Getting Started with Windows Mail in Vista

All you need to start Windows Mail is a connection to the Internet. When you're online, just click the little Windows Mail icon on the Windows taskbar at the bottom of your screen or choose Start --> All Programs --> Windows Mail.

The first time you start Windows Mail, you need to enter your name, your e-mail address, and the details of your sending and receiving mail servers. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) should have given you all that information. When you finally get through, the Windows Mail window appears.

The Windows Mail window is pretty easy to figure out. At the top of the window, you find the familiar title bar and menus; beneath that, you find the Windows Mail toolbar. Table 1 provides an overview of the Windows Mail tools. The screen is divided into these three different panels:

• The Folders panel displays all the folders you've created in Windows Mail and some you have not created. The Inbox, Outbox, Sent Items, Deleted Items, Drafts, and Junk Email folders have been created automatically for you.

• The messages list in the upper-right panel shows all the messages in the currently selected folder.

• The individual message panel shows the contents of the message that is highlighted in the messages list.

Table 1: Windows Mail Tools