Windows 7: Windows Mail

15. Internet Explorer 9 breaks Windows Mail functionality FIXED!

Windows Mail relies on functions provided by Internet Explorer for many of its features. Internet Explorer 9, which is installed automatically in Windows Vista via Windows Update, changes some of those functions so that Windows Mail features are adversely impacted and no longer work properly. Users see the following impairments:

a. The default message viewing font is no longer what is specified in Windows Mail via Tools | Options | Read | Fonts (for instance, the user may have Arial selected but with IE 9 installed sees Times New Roman instead). b. Messages which include attachments no longer indicate they have attachments and the attachments cannot be saved (no paperclip indicator is present and File | Save Attachments is disabled).
c. Messages which have linked images embedded in them no longer display the yellow information bar to enable showing the images.

Uninstalling IE 9 rectifies these problems. Workarounds also exist to overcome some of these bugs:

a. For the font specification issue, one can go to Tools | Internet Options | Fonts in IE 9 and then change the default font there and then the default font in Windows Mail will be that font. One can also use MS-MVP Grzegorz Niemirowski's OE Power Tool (Centrum Outlook Express - OE PowerTool) to create a custom css file and dictate the proper font that way. b. For the attachments issue, if the user goes to Tools | Options | Read and checks the option to read messages in plain text only, then after reopening the message one can again see the paperclip and save the attachments. Or one can open the message in a separate message window, rather than reading via the preview pane window, and then one is able to save the attachments from the attachment toolbar (but not from File | Save Attachments).
c. For the infobar issue, if one opens the message in a separate window, then the info bar will appear again. One could also go to Tools | Options | Security and uncheck the option to block linked images, but that would then reopen the user up to spam, so it is not advised.

Microsoft has been largely unresponsive to MVP requests for fixes to these bugs, so the user is stuck with either employing the workarounds or just uninstalling IE 9.

To uninstall IE 9 go to Control Panel | Programs and Features and click on View Installed Updates on the left. Then find Windows Internet Explorer 9 and uninstall it, and it will then revert to IE 8 and the issue will be resolved (see also How do I install or uninstall Internet Explorer 9?). However, the computer will continue to try and install IE 9, since Windows Update forces it, so go to Start | Programs | Windows Update and manually check for updates. When it says there are updates, click on the Custom and not Express configuration choice and then right click on the IE 9 option and choose to Hide the update. Then see if it will prevent IE 9 installation the next time Windows does its updating.

UPDATE: The IE 9 security patch from October 11, 2011 seems to fix these issues. See MS11-081: Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer: October 11, 2011.