Why does Dolphin send mail through Microsoft Outlook , even when I have another email Application marked as my Default Email Application?

We have had a couple of questions recently regarding how Dolphin4 Interfaces to  email applications. Specifically for our clients who have MS Outlook installed, and either don't use it, or use it as well as a second mail application to separate their personal and work emails ; 


Dolphin will always look for Outlook, and if it is installed , it will use Outlook to send any emails.


If Outlook is not installed , Dolphin4 will then search for another mail client , and use that to send your emails.


The reason why this happens, and why we chose to develop Dolphin this way ; is because of how simple MAPI works.


The standard generic way to send mail to email applications is via a Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI). And we could interface to Outlook using MAPI, instead of directly as we currently do.


There is one catch ...

Simple MAPI however produces plain email messages, and bypasses Outlook's functionality , which means that all Email Stationary , styling and more importantly email signatures are left out of the email messages that are produced.


This is a known issue with using simple MAPI to interface with Outlook.


To get around this issue , when you click on Send Email, Dolphin4 will first search for Outlook, and if Outlook is installed, it will directly interface with Outlook, and use it to send email messages , with all the settings as saved by you in your Outlook Settings, including signatures.


If Outlook is not installed, then Dolphin4 will use simple MAPI to interface with whatever other email client is installed , and will use that to send your emails.


If you are not using Outlook, we recommend that you un-install it.


We are investigating changing the system so that clients can indicate on the 'My Company' screen if they use Outlook or not , and basing the search for Outlook on this indicator.


This will depend entirely on how many of our clients indicate that they would prefer to not use Outlook and feel that there is a need for this change.


If you are one our clients, and do feel this should be changed , please leave a comment below to let us know.