About signing in to Windows Live Mail

You don't have to sign in with a Windows Live ID (The user name and password that you use to sign in to any Windows Live, MSN, or Office Live sites and services. If you have a Passport Network, Hotmail, or Messenger account, you can use it as your Windows Live ID.) to use Windows Live Mail, and you can add accounts and send and receive e-mail without signing in. However, if you do sign in to Windows Live Mail, you can connect to other Windows Live services and gain access to additional features of Windows Live Mail such as:

• Photo E-mails: If you create a photo e-mail (A Windows Live Mail e-mail message containing multiple photos in a photo layout.) while you're signed in to Windows Live Mail with a Windows Live ID, high-quality versions of the photos are saved on Windows Live servers for 30 days. These photos are linked to thumbnail versions in the e-mail. This means that the e-mail will be smaller and that the recipients can view the photos without having to download them. For more information, see About photo e-mails.
• Windows Live Messenger: If you have Messenger installed on your computer, you can automatically sign in by clicking the Messenger icon in the folder pane (The left pane in the Windows Live Mail window, containing the folder structure for all the e-mail accounts, newsgroup accounts, or RSS feeds that you've added. The folder pane also shows your Outbox and any offline storage folders on your computer's hard disk.) , and you can also access Messenger features such as instant messaging and Windows Live Call from within Windows Live Mail. For more information, see Send an instant message or another type of message.
• Windows Live Contacts: If you're signed into Windows Live Mail with a Windows Live ID, you see the same address book (A list of contacts, that contains the names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of each of your contacts. If you're signed in with a Windows Live ID, Windows Live Mail uses the contacts list associated with your Windows Live ID.) as you do in Windows Live Hotmail, Messenger, and other products that use Windows Live Contacts. Any changes that you make to your contacts in Windows Live Mail also take effect in those products and services. You can also choose to share your contact information on your Windows Live space, and you can ask to receive automatic updates when your contacts change their contact information. For more information, see Organize your contacts.
• Blog: You can post e-mail messages that you've sent and received, RSS (Really Simple Syndication. A type of web feed designed for the easy sharing of headlines, blog posts, and other web content.) articles, or newsgroup (An online bulletin board where messages are posted for public consumption and response.) posts directly to your online blog (Short for weblog. An online journal or newsletter that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. Blogs generally represent the personality of the author or the website.) on Windows Live Spaces. If you aren't signed in to Windows Live Mail and you don't have Windows Live Writer installed on your computer, you must manually enter a Windows Live ID before you can continue. For more information, see Post messages on an online blog.

Windows Live Hotmail doesn't support all file types. If you send an attachment that Windows Live Hotmail doesn't support, the e-mail recipient won't be able to download or open the attachment. You can't unblock a blocked attachment after it's been sent. However, to send or receive an unsupported file type as an attachment, use one of the following methods, or ask the person sending you the attachment do so:

• Compress the file.

  Use a zipped folder or a third-party compression program to compress the file, and then attach it to your e-mail message as a .zip file. See your software documentation for information about how to compress a file.

• Change the file extension to .txt.

  Locate the file that you want to attach, right-click the file, and then click Rename. Type txt in place of the original file extension, and then press ENTER. Attach the renamed file to your e-mail message. Remember to tell the recipient how to change the file extension back after they download the attachment to their computer.

• Upload the file to Windows Live SkyDrive.

  SkyDrive is a free service that you can use to store and share your files online with friends or with anyone in the world. Use any computer connected to the Internet to access your files, and share your public files or folders with anyone by e-mailing them a link to the file or folder. You can upload files up to 50 MB in size, and you receive a total of 5 gigabyte (GB) of online storage space. To get started with SkyDrive Beta, go to the Windows Live SkyDrive website.