TITLE
    Browse the Internet & Mail Icons: Setting the Helper Applications
Article ID:
Created:
Modified: 		24158
8/6/97
7/29/99
TOPIC

    I have a couple questions regarding the Browse the Internet and Mail icons which came with Mac OS 8 and setting the Helper Applications.

      1. Double-clicking either of these icons opens a specific browser or mail Internet application. I want to change what application the icon opens, how do I do that?
      2. When I open one of these icons, I get an error dialog that says in part, "Your internet preferences do not specify which helper application to use for browsing the World Wide Web. (Use Internet Config to set helper applications.)" What do I do?
    DISCUSSION
    First, it is important to note that the two icons on the desktop are preconfigured for the default applications provided as a convenience to less experienced users who may not understand which application to open in order to use these functions. It is perfectly acceptable, though, to open your Internet application of choice directly by double-clicking its application icon wherever it resides on your hard disk, thus bypassing these two shortcuts entirely (which can be safely thrown away if no longer used).

    When launched,these shortcuts check the Preferences folder for a file named Internet Preferences, which is created by the either the Internet Config application or the Internet control panel (Mac OS 8.5 and later). This file contains, among other things, the setting for your default Internet applications. If no application has been set as the default, the error dialog you describe in Question 2 will appear.

    NOTE : The error dialog may also appear if the Internet Preferences file is missing or damaged.

    Changing The Default Application Used by the Browse the Internet and Mail Icons
    Use this procedure to change the default browser used by the Browse The Internet icon, or to set the default application for the first time.

    Mac OS 8.5 and later:
      1. Open the Internet control panel.
      2. Click on the Web tab.
      3. Choose a web browser from the "Default Web Browser" pop-up menu at the bottom of the window. The E-mail and News tabs have similar menus.
      4. Close the control panel and allow it to save the changes.

    Other Mac OS Versions:
      1. Open the Internet Config application. Mac OS 8 installs it in the following location: Macintosh HD --> Internet --> Internet Utilities --> Internet Config.
      2. When opened, Internet Config will display a window containing 10 options that appear as buttons. Click once on the option named Helpers.
      3. A list should appear, showing a number of different file types and the applications defined to work with them. Choose the item that begins "http", then click Change.
      4. If you do not have an "http" file type listed, click Add, and type "http" in the field listed "Helper for:" in the Add Helper window that comes up.
      5. In the Add Helper window, click Choose Helper... . A standard Open dialog will appear, navigate to and then select the web browser of your choice.
    Steps 3 and 5 may be repeated for other file types such as "https", that use a web browser to switch to your preferred web browser.

    For setting the default application for the Mail icon, the above steps can be repeated for the file type "mailto" instead of "http".

    Most other settings will be just fine as they are. When quitting Internet Config, be sure to let it save changes when it prompts you to do so. The Internet Preferences file will be modified to reflect the changes you have made.


Document Information
Product Area: Apple Software; Communications-Networking
Category: Internet Connection
Sub Category: General Topics

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