10 things you didn’t know Hotmail could do

jjones | Guides | 08/09/2009 15:02pm
2 Comments

Windows Live Hotmail has been offering free email accounts for 13 years now, and in that time a whole host of features has been added and expanded. Even though most of us just use Hotmail for sending and receiving emails, if you dig a little deeper, you may be surprised by how much more you can do.

1 Receive emails from other accounts

Many of us have more than one email account nowadays, and it can be a real chore to visit each inbox separately to keep track of all your new emails. Email programs that you run from Windows, such as Windows Live Mail, enable you to add a number of different email accounts – and so does Hotmail. All you need to do is click on the Add an e-mail account link underneath the folder list, then insert all the account details to get all of your emails from one Hotmail inbox.

MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS Save time every day – get all your emails together in one place with Hotmail

2 Send an email from another email account

Not only can you access emails you’ve received in other email accounts through your Windows Live Hotmail inbox, you can also compose an email in Hotmail and then choose another email account to send it from. All you need to do when composing a new email is click the arrow next to your email address in the From: ?eld and select Add an e-mail address.

3 Set another address for recipients to reply to

If you send emails from Hotmail but would like your contacts to send their emails to another address when they click the Reply button, go to Options > More options > Reply-to address. Select Other address and then enter the email address you want the replies to be sent to. Normal emails sent to you will still go to your Hotmail account, but any emails in reply to an email you have sent will go straight to the alternative address.

4 Never delete a message again

Once upon a time, with free online email accounts such as Hotmail you would be given a limited amount of space to store your emails. Once your inbox became too full with emails, you would need to delete some of your older messages to be able to receive any more. This could be a pain if people often sent you emails with large ?les attached. This is no longer the case with Windows Live Hotmail, because it offers you ever-growing storage, so you will never run out of space or have to delete an email again.

5 Chat with Windows Live Messenger

If you’re using a computer that does not have Windows Live Messenger installed, and doesn’t allow software to be downloaded, don’t worry – you can chat to your Windows Live Messenger friends through Hotmail. Click the Messenger button at the top-right corner of the screen and select Sign in to Messenger (Web).

6 Let people know when you’re on holiday

If you manage to escape to a holiday destination where you can’t access the internet, you may worry that people who email you while you’re away think that your lack of response is rude. By setting an auto response, you can write a quick email explaining that you are away and when you are likely to read and respond to their email. This will be sent to any of your contacts who email you while you’re on holiday. From your inbox click Options > More options > Send automated vacation replies. Don’t forget to turn it off when you return, though!

END HOLIDAY HASSLE Let people know you’re away, then forget about email and enjoy yourself

7 Let your mobile tell you about new emails

If you are not near a computer but want to know whenever your Hotmail account receives a new email, you can set Hotmail to send a text message to your phone. Go to Options > More options > Mobile alerts for new messages and sign up for Windows Live Mobile. You’ll be alerted whenever your account receives an email. The service is free, though your phone company may charge you for receiving the texts.

8 Make Hotmail your default email program

In Windows you can designate a speci?c application to be your default email program. This means that when you click on an email address, or press a button to create a new email, the program that you’ve chosen is automatically opened for you to compose your email. Even though it is not strictly a program, you can set Hotmail as your default email application. To do this, download Register Windows Live Hotmail with the Default Programs tool from http://snipurl.com/j9r4h. Follow the instructions on the website to run the program, then go to Start > Default Programs > Set your default programs. Select Windows Live Hotmail and click Set this program as default.

9 Automatically sort email into folders

If you receive all kinds of emails in your Hotmail inbox – from work emails, social network updates and personal emails to newsletters and online offers – you can save your inbox from getting too messy by letting Windows Live Hotmail automatically sort your emails into folders as you receive them. For example, it could place any email with the word ‘Work’ in the subject into a folder especially for work emails, or file messages from your parents’ email address under ‘Family’. Go to Options > More options > Automatically sort e-mail into folders > New Filter. Enter the criteria you wish the email to ful?l before being sent to a speci?c folder, and you’ll instantly be more organised.

10 Insert video or images into emails

You can liven up your emails with relevant pictures and videos from the web with just a few clicks in Windows Live Hotmail. All you need to do is create a new email in Hotmail by clicking New. On the right-hand side of the screen is the Quick add bar. Select either Images or Videos and then in the search box type in what you want to find. Hotmail then displays relevant media that you can add to your email with a click of a button.

PICTURE PERFECT Spice up your emails with pictures and video, added in just a few clicks

If you don’t already have a Windows Live Hotmail account and want to sign up for one to try out these tips, go to www.hotmail.com. Then just click the Sign up button underneath Don’t have a Windows Live ID? to create your new account.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 8th, 2009 at 3:02 pm and is filed under Guides. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

Tags: email, Hotmail