XCLN: Mailto Hyperlink in Office 97 Word Document Opens Two E-Mail Client New Message Dialog Boxes (269024)

SYMPTOMS

If you compose a Microsoft Word 97 document and include a "Mailto" hyperlink that uses a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) address (for example, someone@microsoft.com), and then click that hyperlink, two new e-mail message dialog boxes are displayed.

CAUSE

This issue can occur because the hyperlink code for the Mailto feature in Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.x products is the source of the second message dialog box.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, upgrade to Internet Explorer 5 or later, or upgrade to Microsoft Office 2000 (which upgrades Internet Explorer to Internet Explorer 5).

MORE INFORMATION

This issue has been resolved by new code in Internet Explorer 5 and later. This issue is also resolved when you install the Office 2000 products (which install Internet Explorer 5 as part of the setup). This issue occurs when you use Outlook or Microsoft Outlook Express, regardless of the version.

Other Known Issues

If you have more than one occurrence of Internet Explorer 4.x running, two new e-mail message dialog boxes are displayed for each occurrence of Internet Explorer 4.x.
This issue was tested with all available fixes for Internet Explorer 4.x, and no patch or fix exists that resolves this issue except an upgrade to Internet Explorer 5 or later.
This issue occurs with Outlook and Outlook Express. This issue occurs because of an error in the Mailto code that Word calls in Internet Explorer 4.x.