Ask Leo! by Leo A. Notenboom

How do I configure the email button on my keyboard?

Search First! Then browse: Categories | Full Archive | By Date | Newsletter

Home » Hardware » Keyboard, Mice and Other Input Devices

Summary: There are a couple of easy steps to take to configure the email button on your keyboard.

I just installed SP2 on XP and now my email button on my keyboard goes to a web based mail account and not my Outlook Express. How do I find the file for OE to insert on my keyboard button?

I'm kind of surprised SP2 affected this setting, but it should be an easy one to fix.

The specifics will vary beased on the manufacturer of your keyboard, but it's likely that all you need do is fire up Control Panel and double click on the keyboard item. In there there should be options that will let you configure the special buttons on your keyboard, including the email button.

To hook up Outlook Express as the mail client for that button you would specify msimn.exe. You'll probably need the full path, which is typically c:\Program Files\Outlook Express\msimn.exe

Why is Outlook Express's file "msimn.exe"? Historical reasons. It stands for MicroSoft Internet Mail and News. That's probably what it was called before they settled on the name "Outlook Express".

Related:

Article C2194 - October 1, 2004

Helpful? Get new articles weekly by email in my FREE newsletter!

Your Name:
Your Email:


Why Subscribe?

Recent Comments
15 Comments

Most of these problems are simply due to a lack of software for your particular keyboard. If you can locate the software cd that came with your keyboard (most, if not all, keyboards with "extra buttons" come bundled with a cd or floppy) then simply install the software and run it.

The software will either add extra options to your control panel icon or may run as an entirely seperate process. You should be able to change your button settings after you've installed the correct software.

If you can't find or lost your original keyboard software try going to the manufacturer's website to download it or try calling them and requesting a software disk.

Posted by: Thies at April 13, 2006 8:47 AM

I had the same problem with my keyboard, I went to HP and downloaded the updated driver and the button feature appeared.
Now I have another problem! When ever I shut down and restart my computer the button feature is still there, but it is empty.
If I wanted to change the buttons on the keyboard I would not be able to do it unless I install the driver again.
Why!!!

Posted by: Annemarie at July 29, 2006 5:21 PM

Everybody give Leo a break. There could be a thousand reasons why your email button stopped working. He gave a logical response. BUT here is what you can do if your email button stopped working after you installed uptades from microsoft like SP2. Simply go into your web browser and click "tools" then "internet options" and go to the "programs" tab and make sure you have "outlook express" listed in the E-mail drop down box. For some reason when you update to SP2 it gets left blank by default. This worked for me and it had nothing to do with keyboard settings or driver issues. Hope this helps

Posted by: beazleybub at January 23, 2007 10:04 AM

My buttons on my keyboard are mixed up. It is wireless but even my old corded keyboard had the same problem. My " and my @ and other keys like #,| ect. have been mixed. My pound sign has gone. How do i change it back? I have been on to control panel and keyboard but then what. I went to control panel and Regional and Language options but that says English UK (normal). What do i do? Please help!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!

Posted by: ss at January 29, 2007 11:27 AM

I did not use this way, all you have to do is click the little "EN" button next to your clock or your items on the task bar, and then click EN United Kingdom, that should change it.

Posted by: Inu^^ at June 23, 2007 4:43 AM

how do I configure compaq keyboard for outlook mail using hot mail that is connected to outlook

Posted by: Gerald R. Evans at October 29, 2007 5:34 AM

I have a similar problem with my emial button in windows Me. When I use my email button on my HP keyboard it opens up a yahoo emial sign in page. I want it to open Outlook express. When I go to the keyboard manager to change the button there is just one item in the menu. It just says email. Then there is a second box to choose and you type in what you want. I've tried outlook express, and every other variation of that and all the help I could find on the web, but with no luck. So I can I make my email button open up outlook express in windows me. Thank you for your help...

Posted by: Jimbo at February 8, 2008 6:14 AM

Hi Leo,
I have an HP 8540 running Win XP SP2.

Recently after adding some Windows updates,
I find that the "buttons" tab in the control panel > keyboard properties
pane is no longer showing. A visit to Www.hp.com shows keyboard drivers for earlier
versions of Windows, but not for XP.

All this means that I am no longer able to program the keys,
and worse still, the popular non HP driver SP26411.exe simply wipes all
my settings without providing a buttons tab.

Can you suggest a fix for this please.

Posted by: Martin Reed at February 15, 2009 8:37 AM

same thing happened to me so obviously it's an issue; also my nice LED blue lights for my card reader slots don't light up and CD player won't play, just opens and closes but doesn't read...

fixes are like prescription drugs. take this but it could do this, this, and this

thanks for listening to my rant; it's very frustrating try to fix stuff every time I update

Posted by: Sue at September 3, 2009 3:12 PM

After much dabbling I have a "workaround" for this problem.

The trick is to edit the CFG.INI file. On my PC this resides at C:\HP\KBD\CFG.INI

Copy your existing CFG.INI file to another folder, as a backup in case of trouble.

Then, using the "CONNECT" button as an example:-

Open CFG.INI using Notepad, find the heading [CurrentSct], then enter the following
below it on a new line:- Connect = "Google|http://www.google.co.uk/"
Then find the heading [CurrentUrl] and enter an identical new line below it.

Delete any pre-existing line(s) beneath these two headings that may contain Connect =

Delete C:\Program Files\Netropa\ or the button's name may not show at the bottom of the screen
when you come to use it.

Re-boot the PC for the changes to take effect and with luck the CONNECT button
should now open Google.

All 7 buttons along the top edge and 3 down the left side of the keyboard can
be set to visit websites (URLs), or open files on the PC. For opening files omit the entry under
the [CurrentUrl] heading.

The entries can go in any order under a heading, I use the order printed on the keyboard
labels.

Some buttons go under 2 names. The CFG.INI file lists the alternative
where appropriate. i.e. News/People & Weather/Finance etc.

Now, all buttons work as intended on my PC. Hope this works for you too.

Posted by: Martin Reed at November 8, 2009 1:01 PM

Post a comment on "How do I configure the email button on my keyboard?":






(Email Address will not be published.)

Remember Me?

By popular demand...
my tip jar
Cuppa Joe
Buy Leo a Latte!

(you may use HTML tags for style)

RSS feed Subscribe to the RSS Feed specifically for comments on this article.

Before commenting, please...

  • Read the article at the top of this page. If your comment shows you didn't, it'll be deleted and ignored.

  • Comment only on this article. Use the Google search box at the top of the page if you have a question about something else.

  • Don't include personal information in the comment. No email addresses. No phone numbers. No physical addresses.

  • Don't spam. Excessive links to unrelated sites within a comment or across multiple comments will cause all such comments to be removed.

  • Don't ask me to recover lost passwords or hacked accounts. I can't, and those comments will be deleted.

  • I can't respond to every comment. And I can't vouch for the accuracy of others who do.

Please wait. Your comment is being processed ...


Question? Ask Leo!