Tired of Mail popping up for every email address you click? Find out here how to make Outlook the default email client on a Mac (even Outlook.com on the web).

You can make Airmail as the default mail client for your OS X device. To make Airmail your default mail client go to Apple Mail app preferences and set default mail reader as Airmail as shown below. If the above process does not work, please follow the steps: You can reset Apple's Preferences Database. Open Terminal (Cmd+Space Bar and enter. Fantastical Integration Fantastical is a very elegant 3rd party app available for macOS, which is used by many power users to keep their calendar entries. To integrate Airmail with Fantastical, Make sure that you have Fantastical installed on your Mac. Airmail Preferences Services Fantastical Enable. OS X makes dealing with startup items really easy — you just head into the preferences and add or remove things from the list. But if you’re a recent convert to Mac, you might not know how to do it. But now you will.

How to Make Outlook the Default Email Client on a Mac: FAQ

First, It’s Easier to Catch a Lion Awake

…than it is to meet an elephant that sleeps.

For elephants, it turns out, sleep a mere 2 to 2½ hours per day. This is a record low for mammals (the lion we caught before dozes away some 80% of the day) and makes sleeplessness their clear default.

Mail on your Mac seems never to sleep either, catching each request for email, each request you want to send to Outlook for Mac instead?

Let’s wake up the latter to be the Mac email default:

How to Make Outlook the Default Email Client on a Mac

Time needed: 5 minutes.

Macos Default Email App

To set up Microsoft Outlook for Mac as the default email program on your Mac using macOS:

Open Mail.
Select Mail | Preferences… from the menu in Mail.
Mac keyboard shortcut: Press Command, to open Mail settings.
Go to the General tab.
Click the current default email program under Default email reader.
Tip: This is also where you make any other email program the Mac default.
Select Microsoft Outlook from the list of choices.
Close the Mail preferences window as well as Mail itself.

How to Make Outlook the Default Email Client on a Mac: FAQ

Microsoft Outlook is not in the list of email programs; what can I do?

If Outlook is missing from the list of choices for the default email program but is installed on macOS and happily running, you can try picking it manually:

Open Mail preferences. (See above.)
Go to the General tab.
Under Default email reader:, choose Select….
Look for and highlight Microsoft Outlook in the Applications folder or a personal applications folder.
Note: If you installed Outlook in a custom location, do navigate there, of course, and highlight the Microsoft Outlook application.
Click Select.

Can I make Outlook on the Web at Outlook.com my default Mac email program?

Yes, using Google Chrome, you can use turn Outlook.com into an app, which you can configure as your default email program:

Macos fantastical default email app free

Open Outlook.com in Chrome.
Click Install Outlook (
Now click Install.
Note: This will install Outlook on the Web as a Chrome Web App on your Mac.
Open Mail preferences. (See above.)
On the General tab under Default email reader:, pick Select….
Navigate to your Chrome Apps folder.
Tip: By default, the folder is ~/Applications/Chrome Apps.
Highlight Outlook.
Click Select.

(How to make Outlook the default email client on a Mac tested with macOS Big Sur 11.0 and Catalina 10.15; updated May 2021)

Default Email App Mac

Use the instructions below if you'd like to set Outlook as your default mail app.

Quick Version:

Macos Fantastical Default Email App Free

Start the Apple Mail App
1. To find it, click on the magnifying glass in the top right corner and type Mail
Select Exchange from the list of Mail account providers and click Continue
Enter your name and email address and click 'Sign In'
On the 'Sign in to your Exchange account using Microsoft?' screen, click 'Sign In'
Enter your CWL password and click 'Sign In'
Click Done
Click on Mail in the top left corner of the screen and select Preferences
Set the 'Default email reader:' to 'Microsoft Outlook'

Detailed Version:

Mac Os Default Email Client

Start the Apple Mail App
1. To find it, click on the magnifying glass in the top right corner and type Mail
Select Exchange from the list of Mail account providers and click Continue
Enter your name and email address and click 'Sign In'
On the 'Sign in to your Exchange account using Microsoft?' screen, click 'Sign In'
Enter your CWL password and click 'Sign In'
Click Done
Click on Mail in the top left corner of the screen and select Preferences
Set the 'Default email reader:' to 'Microsoft Outlook'