When e-mail links won’t cooperate

Q. I have Windows XP home edition, and I can’t click on e-mail links. I have to “copy shortcut” and paste the address into my outgoing message. I used to be able to connect normally, but a year or so ago this feature ceased.

A. The issue is that there’s no mail program associated with your e-mail links, said Jon Jordan, president of Atlantic Business Technologies, a Web services firm in Raleigh.

Open Internet Explorer and go to the “tools” menu, then “Internet options.” Select the “programs” tab and choose your preferred mail editor from the drop-down e-mail menu. You should now be able to compose a message when you click on an e-mail link.

However, if you use Yahoo or Gmail as your e-mail client, you may find that it’s not listed in the drop-down menu. Microsoft lists its own e-mail programs as default options, so you’ll probably have to download additional software to add your preferred client.

If you would like to use Yahoo Mail, download Yahoo Instant Messenger (messenger.yahoo.com), advises Leo Notenboom, who writes the online “Ask Leo” column. He suggests running a custom install so that you can add only the features you want — just be sure to leave “browser services” checked. This should add Yahoo Mail to your drop-down menu.

Setting up Gmail as your default is a little more complicated, as it doesn’t seem you can add it as a default setting on the drop-down menu. Notenboom suggests installing Gmail Notifier (toolbar.google.com/gmail-helper/notifier_windows.html).

One of the options when you’re installing the program is to “use for outgoing mail.” Click that, and it should set Gmail as your default mail program. If you ever need to reset it after installation, right-click on the little notifier envelope at the bottom right of your screen, choose “options” and click the box for “use Gmail for Internet mail to: links.”

Other Internet geeks suggest that downloading the Google toolbar (pack.google.com) will add Gmail to the default drop-down list. I didn’t have any luck with that solution.

Q. I have Firefox as my default browser. I also use AIM instant messaging. AIM causes Internet Explorer to load every time I turn on the computer. Is there any way to stop this from happening, short of canceling AIM?

A. Try this: Open AIM and go to “edit,” then “settings” and “sign-in/sign out,” Jordan said. You’ll see a setting for “when I sign in, display the following,” with the options of “AIM Dashboard” or “none.” If you select “none,” when AIM starts and signs in, it shouldn’t launch any kind of Web browser, he said.

Remember Mom: As Mother’s Day approaches, consider this: Women want high-tech gadgets, but they don’t want them to look girly. Gift-givers should think sleek and sophisticated, not pink and cutesy, according to a survey by the advertising firm Saatchi & Saatchi.

By the way, Mother’s Day is May 11.

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2008, The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.).