How to Make Yahoo Your Default Email Program in Windows

Yahoo stopped supporting its Yahoo Mail app for Windows 10 in mid-2017 and discontinued Yahoo Messenger in July 2018, which prevents Yahoo Mail from being selected as the default email program in Windows 10. However, the Mail app in Windows 10 supports Yahoo Mail. To set up a Yahoo Mail account in the Mail app, open Mail, click the Settings gear and select "Manage accounts" in the flyout menu. Choose "Add account" and click on Yahoo in the list. Enter your credentials and click "Done."

Note: This article is preserved for historical purposes: If you use Yahoo Mail for all your email needs, some of the amenities of Windows seem to elude you. A click on an email link in your browser brings up Outlook Express or another desktop email program, not a new message in Yahoo Mail. Trying to send a file directly from Word, OpenOffice.org or another office application yields the same, unsatisfactory result.

Fortunately, the state of dissatisfaction need not be permanent. It will be overcome by making Yahoo Mail act as your default email program in Windows, which, if you use Windows 95 or later is an easy thing to do.

To set up Yahoo Mail as your default email client in Windows:

• Download and install Yahoo Messenger.
• Select Tools | Internet Options... from the menu in Internet Explorer.
• Go to the Programs tab.
• Make sure Yahoo Mail is selected under E-mail.
• Click OK.

Unfortunately, Yahoo Mail as your default email program may be ​hardwired to use Internet Explorer instead of your default browser, and it does not work in Windows Vista.

In Mozilla Firefox, you can make Yahoo Mail handle email links no matter the operating system you use.