Q: I can’t send a web page through Windows Live Mail.

On Internet Explorer 8’s Page menu, the “Send Page by E-mail” and “Send Link by E-mail” options are both “grayed out,” and I can’t choose them. Help!

A: Windows 7 lacks an e-mail program, an inconvenience Microsoft tries to remedy by supplying the free “Windows Live Mail” e-mail program.

But once installed, Windows Live Mail doesn’t always tell Internet Explorer that it’s now in charge of your e-mail, leading to the “grayed out” options shown in the image above.

The fix? You must whisper in Internet Explorer’s ear about your new e-mail program by following these steps:

1. Click the Start button and choose Default Programs.
2. Choose the bottom option, “Set Program Access and Computer Defaults.”
3. Click the word Custom.
4. In the section called “Choose a default web browser,” choose Internet Explorer.
5. In the section called “Choose a default e-mail program,” choose Windows Live Mail.
6. Click OK to save your changes.

Windows 7 tells Internet Explorer to start using Windows Live Mail, and the options on Internet Explorer’s Page menu begin working again.

Not using Windows Live Mail or any other e-mail program? If you log onto a Web site to read your e-mail, Internet Explorer’s disabled links have a different problem.