Outlook Classic.

I've set my MAILTO to Outlook Classic and it works fine.

Answer 3

Hello,

My name is Pavel Poddubny, I will be happy to assist you! ✨

Try these troubleshooting steps:

1. Make sure you try to launch classic Outlook for Windows from the Windows Start Menu, not the new Outlook for Windows. The classic Outlook for Windows is referenced as "Outlook (classic)" in the app list. 
2. From the Windows Start Menu, type "Registry Editor" in the search box and select the Registry Editor app.
3. Navigate to the following path: Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Preferences
4. Scroll to the bottom of the list to and double click on UseNewOutlook.
5. Enter 0 in the Value Data field.
6. Attempt to launch classic Outlook for Windows from the Windows Start Menu.

Source: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/toggle-out-of-the-new-outlook-for-windows-ec102b39-5727-418e-ae1f-a1805434640c, you may read this article for more help

Wish you the best regards and a wonderful day. If my reply has helped you, please don't forget to mark it as useful using the buttons below 😉