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Find out how to get the most out of Hotmail

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De-clutter your inbox

SmartScreen helps keep spam out

Windows Live Hotmail helps keep junk mail out of your inbox. Hotmail uses Microsoft SmartScreen (the same technology governments and businesses use to protect their email). Microsoft SmartScreen technology is designed to block junk mail before it reaches your inbox and a safety bar verifies the senders of sensitive messages like financial institutions.

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Hotmail - Smartscreen

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Hotmail - filter

View and filter your messages quickly

With a single click you can view and filter your messages by many popular categories; unread, email from contacts or social updates. Click one of the filter categories that appear above the message list to see all the messages that match it. For example, click “Unread” to see all the messages that you haven't read yet.

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Sweep unwanted email out

Clear away clutter from a messy inbox in seconds. With Hotmail you can move or delete all messages from a sender in a few simple steps. You can also opt to have Hotmail deal with all future emails in the same way.

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Hotmail - sweep


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Efficient email

Send photos without attachments

Send photos without having to worry about attachment limits or full inboxes. Hotmail works with Windows Live SkyDrive - free online storage space from Windows Live - so you can send up to 200 photos each up to 50 MB in size (10 GB total) in a single message.

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Hotmail - attachments

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Hotmail - video

View video in your inbox

Do more from the comfort of your inbox: View photos and videos with new Active View. Hotmail's Active View feature allows you to view photos from Flickr™ or videos from You Tube™ without leaving your inbox.

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Calendar

Keep up to date with your friends and family by sharing your calendar, making organising activities with your contacts a breeze. Best of all you can control exactly who sees what.

Hotmail - calendar

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Hotmail - chat

Messenger in your inbox

See who's online and have instant conversations all in one place. You can now chat with your Windows Live Messenger contacts without ever having to leave your Hotmail inbox.



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Switch to Hotmail

One inbox for your email accounts

Keeping track of all your online accounts is now easier than ever.

Now you can read and reply to your mail from other email accounts, including Gmail and Yahoo! Mail, without leaving Hotmail.

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one inbox

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Link all your Hotmail accounts

You can also reach all your other Hotmail accounts with one ID. Just click on your account name in the top right hand corner and select 'Link other accounts' from the drop-down menu. Follow the instructions to see all your accounts from one inbox. No other logins required!

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Hotmail - link accounts


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Office Documents

Work with Office files in Hotmail

When you receive a Word, Excel or PowerPoint file attached to an email you can view it straight from Hotmail. Without leaving your inbox, you can now open and view the attachment online in any popular browser — on a PC or Mac – with no software required.

Hotmail - office files

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Get started right away

You don’t have to spend your time learning how to use new programs. Hotmail’s interface is similar to the software you use every day. From images and footnotes to tables and text effects, it makes your documents shine more than they ever have before. You now get 100 percent full viewing quality using Office online through Hotmail. Or if you prefer it takes just one click to open the file in the corresponding Microsoft Office program on your desktop.

Hotmail - office

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Hotmail - Edits

Reply with edits to an attachment

If a friend or a colleague sends you a document and asks you to make a few edits, you usually spend time downloading, saving and opening the document. Now you can edit attachments in your browser and any formatting changes made will also be retained. When you're done, attach and send with just one click.

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Work with others

Now you can send large Office documents and other files to people whether they use Hotmail or other email services like Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, and AOL mail, without filling their inboxes. Send as many as 200 files – that’s up to 50 MB each. Recipients can then join you in viewing and editing these in real time using the free online storage of Windows Live SkyDrive.

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Hotmail - others



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