This brief tutorial explains how you can now access your Outlook.com or Hotmail.com email from within the Microsoft Edge browser, without having to open a tab or new window.
Microsoft recently and quietly released a preview version of an add-on for the Edge browser named Microsoft Outlook (don’t ask me, I didn’t name it). The add-on puts a small icon in your browser toolbar and when you click that icon you’re presented with a condensed but very detailed look at your Outlook.com or Hotmail.com inbox. You can view your emails, compose and respond to emails (easily attach photos/files), delete, flag or archive messages and much, much more. Here’s how to get started using the Microsoft Outlook add-on for Edge –
- Head over to the Microsoft Outlook add-on page and click the Get button. Unlike most of the add-ons for Edge, this one is only for Edge and doesn’t work in Chrome or any other Chromium-based browsers.
- Click the Add extension button when prompted.
- A new icon will appear in your toolbar. Give it a click.
- Now click the Sign in button.
- Enter your email address and then click the Next button. You may also be asked to enter your password – do so if it’s requested.
- Now your Inbox will load inside a small panel that expands from the Microsoft Outlook icon in your taskbar. To compose an email from within this panel, click the plus sign ( + ) button.
- A condensed ‘compose an email’ screen will load within the Microsoft Outlook panel. This minimal version lacks pretty much all formatting options but it can be quite handy if you’re referring to a web page a lot while writing the email, as it hovers right above the page.
- When you click a link within an email in the Microsoft Outlook add-on panel it opens in new tab in Edge, as you’d expect.
- When you hover your cursor over an email a series of 4 icons will appear, and selecting one of those icons allows you to quickly delete the email, archive the email, flag the email or pin the email.
- There’s also a series of tabs at the bottom of the panel – those tabs are your Calendar, Contacts and To-Do list – making this add-on that much more helpful.
Before you go be sure to check out our other tips, tricks and tutorials for Microsoft Edge.
