Use UTF-8 for mailto links
- Policy ID
- ControlPanel_SendUTF8Query
- Scope
- Computer Configuration, User Configuration
- Supported on
- At least Internet Explorer 7.0
- Source
- Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 11 2026 Update (26H2) (version 1.0)
- Category
- Windows Components › Internet Explorer › Internet Control Panel
Description
This policy setting allows you to manage whether Internet Explorer uses 8-bit Unicode Transformation Format (UTF-8) for mailto links.
If you enable this policy setting, Internet Explorer encodes mailto links in UTF-8.
If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, Internet Explorer sends mailto links encoded through the user's code page. This behavior matches the behavior of Internet Explorer 6 and earlier. The user can change this behavior on the Internet Explorer Tools menu: Click Internet Options, click the Advanced tab, and then under International, select the "Use UTF-8 for mailto links" check box.
Registry
ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Protocols\Mailto View registry values
- UTF8EncodingREG_DWORD
UserHKEY_CURRENT_USER
HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Protocols\Mailto View registry values
- UTF8EncodingREG_DWORD