Hi folks,

I have a curious thing happening and maybe someone can point me in the right
direction. I recently installed a number of updates on my Win98 system.
These included the Service pack for MS Office 2000, an upgrade from IE 5.01
to IE5.5 and finally an upgrade to Netscape from version 4.7 to 4.74

I always prefer Netscape to IE and have always set Netscape as my default
browser. Of course, after upgrading IE5.5 it wanted to be my default but I
have told it 'no thanks'. I have asked for IE5.5 not to check if it is
default, and not to be default.

Now the strange part is that when I am in Outlook 2000, sometimes Netscape
is the default and other times IE5 is the default. How can it be both?

For example, if I am reading mail in Outlook 2000 and there is a hyperlink
in the document, clicking that underlined link always used to launch
Netscape. Now, it seems to launch Netscape if the link was contained in a
"regular" text message, i.e. a non-HTML formatted page, but if the message
is in HTML format, and I press a link, IE5.5 starts up instead. Even if I
have Netscape open! I never had this duality before.

When I am viewing a non-HTML page in Outlook 2000, and I move the cursor
over a hyperlink, all that happens is the usual little hand pointer comes
up, the Outlook status bar remains blank, and if I click the link, Netscape
launches (as it should).

When I am viewing an HTML page and I do the same, i.e. highlight a
hyperlink, not only do I get the pointing finger, but the Outlook status bar
(in the bottom left corner), now reads  "Shortcut to...whatever". That is
when I get IE5.5. launched instead.

Somehow Outlook is interpreting a hyper link in a non-HTML page as a
hyperlink, and launching my default browser (Netscape) but if the page is
HTML, Outlook is interpreting that as a 'shortcut' and launches IE5.5 even
though that is not my default browser.

If this had been the case all along, I would attribute this as an Outlook
quirk. But I never had this phenomenon before the upgrades. Is this simply
another MS trick to hijack my settings?  Interestingly enough, in the
Outlook Help, it says you can shift-right click on a hyperlink, and it is
supposed to launch a  "locate your browser" dialogue to enable you to switch
the browser default, but this also does not work.

BTW, I installed the upgrade to IE5.5 BEFORE Netscape, so any setting that
IE5 railroaded, Netscape should have been able to hijack back. But not in
this case...

I suspect that it is something in Outlook as opposed to IE5.5 per se, but
have no idea how to maintain Netscape as my default browser IN ALL
CIRCUMSTANCES, not just some.

Please note that I have already checked in the "Folder Options" under "File
Types" and indeed Netscape is set as my associated applications for URL's.


Any clues?

Thanks,

Michael

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