Mail is set as the default email program on our Mac, so when we happen to click on an email link in anything (say, our browser), the Mail app automatically opens up and creates an email message. We don’t want that, we’d like to be able to designate our chosen email apps (I use Thunderbird, she uses Entourage). How do you change this?
While there’s a lot about Mac OS X that I think is wonderfully crafted, changing the default email program (or Web browser, for that matter) is pretty baffling. In the old days, there was a separate Control Panel for changing all these settings, but now you need to know the trick…
For changing your default email program, it turns out you need to launch the Mail.app program just once to get to its Preferences panel.
When you start it up, the program will step you through the configuration steps, but you don’t have to finish these steps, just go step-by-step until the Preferences option on the Mail menu isn’t greyed out.
Once you can get to the Preferences, here’s what you’ll see:
The topmost element is what you want to change: pick the mailer you’d prefer as your default email handler (You can see that I use Microsoft Entourage, not Apple Mail). Click the little red button on the top left to close the window and quit Mail without finishing up the configuration steps.
That’s all there is to it.
If you wanted to change your default Web browser, by the way, Apple Safari has a similar option on its Preferences pane, in the “General” area. Why it’s not a part of the “Network” Control Panel, or even its own Control Panel, escapes me completely. Wouldn’t that be easier?
I struggled with the email client reverting to Apple’s Mail whenever I clicked an email hyperlink (ie http ‘mailto’). No matter how many times I followed the steps in this article, Mail kept opening as my default email client. Turns out the issue is fixed within my browser – Firefox’s Preferences page. Since Firefox had Mail listed as my default client it was the culprit, changing the default anytime I clicked a mailto link. Mail and MacOS were not to blame so Apple is off the hook for this one. Hope this saves somebody some aggravation.
many thanks……very helpful for newbie like me
I use Mail as my default email app, however when I look in Preferences | General there are like 200 apps listed (courtesy of Parallels, which I use about once every three months, if that), and most annoyingly the top one is “Internet Explorer.app (Windows XP)” No matter how many times I change the default app to Mail, next time I open the Preferences, the choice is back to the dreaded IE … It doesn’t actually affect Mail – when I click on mailto: link it is Mail that pops up, but it is annoying nonetheless to have these mess in options… How can I edit out most of these apps listed as possible default options there? Only really need Mail and Thunderbird remaining?
This was so easy!!! Just did Thunderbird. Great
THANK YOU!!! When I installed Chrome, it changed my default email reader to Chrome and I HATED it!
I now have it back the way it belongs!
Thank you very much for taking the time. I appreciate the assistance.
Here’s a workaround for the Mail PDF bug, found on an Apple forum:
Press the PDF button in the Print… dialog, click Edit Menu, and then the “+” sign to add another item. Navigate to Applications -> Entourage (or Outlook, or your other mail program) and choose it. From then on, you can select Entourage from the PDF button, and the PDF will be attached to a new message.
Thank you for your reply. So often in forums I find that the answers are not helpful. I don’t know if people don’t read the question or are just too quick to answer but you got it right. I wanted to send a PDF email from Outlook, not from Mail. Changing the preference in Mail>Preferences>General does nothing. The only way Outlook or any other program can be specified is by following the procedure you outlined. Thanks a million.
Worked for me!
this does not set up a default mail program. This still uses the mac mail program on the computer. You log on and hit your email server and download email to the mack in the apple email program.
This DOES NOT make outlook 2011 the default email application.
Sooo TRUE!! Why does it have to be so convoluted? I paid my money to Apple and Microsoft. Can’t we all just get along and work together for the end user’s preference?
Pahlease
I can see how to change my default email program for most instances (like Firefox) but how do I change the default in Finder? When you right click on a file, the last choice in the dialogue list is “New email with attachment”. I want to have this option select Thunderbird but it chooses Mail (which is used by my wife while I use TB). Finder Preferences doesn’t have any selections. Any ideas?
Thanks,
MJT
I’m re-posting something that DJT posted a year ago, because it worked!!
There is workaround for emailing an image from Preview using Entourage that I just found.
Just drag the icon for the pdf (or image) and drop in on the Entourage Icon on your dock or in an open email you are editing. The icon I am talking about is in the title bar, next to the name of the file. It is a bit tricky to grab the icon without moving the window, but it is possible.
I use GMail on all Macs and just learned of new application created by Google to resolve this Mail issue. Go to Google support and download Google Notifier. This provides the option of GMail as default email instead of Mail (which in my opinion is one of the most unreliable email programs ever created).
How do I get Preview in OSX to mail a PDF or Image in Outlook for Mac instead of Mail which it apparently is defaulting to?
Alejandro, if Apple Mail doesn’t see FirstClass as a choice for your default email program, then I suspect the answer is “no”, but I’d email the program developer and see if they have any good ideas. That’s Open Text Corporation and their site is at http://www.firstclass.com/
Does anyone know if it is possibly to make FirstClass email your primary email program on the Mail app.?
thanks for this – so helpful!!!
