Clicking on an email link on a web page while browsing the Internet automatically opens your default desktop email client. Generally, your default desktop email client or program is Outlook Express or Thunderbird. However, many persons access their email directly on the web through the browser instead of using such desktop email clients. For them also, when they click on an email link in a browser their default email client such as Outlook Express or Thunderbird gets opened automatically and normally with an error message too since usually in such a case the desktop email client might not have been configured or set up with an email address. How to make sure that when you click on an email link in the browser, your online Yahoo! Mail account (or similar other account, as the case may be) should automatically get activated?
Now, it is possible to make your Yahoo! Mail account as the default email program on your computer, which will open automatically when an email link is clicked in the browser, or if want to send an email from any other Windows application such as from Microsoft Word. [If you want to make your Gmail account as your default email client in Firefox browser on your computer, then read my earlier article Gmail as default email program in Firefox with Google Toolbar.]
When you make Yahoo! Mail as your default email program, clicking on any email link (which generally has a mailto: protocol) in a browser will open your Yahoo! Mail account with a compose mail window in your browser, instead of opening your desktop email client such as Outlook Express or Thunderbird. Thus, you’ll be able to send email through your Yahoo! Mail account when you so click on an email link in your browser. Likewise, your Yahoo! Mail account will open with a compose mail window in your default browser even if you want to send an email from any other Windows program that supports sending email using default email client, such as Microsoft Word.
To make Yahoo! Mail as the default email program for your computer, you’ll have to install Yahoo! Toolbar for Internet Explorer (and, not for Firefox). If you already 
have Yahoo! Toolbar installed for Internet Explorer and yet Yahoo! Mail is not your default email client, then perhaps you might be using an older version of Yahoo! Toolbar; so, you may uninstall it and then install the latest Yahoo! Toolbar in a proper manner as described below. You can freely download the latest version of Yahoo! Toolbar for Internet Explorer (at the time of writing this article, it is version 8.0) by clicking here.
During the installation of Yahoo! Toolbar for IE, you’ll be asked to select the following Installation Options:
Be sure to select Install the Yahoo! Mail Plug-in and make Yahoo! Mail my default Mail Provider from these options.
Once the installation is complete with the above option selected, Yahoo! Mail will become your default email program on your computer. That’s it! You can check it by clicking on Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Internet Options on the Windows. The Internet Properties dialog box opens; select the Programs tab. Under Internet programs heading, you’ll find that Yahoo! Mail is now listed as default email program under E-mail sub-heading, as shown in the following image:
However, if this is not the case, then you can manually select Yahoo! Mail as default email program from the drop-down list-box listing various email programs under the above E-mail sub-heading.
It may be pointed out that Yahoo! Toolbar (v. 7.2 and above) for Internet Explorer (and, not for Firefox) is the correct Toolbar needed to be downloaded that will make Yahoo! Mail as the default email program for your computer. However, once you have done it, Yahoo! Mail will become your default email client not only on the Internet Explorer but also on other browsers including Firefox and Google Chrome. Moreover, it will become your default email program also for sending email from within any other Windows program that supports sending email using default email client, such as Microsoft Word. Therefore, Yahoo! Mail will now open (instead of opening your desktop email client like Outlook Express or Thunderbird) when you click an email link in any browser and when you select the option to send an email from some other supported Windows application.
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thanku. great post. i could follow ur instructons.
What the heck???? You only gave instructions for internet explore? how about chrome and firefox. Even though your blog title posted those 3 browsers you only show on.
I have been trying to figure out, how to make the mailto links go to my yahoo email.
Please see the last paragraph of this article, where I’ve already clarified the position like this:
“It may be pointed out that Yahoo! Toolbar (v. 7.2 and above) for Internet Explorer (and, not for Firefox) is the correct Toolbar needed to be downloaded that will make Yahoo! Mail as the default email program for your computer. However, once you have done it, Yahoo! Mail will become your default email client not only on the Internet Explorer but also on other browsers including Firefox and Google Chrome. Moreover, it will become your default email program also for sending email from within any other Windows program that supports sending email using default email client, such as Microsoft Word. …”
Therefore, while the procedure involves changing the settings through the Yahoo! Toolbar for Internet Explorer (because this toolbar has the relevant feature of making it default email program), one this procedure is followed, Yahoo! Mail will become the default email for the computer as a whole including for other browsers as well, such as Chrome and Firefox. I hope this position is clear. In case of any doubt, please do let me know.