I have been a loyal user of Outlook Express for many years and understand that this program has been replaced by Windows Live Mail on Windows 7 operating system. Can I use all my four email addresses in Windows 7 – even Hotmail and Gmail? It would be nice to know the differences between Outlook Express and Windows Live Mail before I take the plunge. Thankful for any advice and suggestions.
Abraham Pureen
You’ve rightly learnt that Windows Live Mail is the default email software on Windows 7 just like Outlook Express was on Windows XP. The basic function of these programs is to download email from the online server and store in on your computer. However, there are many stark differences between Outlook Express and Windows Live Mail. But before I get into that, let me answer your first question.
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Can you use all your four emails on Windows 7 including Hotmail and Gmail?
Yes! As long as the email account is POP enabled, you can add it in Windows Live Mail. In fact, if you have configured these accounts in Outlook Express, you don’t need to set them up on the new computer manually because the settings as well as the messages can be transferred from Outlook Express to a Windows 7 via the import and export functions. Please refer the following links.
- Copy Outlook Express email account to Windows 7
- Copy email from Outlook Express to Windows Live Mail
Differences between Outlook Express and Windows Live Mail
Though Windows Live Mail is based on Outlook Express, the new email client is much more advanced… and rightly so, else people would have demanded the old one back! Giving the software a new name and changing the interface cannot stop me from referring to Windows Live Mail as Outlook Express 8 – tongue-in-cheek, of course.
| Feature | Outlook Express | Windows Live Mail |
|---|---|---|
| RSS Reader | N | Y |
| Blogging tool | N | Y |
| Junk e-mail filter | N | Y |
| Default folders | 5 | 5 for each email account set up in the program. |
| Identities | Y | N – Identities replaced by Windows 7 user accounts. Refer Windows Live Mail Identities for details. |
| Photo e-mail | N | Y. Windows Live Mail Photo e-mail feature is a great way to send really large images over email without burdening the recipient with huge downloads. |
| Search function | Slow | Very fast |
| HTML source view | Y | N |
| Contacts details | Stored in Outlook Express address book | Stored in Windows Contacts |
| Safety options | Limited to blocked senders list | Blocked list, phishing email detection etc. |
Windows Live Mail is quite a good program and I’ve been using it for almost two years now. I used it on my Windows Vista computer which probably made the transition to Windows 7 smoother. Do I recommend it? On yeah!
By the way, don’t confuse Outlook with Outlook Express. These two programs are different, the former was a trimmed down version and available for free. At the time of writing, Outlook cost is about $140.
Thanks for the comparison between old Outlook and Windows Live Mail. I’d like to have a comparison between Outlook 2010 and WLM. In what way is Outlook 2010 (paid) better than Windows Live Mail (free) that comes with Windows 7?
Outlook is a full-fledged email client that integrates well with other Microsoft Office products like Word or OneNote. And if I’m not mistaken, you also get ‘proper’ customer support. For more refer – http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/outlook-2010-features-and-benefits-HA101810016.aspx
Very good article , really it make it clear understanding.
Thanks for the comparison between old Outlook and Windows Live Mail.Very good article , really it make it clear understanding.
I have Outlook and Live Mail. Despite having paid $125 for Outlook, I much prefer the Live mail program. Somehow feels more stable and faster. Everything you do is done immediately unlike Outlook which seems to drag on forever. Also it’s extremely easy to add email accounts whereas with Outlook to link to outlook.com I had to download a program. Wish I had known about Windows Live Mail years ago (or its predecessor if it was as good).
Somehow I was switched to WLM from OE. Lost all my emails saved and addresses and still having nightmares. Somehow WLM and OE are both on start, but WLM , all emails are blank/can’t open nor read past saved. Never signed on to WLM.