Microsoft KB Archive/171292

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Last reviewed: February 3, 1998

Article ID: Q171292 The information in this article applies to:
 * Microsoft Outlook 97

WARNING: The information in this article has not been confirmed or tested by Microsoft. Some or all of the information in this article has been taken from unconfirmed customer reports. ANY USE BY YOU OF THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS ARTICLE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. Microsoft provides this information "as is" without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose.

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, you should first make a backup copy of the registry files (System.dat and User.dat). Both are hidden files in the Windows folder.

SYMPTOMS
When you click Reply on an e-mail message in Microsoft Outlook 97, the blank reply message opens in another e-mail client rather than Outlook.

CAUSE
Another e-mail client was at one time used as the e-mail editor and when it was removed, it left behind a stray registry entry.

RESOLUTION
Remove the stray registry entry and re-select Outlook as your default e-mail client in Internet Explorer. To remove the stray registry entry, see the "Removing the Stray Registry Entry" section later in this article. To re-select Outlook, see the "Re-selecting Outlook as Your E-mail Client in Internet Explorer" section later in this article.

MORE INFORMATION
WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall Windows 95. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the Changing Keys And Values online Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe). Note that you should make a backup copy of the registry files (System.dat and User.dat) before you edit the registry.

Removing the Stray Registry Entry
 On the File menu in Outlook, click "Exit and Log Off." Click Start on the taskbar, and then click Run. In the Run dialog box, under Open, type "regedit" (without the quotation marks), and then click OK.  Move to the following entry in the registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\classes\mailto\shell\open\command  Right-click on the default key, and then click Delete on the shortcut menu. Exit the Registry Editor.

Re-selecting Outlook as Your E-mail Client in Internet Explorer

 * 1) Start Internet Explorer.
 * 2) On the View menu, click Options.
 * 3) On the Programs tab, click to select Microsoft Outlook as your Mail service.
 * 4) Click OK and close Internet Explorer.

NOTE: If this procedure does not result in opening an Outlook form when you click Reply on an e-mail message, you should repeat the steps in "Removing the Stray Registry Entry" above, but this time, at step 5, change the value of the default key to: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\OUTLOOK.EXE" -c IPM.Note /m "%1" If necessary, change the path to the OUTLOOK.EXE file to match that on your computer. Additional Query Words: mailto

Keywords         : MsgRply kb3rdparty Version          : WINDOWS:97 Platform         : WINDOWS Issue type       : kbprb Solution Type    : Info_Provided
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