All Windows Live Hotmail accounts can be used with Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 or Office Outlook 2003, regardless of whether you use a free or paid Windows Live Hotmail account. To access your Windows Live Hotmail account with Outlook, you must first install the Microsoft Office Outlook Connector for Windows Live Hotmail.

Learn about the Microsoft Office Outlook Connector

The Outlook Connector enables you to use your Windows Live Hotmail, Windows Live Contacts, and Windows Live Calendar within Outlook.

You can view and edit your Windows Live Calendar in Outlook, however, your Outlook calendar will not be available on Windows Live.

If you do not have a Windows Live Hotmail account, you can either sign up for a new account or update your existing MSN Hotmail account to be a Windows Live Hotmail account.

To update from MSN Hotmail to Windows Live Hotmail, click the Join Windows Live Hotmail link when you log on to your account. All of your messages, folders, and contacts will automatically appear in your new account. Your e-mail address will not change.

Download and install the Outlook Connector

1. Exit Outlook.

2. Download the Microsoft Office Outlook Connector.

3. When prompted to open or save the file, click Open.

4. When prompted to run the software, click Run.You may see a security prompt, depending on which operating system or Web browser you use. If you see such a dialog box, you must click the option to continue with the installation.

5. Follow the instructions on your screen to complete the installation.

6. The next time you start Outlook, you are prompted to configure the Outlook Connector. Enter the following information:

• Your e-mail address

• Your password

• Your name as you want it to appear in the receiver’s Inbox

7. Click OK.Microsoft Office Outlook Connector account configurationAfter Outlook opens, your Windows Live Hotmail account appears in the Navigation Pane(Navigation Pane: The column on the left side of the Outlook window that includes panes such as Shortcuts or Mail and the shortcuts or folders within each pane. Click a folder to show the items in the folder.).New account folders appear in Navigation Pane

Learn why I must type characters from an image when sending e-mail messages

The Outlook Connector uses a Human Interaction Proof (HIP) challenge. A HIP challenge uses an image or audio file containing characters that are decipherable only by a person. This requirement confirms that a person, rather than an automated program, is trying to send an e-mail message. This helps prevents automated programs from misusing the Windows Live Hotmail service.

On occasion the HIP challenge will appear after you send an e-mail message with your Windows Live Hotmail account.

There might be a delay of a few seconds or longer before the HIP challenge appears. If the message you are sending is not in your Outbox but is in your Sent Items folder, then your message has been successfully sent to the Windows Live Hotmail server.

Outlook Connector HIP challenge

If the HIP challenge appears, you must type the numbers and letters you see in the picture to continue sending the mail. If you mistakenly type an incorrect character, you will be asked to type a new set of characters. Look at the numbers and letters in the picture, and then type them in the box below the picture.

If you are unable to see the image, click the audio icon Button image . The characters in the image are replaced with an audio icon.

HIP audio challenge

Click Play Audio to hear an audio recording of characters.

If you can’t read and hear one or more of the letters or numbers, click Button image to get a new set of characters.

The audio version might seem faint or mixed with background voices and noise. This is intentional to ensure a person, not an automated program, completes the HIP challenge.

The letters are not case sensitive. The capital "A" and small-case "a" are considered the same character. There are also no spaces between the numbers or letters.

Add an additional Windows Live Hotmail account

1. On the Outlook Connector menu, click Add a New Account.The Outlook Connector menu only appears if the Outlook Connector is installed.Microsoft Office Outlook Connector account configuration

2. Enter the following information:

• Your e-mail address

• Your password

• Your name as you want it to appear in the receiver’s Inbox

3. Click OK.A dialog box appears to notify you that you must exit and restart Outlook to see the new account. Click OK.

Remove a Windows Live Hotmail account

Follow the instructions for the version of Office Outlook you are using.

Office Outlook 2007

1. On the Tools menu, click Account Settings.E-mail tab in Account Settings

2. On the E-mail tab, click the Windows Live Hotmail account you want to remove.

3. Click Remove.

4. Click Yes to confirm that you want to remove the account.

5. Click Close.

Office Outlook 2003

1. On the Tools menu, click E-mail Accounts.

2. Select View or change existing e-mail accounts, and then click Next.

3. On the E-mail tab, click the Windows Live Hotmail account, and then click Remove.

4. Click Yes to confirm that you want to remove the account.

5. Click Finish.

You can uninstall the Outlook Connector in Control Panel in Windows. For more information on removing programs, see Windows Help and Support.

Update a Windows Live Hotmail account password

If you change your Windows Live Hotmail account password, you must also update the information in Outlook. You first change your password at the Windows Live Hotmail Web site, and then you update the password that is saved in Outlook.

Follow the instructions for the version of Office Outlook you are using.

Office Outlook 2007

1. On the Tools menu, click Account Settings.E-mail tab in Account Settings

2. On the E-mail tab, click the Windows Live Hotmail account you want to update.

3. Click Change.

4. On the E-mail tab, click the Windows Live Hotmail account, and then click Change.Microsoft Office Outlook Connector account configuration

5. In the Password box, type your new password.

6. Click OK.

7. On the Account Settings dialog box, click Close.

Office Outlook 2003

1. On the Tools menu, click E-mail Accounts.

2. Select View or change existing e-mail accounts, and then click Next.

3. On the E-mail tab, click the Windows Live Hotmail account, and then click Change.Microsoft Office Outlook Connector account configuration

4. In the Password box, type your new password.

5. Click OK.

6. On the E-mail Accounts dialog box, click Finish.

Synchronize calendars from Windows Live Calendar

With the Outlook Connector, you can view your calendars from Windows Live Calendar in Microsoft Office Outlook, including other people’s calendars that have been shared with you. By managing your calendars in Outlook, you can take advantage of the time-management features that Outlook offers such as viewing multiple calendars in Outlook at the same time. With Outlook 2007 and the Outlook Connector, you can also:

• view tasks and flagged messages beneath your appointments on the days in which they are due

• Categorize your appointments with custom color categories

• Overlay multiple calendars

Additionally, any changes you make to your Windows Live Calendar calendars in Outlook are automatically synchronized with the Web version in your Windows Live Hotmail account.

You can view and edit your Windows Live Calendar in Outlook, however, your Outlook calendar will not be available on Windows Live.