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When I try to open hyperlinks in a Microsoft Office program like Excel or Outlook the following message is shown:

Your organization's policies are preventing us from completing this action for you. For more info, please contact your help desk.

How can I resolve this so it opens Hyperlinks with my default browser?

FreeSoftwareServers
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Paryshaan
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  • what version of office? – FreeSoftwareServers Oct 10 '18 at 03:55
  • So this happened to me because Firefox froze during its uninstall and had to be force-quit. It left `HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.html` and others' *Default Value* (the `@="htmlfile"` bit below) as `"FirefoxHTML"`. Thanks all. – BaseZen Apr 27 '20 at 18:46

11 Answers11

33

The "official fix" does not support Windows 10. The solution below works for Windows 10:

  1. Create a new text file with the content below and save it:

    Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.html]
@="htmlfile"
"Content Type"="text/html"
"PerceivedType"="text"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.htm]
@="htmlfile"
"Content Type"="text/html"
"PerceivedType"="text"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.shtm]
@="htmlfile"
"Content Type"="text/html"
"PerceivedType"="text"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.shtml]
@="htmlfile"
"Content Type"="text/html"
"PerceivedType"="text"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\htmlfile\shell\open\command]
@="\"C:\\Program Files\\Internet Explorer\\IEXPLORE.EXE\" -nohome"\

  2. Change the extension from .txt to .reg (you might need to show extensions; see simple tutorial here).

  3. Execute the file (double-click it).

That's it! Problem solved!

(Source here)

luchonacho
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    Confirmed - this worked perfectly for Outlook 2016 on Windows 10 – torbenrudgaard Oct 08 '17 at 08:47
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    How lame is it that MS reccomends you copy the reg key tree from another computer vs just giving us a .reg file. And the "Easy Fix" probably would work fine on Win10 but they are too lazy to add it as supported OS in the release file. Not very easy IMO! As always Stack Exchange had the answer I wanted. I can now save the .reg and use it on my other computers affected! – FreeSoftwareServers Oct 10 '18 at 04:01
  • For me the issue was in the `HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\htmlfile`, not under the `HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE` as is mentioned in all tips. – Marki555 Dec 19 '18 at 16:42
  • this worked for me on MS Word 2013 version. Thanks for sharing with us the solution and the source. – Manu Mathur Jul 28 '19 at 13:38
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    So being obsessed with "how things work" I went one entry at a time and found Firefox had corrupted the `@` values during a failed uninstall. – BaseZen Apr 27 '20 at 18:49
  • This fixed the issue for me, happening in OneNote. The @ values had changed to FirefoxHTML instead of their defaults, even though I still use Firefox. Now the links are opening fine. – gcode Sep 30 '20 at 22:25
7

Method 3 - Step 3 from Microsoft support page Hyperlinks are not working in Outlook:

Verify that the String (Default) value of the "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT .html" key is "htmlfile"

  1. Select Start > Run.
  2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then select OK.
  3. Locate, and then click the following registry subkey:HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT .html
  4. Make sure that the value of the String (Default) is "htmlfile". If it's not "htmlfile", right-click (Default), select Modify, input htmlfile in the Value data box, and then select OK.
  5. Exit Registry Editor.

In my case .html default value was incorrectly set to to FirefoxHTML.

Chronos
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6

I modified the *.reg file to use Chrome (also had to set Chrome as the default browser in Win 10 Settings -> Apps -> Default apps -> Web browser), then the hyperlinks in Excel worked. (Note: I had also removed IE11 from Win 10, and did not have to re-install it):

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.html]
@="htmlfile"
"Content Type"="text/html"
"PerceivedType"="text"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.htm]
@="htmlfile"
"Content Type"="text/html"
"PerceivedType"="text"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.shtm]
@="htmlfile"
"Content Type"="text/html"
"PerceivedType"="text"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.shtml]
@="htmlfile"
"Content Type"="text/html"
"PerceivedType"="text"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\htmlfile\shell\open\command]
@="\"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Google\\Chrome\\Application\\chrome.exe\" -nohome"\
user9135814
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  • I have mine set to IEXPLORE.exe and it still opens Chrome. I suspect IEXPLORE.exe will open whatever is default in Windows Settings, but my system is fairly customized and might be something else that caused that. – FreeSoftwareServers Oct 29 '18 at 20:48
2

With some search about organization's policies i found the answer in this link. It worked for me. I've downloaded the fix-it for Windows 8.1 and Windows 8 and after run and reboot the hyperlinks work now.

Paryshaan
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    The following part of the linked document was helpful in my case: Locate, and then click the following registry subkey: `HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.html`. Make sure that the value of the String `(Default)` is `htmlfile`. If it's not `htmlfile`, right-click `(Default)`, select Modify, input `htmlfile` in the Value data box, and then select OK. – ps_ttf Aug 11 '17 at 08:10
2

I have just discovered exactly what works for me with the same problem but in Outlook 2013. I have a different key (lets say it's called webpage) under HKCU that has my default browser shell associations. The .html key points to it: (default) = webpage.

