How To Use Hotmail Email Features
Email has become such a primary communication tool for both personal and business use that most individuals would feel cut off from the world without an email account. Since email is a communication tool that is frequently utilized, having a trustworthy email service provider is key. Over the last 10 years, web-based email, or "webmail," has grown in popularity and now is the most frequently used service for most individuals and even many businesses. However, with so many webmail providers available, users want email service that is easy to use and navigate.
Luckily, those who use Windows Live Hotmail for their primary email account have nothing to worry about. The Hotmail interface is very straightforward that makes most email functions easy to access with one or two clicks of a mouse.
Signing Into Hotmail
First, signing into a Windows Live Hotmail account is easily done by visiting Hotmail.com and inputting a user's Hotmail account ID and password. Users are then sent directly to the Hotmail interface where all the features can be accessed.
Hotmail Email Navigation
Unlike Yahoo!'s classic tabular navigation, Hotmail puts all features within a click's reach on a sidebar menu. Hotmail users can easily read and manage email in their "Inbox." Messages are differentiated as read or unread by being bold or normal font. Messages can easily be deleted by checking the message box, then clicking the "Delete" button, or simply by dragging and dropping the message into the Deleted folder. All messages have a drag and drop feature for easy management into organizational folders.
If a user wants to create a new message, he or she simply clicks "New." A recipient can be chosen from contacts or simply added in the space provided. Senders can format a new message with controls of font, paragraph, layout, color, and even add hyperlinks and emoticons within a message.
Additional Hotmail Features
Hotmail provides "related places" that email users can utilize to their benefit. Included are Contacts, Calendar, and even a chat feature with the MSN Messenger application. The contact list can be sorted alphabetically or by category. Contacts can be easily added or edited with plenty of personal information about the particular user. The calendar feature is handy for marking events, to-do tasks, birthdays, and even adding new special-use calendars.
Windows Live Hotmail proves its popularity with an easy-to-use, single pane format. Users have plenty of options to control their email settings and manage messages through most any internet browser.