Fix 1: Start by Resetting Your Default Browser
Most times, I can fix my Outlook hyperlink problem by resetting my
default browser to Internet Explorer. I start with this step even if I
plan to use Firefox as my browser. The reason I choose this path is
I’ve had better success and it takes me closer to my end goal.
To make IE your default browser,
1. Open Internet Explorer
2. Click
Tools from the menu
3. Select
Internet Options.
4. Click the
Programs tab
5. Click the button labeled
Make Default.
6. Click
OK.
7. Test a hyperlink in Outlook to see if the web page opens in Internet Explorer.
Fix 2: Reregister Windows DLL Files
Even after resetting your default browser you still can’t open
hyperlink in Outlook, it could be one or more registry keys is damaged.
The solution is to reregister some of your DLL files. The process may
sound intimidating, but it’s easy. There are 6 files to register based
on your system. Some configurations use shdocvw.dll and others use
shdoc401.dll.
To reregister the DLL files,
1. Close all open programs.
2. Click the
Start button.
3. Select the
Run… command. Vista users can type “run” in the Start Search textbox.
4. In the
Open: textbox, type regsvr32 followed by a space and the file name.
In the screen snap below, I’ve used the first file Shdocvw.dll.
5. Click the
OK button. You should see a message showing the process succeeded.
6. Click
OK to dismiss the message.
7. Repeat the procedure for the other DLL files.
- regsvr32 Shdocvw.dll (Some system use Shdoc401.dll instead)
- regsvr32 Oleaut32.dll
- regsvr32 Actxprxy.dll
- regsvr32 Mshtml.dll
- regsvr32 Urlmon.dll
- regsvr32 Shell32.dll
8. As before, test to see if your Outlook hyperlink problem has been resolved.
Fix 3: Reset the (NONE) URL File Types
If you’ve gotten to this part, I have to figure your Outlook
hyperlinks are still broken. Don’t fret as I have another fix to try.
My guess is someplace along the line your file associations broke. This
is the mapping Windows uses to a file type to program. A common mapping
might be .XLS files with Microsoft Excel. In this case, we need to
check URL mappings.
To set URL file associations,
1. Open
My Computer.
2. From the
Tools menu, select
Folder Options…
3. Click the
File Types tab. A long list of Extensions and File Types appears.
4. Scroll down till you get to
(NONE) URL:HyperText Transfer Protocol
5. Click the
Advanced button.
6. Select the bold
open item. *
7. Click
Edit…
8. Click the
Browse… button
9. Navigate to where Internet Explorer is located. (For most PC, it’s at C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe)
10. Add a
space and
%1 to the end of the file name. (e.g. "C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" %1)
11. Click
OK.
12. Click
Close.
13. Repeat the process for
(NONE) URL:HyperText Transfer Protocol with Privacy.
* If open doesn’t show, click
New and type
open in the action box.
Back to Firefox (Optional)
Once you get the Outlook links to open in Internet Explorer, you can
change your default browser to Firefox. This should roll down to
Outlook so any embedded hyperlinks will open in the correct browser.
To set Firefox 3 as your default browser,
1. Open Firefox
2. Select
Tools from the menu
3. Select
Options…
4. Click
Advanced
5. Click the
Check Now button
6. Click
Yes if the default browser is not set.
7. Click
OK.
×