Outlook.com replaced Hotmail earlier this year. Here are some of the features you probably didn't know about
In May 2013, Microsoft finally killed off Hotmail and transferred all of its accounts to Outlook.com. While most of the basic functionality remained the same, Microsoft added a slew of new features – such as integration with SkyDrive and instant search, which lets you quickly search by sender, recipient, or subject line.However, there are also some less well-known features that users might like to take advantage of. Here are a few of the best:
1. Create an Outlook alias
Many of us set up separate email address to keep apart disparate kinds of mail, but maintaining multiple accounts can be a pain. With Outlook.com, Microsoft lets you add new aliases to your existing account.To set up an alias, click the settings icon at the top right of the screen and click on 'More email settings', then click 'Create an Outlook alias' link under 'Managing your account'. Enter the user name part of the new email address alias under 'Email address', pick a domain name following @ and click 'Create an alias'.
To set up a rule for automatically filing messages received at the new alias address to a special Outlook.com folder, you can type its desired name under 'A new folder' and click 'Done'.
2. Use keyboard shortcuts
Outlook.com supports a variety of keyboard shortcuts, helping users to save time when navigating around their email accounts. If you memorize only a few, let it be these:• N: Start a new message
• Ctrl-Y: Insert an emoticon or emoji
• Insert: Flag the email for follow-up
• Ctrl-3: Go to People (the Outlook.com address book)
• Shift+E New Folder
A full list of keyboard shortcuts is available here
3. View content from Facebook and Twitter
Outlook.com is designed in such a way that you can add contacts from social networks, manage Facebook and Twitter content, and even post comments or accept friend requests directly from your Outlook.com inbox.Click the settings icon at the top right of the screen and click on 'More email settings', then click the 'Content from third-party networks' link under 'Reading email'. At the bottom of the page, under 'Showing additional content, click 'Manage connections'. Here you can view which social media accounts are connected to your Outlook and manage privacy settings.
4. Sweep emails
The sweep feature allows you to quickly clean up your inbox and keep it tidy. For example, if you get automatic emails with special offers that are only valid for a short period of time, you can have Outlook.com automatically clear out old versions of the email when a new one arrives.To set up automatic cleanup for a particular sender's mail or an entire category in Outlook.com, open a message from the sender or newsletter you would like cleaned up automatically, click 'Sweep' in the Outlook.com toolbar and then select 'Schedule cleanup' from the menu that comes up.
You can choose to 'Only keep the latest message from this sender', 'Delete all messages older than __ days' or 'Move all messages older than __ days to <select>'. Optionally, you can tick 'Do this for everything in the ___ category' to apply your rule to all emails classified as Newsletters, for example. Then click 'OK'.
5. Revoke easy access from devices
Microsoft has made a feature of the fact that you can login quickly from devices you keep around and only use yourself using a password alone. However, if you lose that device you may want to revoke one-step access quickly.To delete Outlook.com's list of trusted devices and require two-step authentication in all browsers, click your name or profile image in Outlook.com's top navigation bar, select 'Account settings' from the menu that has appeared and open the 'Security info' category under 'Overview'.
Click 'Remove all the trusted devices associated with my account' under 'Trusted devices' and then click 'Remove all trusted devices'.
6. Set up one-click actions for emails
Sometimes you don't even need to open an email to know that it's spam, or maybe you're on a call when an important email pops up and you want to flag it for later rather than read it while you're distracted. Outlook.com lets you set up one-click actions that deal with these issues instantly.To configure quick actions, click the settings icon in the toolbar and select 'More email settings' from the menu that shows up. Then select 'Instant actions' under 'Customizing Outlook' and make sure 'Show instant actions' is ticked.
You can also add your own instant action buttons by clicking 'Add actions' and selecting other options from the menu, such as 'Move to' or 'Categorize'. To make a button always visible, highlight the button under 'Show on mouse over' and click 'Move down' until the button is at the desired place under 'Show always'.
7. Check the Outlook.com service status for issues
If Outlook.com is down or slow, you can find out whether Microsoft is aware of the problem and if the company is working on a fix. You can also learn about past problems, and when you can expect the Outlook.com service to be up and running again.To find out whether any problems you have with Outlook.com are known, and when you can expect a resolution or more information, visit the Outlook Service Status page. To see recently resolved issues, visit the Microsoft Services Status History page.
If your current issue is not listed, you can report it to the Outlook.com team here.
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