How do I make WLM Mail button launch other than MSN Mail?

In the Programs section of my Internet Options settings, I recently changed
the specified E-mail program from "MSN Mail" to "Windows Live Mail" and
Messenger still launches MSN Mail whenever I press the Mail button. However,
if I instead use the pull-down menu 'Actions -> Send other -> Send an e-mail
message...' or click the Inbox link on the Windows Live Today page, Messenger
launches Windows Live Mail. I also want Messenger to launch Windows Live
Mail when I click the Mail button. How do I do this?

After I uninstalled MSN Explorer, Messenger started launching Windows Live
Mail whenever I clicked the Mail button. I was to curious to see whether it
would still do so after reinstalling MSN Explorer, but not so curious as to
actually follow through and pursue a definitive answer. I'm content without
MSN Explorer and happy to let things be for now since all is well and working
as expected.

Greetings,

Yeah that's by design. If you install Windows Live Desktop Mail it'll take over the function
too.

--
Jonathan Kay
Microsoft MVP - Windows Live Messenger/MSN Messenger/Windows Messenger
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com
All posts unless otherwise specified are (c) 2007 Jonathan Kay.
You *must* contact me for redistribution rights.
--

"lewist2ca" <> wrote in message
news:F72B97F1-0C95-40F8-8F15-...
> After I uninstalled MSN Explorer, Messenger started launching Windows Live
> Mail whenever I clicked the Mail button. I was to curious to see whether it
> would still do so after reinstalling MSN Explorer, but not so curious as to
> actually follow through and pursue a definitive answer. I'm content without
> MSN Explorer and happy to let things be for now since all is well and working
> as expected.
>

Yeah, that's quite annoying. Just as Jonathan Kay confirmed, when MSN
Explorer is installed, the Mail button on Messenger's main window launches
MSN Mail when clicked. I begrudgedly had to reinstall MSN Explorer as a
prerequisite to running MS Picture It! Express 9 -- yeah, go figure -- and,
since then, my Messenger's Mail button has reverted to launching MSN Mail
rather than Windows Live Mail as is specified in my PC's Internet Options
settings. Messenger's other means of e-mail access (i.e. menu pulldown
Actions -> Send other -> Send an e-mail message...) still launch Windows Live
Mail. Sigh.

Thanks, Jonathan, for the quick reply and assistance. I realize this is
working as designed though I hope the designers reconsider. I hesitate to
ask why this works as it does, but I think it is something that might be
changed or revisited. It's more than a minor annoyance. It's a bit
disturbing to suddenly have to interact with MSN Explorer if you don't use it
for anything else. Also, above and beyond an inconsistency in how Messenger
launches e-mail, I worry about security implications of the Mail button's
unconditional launch of MSN Mail or Windows Live Desktop. If, as I think it
does, MSN Mail downloads e-mail message information (i.e. headers, bodies,
attachments) to the local host PC, I worry that clicking the Mail button
while using Messenger on a foreign or shared host PC which happened to have
MSN Explorer or Windows Live Desktop installed could needlessly leave behind
personal information for others to find. That's why I think Messenger should
instead use the E-mail program specified via the settings in Internet Options
rather than unconditionally launch MSN Mail which just may happen to be
installed and available.