Want to change from Mail to a different program to handle emails and email links? Find out here how to set the default email program on a Mac.

First, Old Zeeland

In the Netherland’s very South and West, two islands and four peninsulas cuddle with a bite off the European mainland to form a picturesque and seaworthy province called “Zeeland.”

New Zeeland—later New Zealand—, you guessed it, was named after it.

Want to leave your old email program (as picturesque as it may be) behind for a new one? The journey is a brief one on a Mac:

How to Set the Default Email Program on a Mac

To change the default email program on a Mac using macOS:

  1. Open Mail.
    • Using the keyboard: Press Command Space to bring up Spotlight, start typing mail and select Mail (Application).
  2. Select Mail | Preferences… from the menu.
    • Keyboard shortcut: You can also press Command , to open Mail preferences.
  3. Go to the General tab.
  4. Select the desired email program under Default email reader:.
    • Note: If the program you want to use for email is not in the list, you can choose Select…, find and double-click the program to add it to the list.
  5. Close the General Mail preferences window.

Example: How to Make Outlook the Default Email Program on a Mac

To set Outlook to be the default for email on macOS:

  1. Open Mail.
  2. Select Mail in the menu bar.
  3. Choose Preferences… from the menu that has opened.
  4. Make sure you are on the General tab.
  5. Now select Outlook under Default email reader:.
  6. Quit Mail.

(How to set the default email program on a Mac tested using macOS Mojave 10.14; updated October 2018)