How To Create And Use Groups In Hotmail

Creating and Sending Email to a Group in Hotmail.

Guide Overview

The purpose of this guide is to teach you how to create an email 'Group' (or mailing list) using MSN Hotmail and use it to make emailing to multiple addresses easier.
As an example we will assume Ted, Sue, Bob and Alice are members of your Class of '86 and you are the author ot the "Class of '86 Newsletter" which is distributed by email.
To complicate things one class member (Alice) does not want anyone else to know her email address.


Creating a Group in Hotmail

• Open your web browser and log on to Hotmail.
• Click on the 'Contacts' tab.
• Click the pull-down menu beside the 'New' button (circled).
• Click on 'Group'.
  
  
  
  
• In the modified window enter the Group name.

Adding addresses to a Group in Hotmail

• Under the 'Contacts' tab, after defining a Group name (item ) you can highlight a name from the 'My Contacts' list or type an email address in the box below the contacts list (item ).
• Click the 'Add>>' button (item ) and the email address will appear in the 'Group Members' list on the right.
• When all the required email addresses have been added click the Save button on the toolbar (item ).
  
  

Now we have added Bob, Sue and Ted to the "Class of '86" group, we need to repeat the process and make another group for those who wish to keep their email addresses private. In our example let's call this "Class of '86 Confidential".
Add Alice's address to the "Class of '86 Confidential" and save that group.

Mailing to a Group in Hotmail

• Click on the 'Mail' tab and click the 'New' button, or if you have just started Hotmail afresh click the 'New Message' button.
• The browser will change to a 'New Message' page. On the right hand side is a 'Favourite Contacts' sidebar. The Groups you created above should be visible there.
• The familiar "To:", "Cc:" and "Bcc:" boxes are available. A dark blue arrowhead (circled) shows which of these recipient boxes is selected. It starts at the "To:" box.
• Click once on the 'Class of '86' entry in the 'Favourite Contacts' to copy the address into the "To:" box.
• Click in the "Bcc:" box to select it, the arrowhead should now point at the "Bcc:" box.
• Click once on the 'Class of '86 Confidential' entry in the 'Favourite Contacts' to copy that address.
  
  
  
  
• As with any email, enter a message subject (item ).
• Enter the text of the newsletter to be sent to the Class of '86 (item ).
• Click the 'Send" button on the toolbar. (item ).
  
  

Your newsletter will be emailed to the whole of the Class of '86 without displaying the email addresses of those members who wish it to remain confidential.
If all the Class's addresses were to be confidential then the whole Group could be put in the "Bcc:" box. When the email is sent it will then appear to be sent "To: undisclosed-recipients".

Edited by Rimmer, 06 February 2006 - 05:08 AM.