Managing Your Email when You Are on Vacation

Microsoft's Hotmail contains a host of rarely-used features that can make your email more convenient, professional and attractive.

Have you ever come home to a mailbox full of expired information? Rather than spending your first few days back deleting it all, you can set up a vacation message that informs your friends, family and employers that you will be out of the loop for the foreseeable future.

To do this: Sign into your Hotmail account. On the right side of the menu between the messenger and ? Buttons you will see a menu that says: "options." Click on this button and then find the "more options"
selection on the bottom of this menu. Select "more options." You will now see a menu that begins with the heading: "Manage your account." The last selection on this submenu reads: "Send automated Vacation replies." Select this option. Check the box that says: "send vacation replies to people who e-mail me." Enter the text that you want your correspondents to receive.

The box at the bottom of the page is checked by default. If you leave this box which reads: "only reply to contacts" only people that you have previously put on your contact list will receive a reply. Random junk mailers will receive no reply at all. If you wish everyone who writes to get a reply, uncheck that box. Please note, you will be more vulnerable to junk mail if you do. When you are finished press "save" to exit this menu.

On your return, you will once again enter the options menu, select "more options", go into the Management account submenu, select "Vacation Replies" once more, but check the box on the top of the vacation reply menu that says: "Don't send any vacation replies." Hit "save" once more and then exit.

Suppose you have a subordinate who handles your affairs while you are out. You can temporarily have your mail sent to him in your absence. To do this: sign in to your hotmail account, locate the "options" button on the right of the menu, select "more options" from the bottom of this menu. Go to the "manage your account" submenu on the top of this page. Select the option that says: "forward mail to another e-mail account." select "forward your email to another account." enter the email address where your want the mail sent in the box below. Save and exit.

You may use this feature for up to 270 days without problems but you must make sure that you do not use this feature longer than 270 days. Beyond 270 days inactive accounts are deleted from Hotmail's system. On your return, you will enter the "options" menu on the right side of the page, select "more options from the bottom of that menu" go into the "Manage your account menu" once more and then select the option that says, "Don't forward." Select, "Save" and exit.

Should you forget to reverse your vacation reply or forward, Microsoft will remind you with a warning in a yellow bar in your in-box. These features will save you time and annoyance. Your first day back from vacation shouldn't require another vacation.

If you like this article you may also like:

This guide to organizing your emails for greater efficiency:
www.associatedcontent.com/article/2022946/automate_and_organize_your_email.html

or this guide to avoid abusive, fraudulent or threatening emailers:
www.associatedcontent.com/article/2022820/hotmails_built_in_features_keep_you.html

or this basic primer on improving the efficiency and longevity of your computer:
www.associatedcontent.com/article/1994098/turbocharge_your_computer.html

The link below leads to a list of all of my articles:
www.associatedcontent.com/user/583548/mary_finn.html