Firefox is the default browser under keys HKCU\webpage\shell\firefox but Outlook gives me the error Your organization's policies are preventing us from completing this action for you. For more info, please contact your help desk. even though Firefox works as my default browser in every other app (that I have used it in, probably haven't tried Excel).

When I add keys HKCU\webpage\shell\open\command without any (default) values or any other values and restart Outlook, my links work as expected. Seems as though Outlook is, for some reason, checking that these keys exist, even though it doesn't actually use them, as my link opens in Firefox still.

UPDATE: Windows 10.1709 appears to now not only require the open shell command but also USE it, even though it's not listed as the default, so you now need to have the command's (default) value populated. I see this same behaviour with Thunderbird and just pasting a URL into the start run dialog as well.

Adam Kerz
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  • I was not able to find the `HKCU\webpage` registry subkey on my Windows 10 machine. – ps_ttf Aug 11 '17 at 08:11
  • Have a look in `HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.html` and see what the default value is - go to that key. You may not have any entries in HKCU; they may instead be in HKLM. – Adam Kerz Aug 14 '17 at 05:50
  • Yeah, I've described this solution in a comment above – ps_ttf Aug 14 '17 at 08:42
  • ... I mean in the comment to an answer from Paryshaan. – ps_ttf Aug 15 '17 at 18:14
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    No, you haven't understood my answer at all. You simply said to set the `(default)` value to `htmlfile`. It does not have to be `htmlfile` and the problem appears to be that the shell key `open` and the subkey `command` must exist, even though it is not used by the application trying to open the link. So, even if you HAVE set it to `htmlfile`, you need to check that the `HKCU\htmlfile\shell\open\command` keys exist. – Adam Kerz Mar 13 '18 at 14:31
  • That makes sense! Maybe it is a different problem and we should have a single answer that mentions both potential problems and respective solutions. In my case just setting the `htmlfile` value was enough. – ps_ttf Mar 21 '18 at 10:21
  • Well, most likely your `htmlfile` entry already HAD an `open` shell command. – Adam Kerz Mar 23 '18 at 03:15
2

The official microsoft way did not work for me. I had to do the following:
- Go to Control Panel -> Programs
- Click "Set your default programs"
- (you should now be at "Control Panel\Programs\Default Programs\Set Default Programs")
- Select on the browser of your choice (I went for chrome) and
- Click "Set this program as default"

(Also shown in this video)

noelicus
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2

Re-setting Outlook and Firefox (or your browser of choice) as default Mail app and Web browser in Control Panel > Default Programs solved it for me.

zgb
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2

All proposed solutions didn’t work for me, but the following worked. While MS wants you to believe your organization is the culprit, it may not be like that...

I noticed that, at the very same time this problem started in Outlook, IE got disabled. MS silently disabled IE during an recent update, because there is Edge.

The very logic result of disabling IE is that Outlook no longer can open hyperlinks in your favorite default browser, even though that isn't IE. And note, it even can't open it in Edge, when IE is disabled. And this is where Microsoft messed up.

So we need to enable IE, even though we never use it. Go to "Control Panel" -> "Program and Features" -> "Turn Windows features on or off", and check the checkbox next to "Internet Explorer 11". Hope this helps, I could not find this solution anywhere, even not on the MS site.

Jack
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  • In 202303 "Internet Explorer 11" is not showing under "Turn Windows features on or off" list of garbage how much zibala can microsoft throw at us? – Meryan Mar 05 '23 at 00:36
  • NO I don't want to make make any of these my DEFAULTS sorry Microsoft!!! Outlook, EDGE, INTERNET EXPLORER, TEAM CHAT, ... – Meryan Mar 05 '23 at 00:48
1

If you have Notepad++ make sure you have not associated the .htm and .html file types with Notepad++!!

Fix: Notepad++ > Settings > Preferences > File Association > remove .htm and .html from the far right side Registered extensions > restart Outlook/your MS Office application.

AndyS
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  • I almost duplicated this answer because I didn't notice it earlier. My Win10 account has insufficient privileges to edit the registry on my work computer but I compared the keys with those listed in the top answer. The (default) in classes\root\.html contained Notepad++_file. Amusing since Win10's Settings - Apps - Choose Apps by File Type - .html showed Chrome. Toggling Chrome in that settings window had no effect but the error went away immediately after removing .html from NP++ and restarting Excel and Outlook. – ProfoundlyOblivious Jul 02 '19 at 22:16
0

To make this work for me I had to completely delete the registry keys first, then paste in the *.reg file fix from above. I think I had some real garbage in there.

user9567232
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0

What worked for me was to close Outlook and Word (etc.), open IE, go to SETTINGS, go to advanced, click RESET, click yes at the confirmation and let it reset all settings. I then re-opened Word and could follow links.

Since this is a relatively easy fix, and also listed on the MS site as an official method of fixing, I'd recommend starting with this one. Ref. https://support.microsoft.com/en-ca/help/310049/hyperlinks-are-not-working-in-outlook

Jon
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