I. Logging In

1. Open the page www.hotmail.com.
2. Type your e-mail address into the box next to the words “E-mail address,” and your password next to the words “Password” on the right-hand side of your screen.

If you are using a public computer, before signing in, make sure that you have selected the option “Always ask for my e-mail address and password” underneath the sign-in box. By selecting this option, you are ensuring that the next person to visit the Hotmail site does not see your e-mail address. If you are using a home computer, you can either select “Save my e-mail address,” which will fill in your address for you whenever you visit Hotmail, or “Save my e-mail address and password” which will log you directly into your inbox whenever you visit Hotmail. For security reasons, I do not recommend “Save my e-mail address and password.”

II. Checking Your E-Mail

1.      To read the e-mail from your contact – if there is one – click on the name of the sender. Click here to move on.

2.      To view your inbox, click on “My Messages.” Click here to move on.

III. Reading Your E-Mail

1.      Click on the name of the sender of the e-mail you wish to read.

From here you can delete, reply, forward, or sort this mail.

IV. Composing and Sending or Saving an E-Mail

You may start a new e-mail from your “Home” page, your Inbox, or the message screen. Regardless, you will need to follow the same steps.

** To learn how to get to your “Home” page, Inbox, or the message screen, click on the desired destination.

A blank message screen should come up.

2. Enter the e-mail address of the recipient into the “To:” field. 
3. Enter the topic of the message into the “Subject:” field. It is not absolutely necessary to fill in the subject field, but it will let your recipient know what the e-mail is about.
4. Type your message into the blank box below the “Subject:” field.

If this is your first time creating a message, you may wish to turn on the Rich-Text Editor, which allows you to make changes to your text, similar to the changes available in word processing programs.

** To learn how to turn on the Rich-Text Editor, click here.

5. If you would like to save your message and send it later, click on the “Save Draft” button, which shows a folder, paper, and pencil.

The message will be stored in your “Drafts” folder.

** To learn how to access your various folders, click here.

6. If you would like a copy of your e-mail saved after you send it, click on the check-box next to the words “Copy Message to Sent Folder.” This box is found under the blank box where you typed your message.

7. When you are ready to send your e-mail, click on the “Send” button, which is on the right-hand side, and shows a single white envelope.

You will be taken to a confirm screen, where a box will appear telling you if your e-mail was successfully sent, and the recipient(s). If the recipient(s) have not already been added to your contacts (address book), you will be able to do so from this screen.

** To learn how to add contacts, click here.

V. Deleting E-Mail

From your inbox:

** To learn how to get to your inbox, click here.

1.      Click on the check-box next to the name of the sender.

2.      Click on the “Delete” button, which is the button with the black X.

From the message screen:

** To learn how to get to the message screen, click here.

1. Click on the “Delete” button, which is the button with the black X.

VI. Replying to an E-Mail
To reply to an e-mail you must be viewing it in the message screen.

** To learn how to get to the message screen, click here.

1. Click on the “Reply” button, which is the button with the single envelope, and the purple, left-pointing arrow.

A blank message screen should come up.

VII. Forwarding E-Mail

To forward an e-mail, you must be viewing it in the message screen.

** To learn how to get to the message screen, click here.

1. Click on the “Forward” button, which is the button with the single envelope, and the white, right-pointing arrow.

VIII. Sorting Your E-Mail
From your inbox:

** To learn how to get into your inbox, click here.

1. Click on the check box next to the name of the sender.

IX. Adding Contacts

You can add contacts from your “Home” page, Inbox, or confirm screen.

From your “Home Page”:

1. Click on the “New Contact” button, which displays an ID card, and is located near the middle of your screen.

A form should appear.

** To learn how to fill out this form, click here.

From your inbox:

1. Click on the small black arrow to the right of the “New” button, select “Contact,” and click.

A form will appear.

1. Fill in the “Quickname” field with the name you would like to use to identify the contact. (For example, your contact’s first name may be Ruth, but you know her as “Grandma.” Therefore, you would fill “Grandma” in as the Quickname.)
2. Fill in the “First Name” and “Last Name” fields accordingly.

X. Filling Out the Contact Form

To fill out the contact form, you must be in the form page.

** To lean how to get to the form page, click here.

1. Fill in the “Quickname” field with the name you would like to use to identify the contact. (For example, your contact’s first name may be Ruth, but you know her as “Grandma.” Therefore, you would fill “Grandma” in as the Quickname.)
2. Fill in the “First Name” and “Last Name” fields accordingly.
3. If you have any additional information on your contact, you may add that as well at the bottom of the page. This includes phones numbers, alternate e-mail addresses, etc.
4. If you have finished adding contacts, click on the “Save” button, which displays a floppy disk.
5. If you would like to add another contact, click on the "Save and Add Another Contact" button, next to the "Save" button.

XII. Adding Attachments to Your Outgoing E-Mails

To add an attachment to an outgoing e-mail (an e-mail you are sending to someone else) you must start from the message screen.

** To learn how to get into the message screen, click here.

1. Compose and address your e-mail as normal.

** To learn how to compose an e-mail, click here.

2. Click on the “Attach” button, which displays a paperclip.

A drop-down menu will appear.

3. Select “File” from the menu, and click.

Even if you are sending a picture, I recommend using the “File” attachment option, as the “Picture” option involves installing a “photo loader” from MSN. You can attach pictures to your messages using the “File” option.

You will be taken to a new screen with one empty field.

1. Click on the “Browse” button.

This will open a dialog window showing the contents of your computer.

1. By navigating through the folders on your computer, find the file you want to attach.

You can only attach files created in a separate program. If you would like to send a copy of an e-mail to someone, use the “Forward” option.

** To learn how to “Forward” an e-mail, click here.

1. Click on the file name so that it is highlighted in blue, and the file name appears in the “File Name:” field.
2. Click on the “Open” button.

XIV. Accessing Your Mail Folders
To access your mail folders, you must be in your Inbox.

** To learn how to get into your Inbox, click here.

1. Find your folder list. This will be located beneath your “New” button, and your account capacity bar.
2. Click on the folder you wish to open.

Any messages that are located in that folder will appear as they do in your Inbox. When deleting, reading, and sorting, treat them the same way as you would any messages in your Inbox.

** To learn how to delete, sort, or read your messages, click on the desired option.

XV. Organizing Your Incoming Messages

To organize your incoming messages, you must be in one of your message folders (Inbox, etc).

1. Find the “From,” “Subject,” “Date,” and “Size headers above your message list. They should appear in light blue.
2. Click on the header you would like your mail to be sorted according to. (For example, if you would like your messages to be sorted by the date they were received, click on the “Date” header.)

Your mail will be organized according to the header you’ve clicked. However, you can also change the direction in which your messages are organized. (For example, you can change things so that your messages are organized alphabetically by subject, but the ‘A’s start at the bottom of your list.)