Windows Live Mail took over Outlook

[jmt356]

On my new Windows 7 computer, I went to File | Send as email attachment in Adobe Reader, and Windows guided me through an account set up. Next thing I know my email is being sent through Windows Live Mail and I am no longer getting my emails into Microsoft Outlook.

I really don't want to use Windows Live Mail. I see no reason to have to learn to use a new program, and to be honest, I am already quite happy with Outlook and it came with Office so it's not like I am benefitting from another free email program like Windows Live Mail. And I'm already busy trying to learn Windows 7 and Office 2007 on my new laptop and don't want to have to spend time learning yet another new program. Especially since I already know the keyboard shortcuts to Outlook.

So how can I disable Windows Live Mail to make it possible to once again receive my emails in Outlook?

Also, is there any good reason to give up Outlook and switch to Windows Live Mail and can Windows Live Mail sync with a Blackberry?

JMT

[HansV]

Select Start | Default Programs.
Click Set Default Programs.
Select Microsoft Office Outlook.
Click Set this program as default.
Click OK.

(It's fine to keep on using Outlook)

[jmt356]

Thank you! Now is there any way to download to Outlook those 5 emails that Windows Live Mail downloaded? Outlook is now downloading only those emails since I restored it as the default email program. I have selected "Leave a copy of messages on the server," and indeed they are still on the server,now how can I download them to Outlook? I already tried to drag the items from Live Mail to Outlook, but it wouldn't let me.

[HansV]

Click the "File" menu of Windows Live Mail and select Export E-mail. Select Microsoft Exchange as format. You may be asked to select an Outlook profile.

See How to export email messages from Windows Live Mail into Outlook.

[jmt356]

I just opened up Windows Live Mail in order to follow your suggestions, and while it was opened it again downloaded emails from my Gmail account even though I set up Outlook under the defaults you suggested. Outlook was working fine downloading these messages, but only as long as I had windows live mail not set as my default. So Windows Live Mail just downloaded another 6 messages taht I can't get to Outlook.

I also followed those steps you outlined, but the messages remained in Live Mail and are not showing up in OUtlook, even though I got the message telling me the operation was successful.

Also, the article you pointed me to gives directions on how to "export messages from Windows Live Mail in Windows 7 into Windows Vista and into Windows XP," but I want to export messages from Windows Live Mail into Outlook. So I followed http://support.microsoft.com/kb/196347/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, under "To export the messages from Outlook Express, follow these steps," which is virtually the same anyhow.

Could the problem be that I am selecting Microsoft Exchange, even though my Gmail is set to Pop3?

Regards,

JMT

[HansV]

1) Setting Outlook as default does not mean that Windows Live Mail won't work anymore. It just means that e-mail links will open Outlook.

If you don't want Windows Live Mail to download your messages when you start it:
- Start Windows Live Mail.
- Click the menu button in the upper left corner.
- Select Options > E-mail.
- Activate the General tab.
- Clear the check box "Send and receive messages at startup".
- Click OK.

2) The export to Exchange option is intended for both Exchange and Outlook, as explicitly stated in the article.
Exporting does NOT remove the messages from Windows Live Mail. It exports them.

[jmt356]

Actually, I found three copies of each of the messages that I exported to Outlook 3 times (3 copies of each messages since I exported 3 times), but they are only showing up in my Unread Mail folder. Normally, items in the Unread Mail folder also show up in the corresponding inbox, but these are not. And in my inbox, the number 47 appears in parenthesis (this indicates the number of unread messages), but in Unread Mail, 64 are showing up, which means that they are not showing up in my inbox. Why is this???

[HansV]

Apparently there are unread messages in other folders. Activate the Folder List (Ctrl+6) and see if there are other folders with a number behind it.

[jmt356]

I just found them.

Under my Personal Folders folder, Outlook had created a subfolder, complete with its own Drafts, Inbox, Junkmail, and Sent items subfolders, into which it imported the messages from Live Mail. I'm not sure if it's been there the whole time, but I suspect it was and I just didn't see it until today.

So it's good to know that when exporting messages from Windows Live mail, Outlook stores them in a subfolder, not in the Personal Folders Inbox.

I moved all those messages into my Personal Folders and deleted the subfolders.