Great article! This was driving me crazzzzy
Hi, once more: how do I send pdfs from preview with another program than mail (thunderbird in my case)? The drag and drop technique mentioned above does not work on my mac. I also set the preferences in mail.
Thanks Dave! That worked perfectly!
If you’re using Chrome on OS X I have a solution for directing mailto links to your Gmail account. It’s an extension and it’s been working well for me: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/ahldefgplekckalfcolhhnljbbgaiboc
Thank you djt for the info on grabbing icon on dropping on entourage. It really seems to be the only way around the MAIL default preference in Preview. You are the only person on this post that provided a workable solution. Hats off to you!
I have been trying to do Print -> PDF -> Mail PDF and wanted my other email app to handle the new email message, but have found nothing that works to do this. I finally gave up, but I thought I’d post the details of the failure to warn others off trying what I did.
First I followed the suggestion of setting the preference in Mail’s preference pane, but that didn’t work, as others trying to do this have found.
Next, I installed and used Rubicode to try setting the preferences more granularly, but no matter what I tried, even changing every single reference to Mail to my other email app, iOS opened Mail to send the message.
Finally, stupidly, I tried what somebody else suggested above, and deleted the Mail app altogether. I don’t know if it was because I did this after setting things using Rubicode, but for me, this caused a major hailstorm. When I tried to print to mail a PDF, I got an error saying the action “New Mail Message” had encountered an error and I should examine the preferences and try again. Much googling terms later I had failed to find any way to resolve that error – I couldn’t figure out how to edit the action’s preferences – and I decided to give up. To restore Mail, I used Pacifist and my install disks to install Mail only, then downloaded the Mac OSX Update Combo 10.6.5 to update to the latest version.
In short, do not delete Mail, and frankly I wouldn’t recommend using Rubicode either unless you REALLY REALLY know what you are doing. I consider myself a power user and I’m a programmer (though not of Objective C or Applescript) and I don’t have enough REALLYs. Don’t do it.
Or if you do, and you succeed, will you post here how you did it?
Someone in here asked how to make Firefox/Gmail the default program. Open mail, go to the preferences as described in Dave’s post, then manually navigate to Firefox in the Applications folder. It will then automatically open Gmail, or at least it works for me.
Can you help me with this problem:
I am using Entourage (2008 ver. 12.2.6) on Mac OS X (10.6.4).
Wants to set Entourage as my default mail program for all situations of mailing…
Need to send PDF-file from Preview (default pdf-viewer).
In Preview menu: File > Mail Selected PDF Document > Mail opens and NOT Entourage.
In Mail preferences I have chosen Default email reader: Entourage (thanks to your instructions 🙂
Thanks in advance…
Asger
I want to set up my email to go through my personal business account (not typical hotmail, gmail, yahoo etc). Suggestions on how I do this? I see and understand the Mail-Preferences- but don’t know where to go from there!!!
ANY HELP IS APPRECIATED!
**tc
Hello, I have a questions which i HOPE someone can help me with.
I have a PC at the office running Outlook using a POP email acct. I also have it accepting an AOL email.
I have both these email accts set up on my MACbook Pro and my Iphone. The AOL email, I can read and delete from one computer and it will affect the computer at my office. The problem is I can do the Same to the POP email acct. How can I get by this?
So what I would like to be able to do is delete an email that comes in to my POP email on my Apple and have it automatically make the change on my PC at work.
Hope your not confused! Thanks for listening!
There is workaround for emailing an image from Preview using Entourage that I just found.
Just drag the icon for the pdf (or image) and drop in on the Entourage Icon on your dock or in an open email you are editing. The icon I am talking about is in the title bar, next to the name of the file. It is a bit tricky to grab the icon without moving the window, but it is possible. I found this idea on the apple discussing boards, so credit is due there. But it did take me a while to figure out what icon they were talking about.
Thanks a million. I’ve spent ages trolling through the internet trying to find a solution for the problem with Preview always defaulting to Mail, even though Entourage is set as my default mail program. Dragging the small icon next to the file name onto the Entourage icon in the dock works a treat!
anyone able to answer how to get ‘Preview’ to use Entourage as the Mail client? I’ve run out of ideas for workarounds! This has been asked here once but no answer yet…
I’m using my mac mail as my business e-mail and for the last 4 days I can’t receive any e-mails from any yahoo accounts, and if I try to send an E-mail to an Yahoo account it will come back a few days later as undelivered… What is wrong!!! I’m running an internet based business and need to know that I am receiving all e-mails and that the e-mails that I sent out get to the person.
Please help!!!
Monica
Marie, I believe that the iWorks apps are essentially hardwired to launch Apple Mail rather than respect the systemwide Mail app setting…
Thanks for this post. However, I have entourage as my default program, but when I choose to email photos through iPhoto, it launches Mail. Is there a way to change this?