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Using Windows Live Mail
Overview
• For the most part, Windows Live Mail works identically to Outlook Express or Windows Mail,
but the main window definitely looks slightly different
o Icons are replaced by text labels (Reply, Reply to All, Forward, etc.)
o Menus (if showing) look about the same, as well as Accounts, Options, Message, etc.)
o By default installation, the Menu bar does not show.
In place of the Menu bar, there are icons with drop-down menus on the right
(similar to the changes in Internet Explorer 7 & 8)
You can make the menu bar remain showing using the far right icon labeled
“Menus” when hovered over, and choose “Show Menu Bar”
• Windows Live Mail can setup all e-mail accounts on the same window
o All POP3, such as:
CenturyLink, Comcast, Dialup, Gmail, Yahoo Plus, etc.
o And also IMAP accounts, such as:
AOL, Hotmail, MSN
• Import messages only from Windows formats (not CSV)
o Choose the right format (Outlook Express 6, Windows Live Mail, Windows Mail)
• Import Contacts
o From the “Current User”, Windows Address book, or CSV
This imports them from the Outlook Express WAB or Vista’s contact folder.
Once imported from the Contacts folder of Windows, they no longer keep
synchronized with the Windows Contacts folder.
In fact, with Windows 7, even though you still have a Contacts folder, it no longer
works as an integrated Contacts folder with WLM.
• Can still add a contacts or groups, but they do not get added to Windows
Live Mail or vice versa.
• If you want to keep the Contacts folder current, must duplicate any
changes or additions in both WLM and Contacts folder to keep them the
same.
• Storage Folders are where all your Imported Mail goes initially on import
o But if desired, create new folders under the main e-mail address, and drag the mail (from
the right column) to them, then delete the folders under imported mail
o Note, you cannot delete the Inbox, Sent Items, or Deleted Items from the Storage Folders
You can however hide Storage folders via View menu/Layout/Folder Pane (if
using the menu bar)Or use the Menus icon to the far right to choose Layout.
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Using Windows Live Mail
New or Improved Features
• The Contacts window has a terrific automatic “Find” feature
o If you liked the “auto complete” when typing into the To: line, this feature is even better.
o Type the start of a name or e-mail address and it displays a list of all possibilities to
choose from.
Double-click on one to insert it, and click OK (or hit ENTER)
Or select more than one in the list and click To: then OK
o You can also just type into the To: line and get similar results.
• Simply typing part of a name into the To, Cc, or Bcc line finds all the Contacts you have with
those same characters
• If you have multiple accounts set up, “Quick views” allow you to see all Unread mail from all
Mail Accounts in one place.
o Otherwise multiple accounts each have their own Inbox and other folders
• Storage Folders: can be used to store saved mail from multiple accounts
o This keeps all saved mail, regardless of the account to which it was sent stored together.
o However, these Storage folders are at the bottom of the Account list.
If you have imported mail folders, they are all put there initially.
o But, if you have only one account, you may prefer not to use Storage folders at all, and
rather have them towards the top (or in a particular account), as it was in prior versions
o Create similar named folders under the primary account
Then move the Imported Mail to the new folders by dragging.
Unfortunately, you cannot merely drag the Storage folders (as in previous
versions).
o Now you can use Layout to hide the Storage folders and make the appearance much more
similar to previous versions.
• At the bottom of the Account list (on the left pane), you have Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Feeds
and News groups
o These can be labeled line items,
o Or mere unlabeled icons at the bottom
Which when hovered over display the label
Toggle back and forth via the down arrow displayed by hovering just below the
“Add E-mail Account link.
Or change it using Layout (on the right, or in the Menu bar, View/Layout)
• Remember, if you have only one account, “Quick Views” and “Storage folders” are unnecessary
clutter, and only helpful if receiving mail from multiple accounts.
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Using Windows Live Mail
Another New Feature
• Working with pictures
o Insert (Images/Inline) works the same as previous versions (Insert/Picture)
Inserts the full size graphic
o WLM introduces “Photo E-mail” (Add Photo button)
Clicking “Add Photo” inserts a chosen image, usually much smaller than original.
Once a picture is “added”, the Layout button appears
Using the Layout toolbar, you can change the size of the added picture (It starts as
Medium, but can be Smaller, Large, Larger, or Largest)
You can add a caption
Add a frame or effect.
o Note that there are three buttons when a photo has been added (Format button, Photo, and
Layout)
Format gets back to the Format (size font, color, etc.) toolbar
Photo (or Add Photo) brings up the Add Photo window from which you navigate
to the desired photo
Layout changes from the Format toolbar to the Layout toolbar.
