Windows 10: Clicking links keep asking me to choose between browsers

I's good to know that I'm not the only one. I also searched around for a solution on MS Office forums. Since there are others maybe if we all complain enough to Microsoft they will address it. I was doing the beta testing thing with Windows 10 on my laptop but I got out of it after a week and used an image backup to restore Windows 7. It was way too quirky for me. Too many programs were conflicting. I am glad they mostly ironed out my issues in the final release.

 

Yes JerseyBiker, if you also post on the Windows Forum, I'm sure that will help - I posted on Office - other apps (they don't have one for Outlook). It does appear to be an Outlook-only issue and I'm now convinced it is a file protection issue. Unlike Ztruker, I think Microsoft will sort it eventually as IE and Outlook are both theirs and they don't want people to move to Chrome or Firefox, especially as Edge is, well, a little blunt at the moment *Smile. I think it will get sorted in a subsequent Windows Update and it will suddenly go away, or someone will sort it as it is clearly an issue with all Outlooks (although I have no experience of Office 2016 - I may have a play tomorrow with the preview of it in a VM - if I do I will report back)!

 

OK - I know I'm slightly OCD, but I had to create a VM and install Office 2016 *Smile

Before I tell you the result, I'll let you know the order I did things in. I had a minimal installation of Windows 10, which was an upgrade from a minimal installation of Windows 8.1. I then installed Office 2010 and the problem with Internet Explorer that JerseyBiker outlined was present - the same problem that a friend of mine has with Office 2007 (I have reproduced the fault on several different PCs with different builds - all behave the same - I have not been able to test with Office 2013 as I don't have access to a copy). I then installed the Office 2016 preview, which replaces the Office 2010. I have not changed any default settings in Windows 10 (so the default browser is still IE). I then ran Outlook and opened the test email I have with a hyperlink. I then clicked on the hyperlink and waited.....

It opened without a problem - no prompt! So, Office 2016 will solve the issue. So now I will have to save up for the £620 it will cost me to put Professional on my PC and Home and Business on my wife's laptop when it comes out later this year! (I don't like paying an annual subscription so Office 365 is not an option for me - I intend to keep the new version for about 10 years so it will be cheaper in the long term anyway!)

So, the solution is to buy Office 2016 when it comes out *Smile That is, unless someone posts a fix in the meantime.

All the very best,

Neville

 

This is a workaround that I have tested succesfully.
Make Chrome the default browser in the popup.
Copy iexplorer.exe from C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer to C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application
Rename chrome.exe to something else.
Then rename the copied iexplorer.exe to chrome.exe.
The links from Email are now fooled into opening Internet Explorer instead of Chrome with no popup.
This works even after a reboot.
Regards

 

Brilliant! An excellent idea and it works a treat - many thanks!

Neville

 

Sorry Billybigun, I spoke too soon - as soon as you re-boot the PC, the links don't work at all, so it only works until you re-boot the PC - rats!

Neville

 

I have the same issue with Outlook 2007, but have 2003 on another pc and it works fine. I hope they fix this soon, it's a pain. Edge is not ready for prime time yet.

 

I have exactly the same problem with Outlook 2007 as well. It's driving me nuts!

 

I'm also using Outlook 2007 on my Windows 7, 8 and 10 machines. I've gone to the same entry (Default Programs) in the Control Panel and am able to change between Internet Explorer and Chrome easily, except in Windows 10 I can change between Chrome and Edge, but not Internet Explorer, It just comes up with the popup.

 

This thread is a couple of months old, but I don't see the problem was solved. Here is the solution:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3094186

 

Thanks for that link. However, the fix they provide does not work with Windows 10!!
In my case, I have selected Firefox as my preferred browser. However, if I click on ANY hyperlink, it asks me if I want to use Firefox, or another browser. Again, if I tick the "Always use this" box, it still does the same thing next time.

 

How do you have this set?

 

Hi,
Thanks for quick response.
Yes, I have Firefox set up as default browser, and checked through Control Panel.
However, I did not state clearly the problem - sorry!
In fact, it's the links I click on while in Microsoft Outlook 2016 that pop up the annoying question. It highlights Firefox, but still asks if I want to use this program.
So this is probably better addressed to an Outlook forum!

 

If you have FF set to open all it can, and it's only doing it in Outlook 2016, you may be right..... an Outlook Forum question. It is known that MS has been pushing their defaults lately, making life rough.

 

If you go to Settings > System > Default Apps, down at the bottom there is a Choose default Apps by file type, and Choose default Apps by protocol. Have a look in there.