Change/add email client in Start Menu

studentdave

Hi, I need someone to help us out

I have windows XP home edition. When I click on the start menu at the top they are two options of Internet and Email clients. The Internet is set to Internet Explorer which is fine however the E-mail client says Hotmail underneath it, I do not use hotmail. I went into Taskbar settings then customise and I only have the option of Outlook Express and Hotmail, I was wondering if its possible to add an email client (internet link as i have an internet based email which is not compatible with outlook) into this through the registry.

I know there is a way through using the registry, some1 help us out

tigermatt

is this what you are looking for? http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q297878

studentdave

yeap but I dont understand that. Can someone break it down 4 me?

tigermatt

Another way could just be to create a shortcut on your start menu to your webmail site. You can then go to your start menu, find the shortcut and drag it to the area where "Internet" and "Email" appears. Your shortcut will now appear in this area and you can turn off the Email link in the Start Menu properties box.

studentdave

It doesnt let me create a sub heading that way, it doesnt look right

I want it to say Email then my the name of the account underneath. Like it says E-mail then Outlook Express.

tigermatt

It looks like you will need to get a .dll file containing information about the website link - you can't just type in a website address (I've just tried) as this doesn't work. If you can obtain a dll file containing the necessary information (must be specific to your webmail site) then post back and I will (try to) help you to configure it. Otherwise, the other option (even though it doesn't say "E-mail") is probably the best way to go. (And the least confusing)

tigermatt

Hi there,

I've just had a play around with this and have managed to get it to work.

Here's what you have to do:

1. Open regedit.exe by clicking Start > Run and typing regedit.exe.
2. In the left-hand menu, browse down through the following browser tree: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Clients\Mail.
3. Right-click the Mail folder and select "Key" from the "New" menu.
4. You will need to type a name for your entry. I am going to use Yahoo Mail for my entry, although you should replace this for the name of your webmail interface. Type the name then press OK.
5. Click your newly created Key (or folder). In the main area on the right, you should see an entry called (Default). Double-click (Default) and enter the name of your mail interface in the properties box. This text will appear below "E-mail" on the start menu.
6. Now, (still in the newly created key) right-click any of the blank white area in the main part of the window, then select New then select String.
7. You will now see "New Value #1" highlighted. Type over this with the string DLLPath
8. Double-click this string and enter into the properties box the string shown below, including the quotation marks in their appropriate places. Replace http://mail.yahoo.co.uk/ for the website address to your webmail interface.
   
   "C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" http://mail.yahoo.co.uk/
9. Now right-click any of the white area and select "Key" from the "New" menu. You will notice a new key highlighted in the left-hand pane. Type "shell" (without the quotes).
10. Now right-click shell in the left-hand pane and select "Key" again from the new menu. For the name of the new key, enter "Open" (without the quotes)
11. Now right-click Open in the left-hand pane and select "Key" again from the new menu. For the name of the new key, enter "command" (without the quotes)
12. Select the newly created Command key in the left hand menu. In the (Default) value, you need to enter the string shown below again, preserving the quotes in the necessary places, and replacing the URL for your webmail interface.
    
    "C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" http://mail.yahoo.co.uk/
    
13. Now you should be able to select this from your Start Menu Properties box. Have fun (You may need to restart your computer first)

I have used Internet Explorer for the links above, although it may be possible to use other browsers like Opera. I haven't included those as it may get confusing and Internet Explorer is the most likely borwser you have.

I do hope this helps you solve your problem. tigermatt