• May wish not to use Storage folders, but rather re-create them under your primary Mail Account,
and move mail to the newly created folders
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Using Windows Live Mail
Changes/Pitfalls of which to be aware
• Be aware that Folders within the Vista Contacts folder do not “import” or “export”
o Groups get imported from Vista Contacts or Outlook Express address book
But Groups created do not get exported from Windows Live Mail, only contacts.
o Contacts which were part of a Group (now called “Category”) but contained within a
created (separate) folder (on Vista or Outlook Express) do get imported from either, but
not retained in a separate folder
And you cannot recreate the Folders
• WLM does not have any concept of folders
• Probably because folders were never well supported or exported
Workaround: use one of the data entry lines to insert a label (the original folder
label), this way you can search, and thus sort by the “label”
• Thus before importing, must first move all the contacts contained within additionally created
folders outside of the folders before importing…to get all those contacts which were in a folder,
but not also included in a group
• Once using Windows Live Mail, “exporting” the Contacts does not maintain the Categories
o Only the contacts are exported
o If you want to transfer the contacts AND categories, must save a hidden folder
(C:\Users\Jim\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live Contacts\{a long
number}\DBStore ) More later
• Be aware that if you have more than one e-mail address for an individual, the import from the
Vista Contacts may not place the “Preferred” address in the “Personal” box (the only one it
uses).
• The Send/Recv button is now labeled “Sync”
• Print command is not initially available on the main toolbar
o Add Print command back to the main toolbar
Right-click on the toolbar and choose “Customize” the Toolbar
It is still on the Message toolbar
• But often I do not want to open the message in order to print.
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Using Windows Live Mail
Other things to be aware of:
• Attaching files works exactly the same.
• Spell Check sometimes comes up saying “Spell Check has been halted”.
o This happens usually when there is something in an original message to cause it.
o To be sure your part of the message was spell-checked, place the cursor at the start of
your message before Sending.
That way the entire message (not the original included) gets checked for spelling.
• You have an “Add Photos” button.
o Once adding a photo, you can change the size using the Layout button next to Add Photo
button.
o Note that you can also add text to the image added.
• Using the Contact list from the New Message window
• Backing up Windows Live Mail involves primarily either saving the entire Windows Live Mail
“store” folder, or exporting Messages and Contacts.
o Find the Store folder using Tools/Options/Advanced tab.
o Categories (Groups), as previously mentioned, are not saved through the Export process.
To save and restore, save the folder or the contents of the DBStore folder found
under: C:\Users\Jim\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live Contacts\{a long
number}\DBStore
Note: The contents will not show unless you first make Hidden “Protected”
Folders and files visible thru Organize/ Folder and Search Options
• You may have some problems with the E-mail this (page or link to page) not working (such as in
Internet Explorer Page drop-down).
o To correct this, go to the Default programs, and choose “set program access and
computer defaults”. Now click on Custom. Under e-mail, select Windows Live Mail. It
probably had “use current”. Click OK.
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Using Windows Live Mail
• Currently, Signatures using HTML files containing graphics or links fail to operate properly
o Text or HTML signatures that merely change font size and color work fine.
o But when using the Insert menu to manually add an HTML signature which contains
graphics or links, the graphics do not show, and the links do not work.
o If you make it the default signature, and set the signature to be automatically inserted
(always), it works
But if just using the Insert signature, it fails.
o Two Work-around methods are available:
The first method requires temporarily changing security settings
• Tools/Options/Security and under the “Download Images” section,
remove the check from “Block images and other external content in
HTML e-mails”
• With the lower security setting (see below),
• Create a new e-mail, and when done writing, insert the desired signature.
With the lowered Security settings it will work.
• When finished and sent, change the security settings back.
• Alternatively, do the above without filing out the e-mail beyond just
inserting the signature. But before changing back the Security settings,
save that otherwise blank e-mail with the subject line containing the label
of the signature in the “Drafts” folder.
• Now when desired, go to Drafts folder, copy the e-mail wanted again into
the Draft folder (right-click menu), and use the copy created to fill in the
content, changing the subject. The signature remains there and functional.
• Remember to change security setting back.
o Those blocked images fight against spammers.
The second method which seems to work, is to go to Tools/Options/Signatures,
and make the desired signature the default and have it always be added.
• Now create a new e-mail. The signature will be successfully added.
• Next save this message to the Draft folder.
o You may want to give the subject the signature name so you know
what it is later.
• Now the signature is available in the Draft folder to use as a template, just
as above.
• Now go back to the Signatures tab and remove the check from “Add
signature to all outgoing messages”, to change it back.
• Although the signature is now available in the Draft folder,
o Remember before use to first copy it again to the Draft folder for
subsequent availability.
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