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Is anyone else having difficulty with hotmail

caseycasey
edited July 2010 in - Writing Problems
My e-mail account is a hotmail account. It has recently been updated. I won't say improved because it's dreadful. I can't open any attachments in word. It used to open them directly in word but now it opens them in the e-mail bit and you can't put it into word unless you are using Word 2010 - the new version. Is anyone else having this problem. I have to click the 'edit the text' button, then it goes to something called skydrive. I then copy and paste it into word. The formatting is all cock-eyed, so I have to re-format before I can save it as a word file. Am I doing something wrong? Why is that whenever anythings is 'improved' it's ten times worse?
Anyone have a solution?

Comments

  • CarolCarol
    Mine opened up today with the latest style, but I haven't tried opening attachments yet.
    I've got one to look at so I'll go and do it now and see what happens, and get back to you.
  • PiperPiper
    I see what you mean. That is actually going to annoy me if you can't open word documents.

    But then again, I think MSN on a whole has failed with an error today. My Windows Live Messenger has announced a problem, so it might be why.

    I can't open anything. I do like it's improvements on the look, but if I can't open documents, none of my writing will be done any time soon.
  • CarolCarol
    I was able to open the attachment okay, but it was a PDF document so it didn't need Word for it.
    But I have to say it is a pain if the message is one of a long chain- I had to click on something at the top to see these other messages, and then on the individual messages to read them, can't just scroll down the page and read as I go....grrrr.
  • PiperPiper
    Can someone tell me how to download a word attachment then because I can't even get my word to open!
  • CarolCarol
    Sounds like the problem Casey had- see her solution at the top thread.
  • PiperPiper
    No, I physically cannot get anything. I click download, then download in fury and nothing opens. I get nothing, which is useless for me as now I can't do any writing and know where I've gone wrong. It won't even let me open them up in the email.

    All I know is if it hasn't been sorted out in two weeks time I am going to be furious.
  • CarolCarol
    I will go and look in my folders and see if I have any with Word document attachments- I know I have some.
  • caseycasey
    I have now found that I can open documents in word 2003 if I run the programme they offer at the top of the page. I have successfully managed to open one attachment, which I e-mailed from myself to myself (backup/storage) from my laptop which has Word 2003. I think the difficulty may be with my PC which has Word 1997 (yes I know - ancient - but then so am I) I can't open anything on that from my laptop or something sent from the PC ( It's getting complicated now).
    However, I did manage to open an attachment on my PC from WW (bragging here - they've just accepted one of my stories). I had no problem with that. I think the problem may be that Microsoft no longer support Office 97. I'm loathe to update this as I'm so used to using it and I don't want to lose all my old stuff. Isn't progress hell?
  • dorothyddorothyd
    sorry about the problems, people, but
    Congratulations, Casey!!!!
  • PiperPiper
    You're lucky you've opened anything at all. I only have Word 2007 on this laptop, and it won't opened it. I'm not going to worry about it for now, as Dad just said, it's a beta version. But if I can't access them in two weeks time, an angry email will arrive at Microsoft.
  • caseycasey
    Just found another problem. The attachment I opened and saved didn't go into my Word file. In fact, when I tried to save it in Word I had two versions of Word open. The one opened via e-mail did not have any of my documents in the folders. All the folder were there - all empty. If I save in this second version of Word - will they amalgamate with the other version? Otherwise, the files will be lost. I'm so confused. What a great waste of time.
  • CarolCarol
    Right I tried a Word document from one of my folders and instead of it opening Word it brought up a page titled in the top left hand corner as 'Word Web Ap Agenda (in blue text-the attachment I clicked on) on Hotmail.'
    It is making it difficult to do simple things- not good.
  • PiperPiper
    I can't even opened an email. Not happy. But as I said, I'm leaving it for two weeks while I'm away.
  • caseycasey
    Sorry to hear of your problems Pixie. They might just be temporary - you did say you had a message that Windows Live Messager had announced a problem. They could be working on it even as we speak. Let's hope it's all cleared up by tomorrow.
  • PiperPiper
    Well, I can open an email, but not an attachment. Anyway, it's not going to be a problem for a while.
  • CarolCarol
    When I got the new layout this morning I clicked off the Silverlight option message.
  • NutmegNutmeg
    well i have 2 email accounts... one is my uni account, they use hotmail and the other is my yahoo account... i use yahoo for everything but uni and work stuff... but i have noticed that this new hotmail does not allow me to sign in using my phone... the java script is apparently disabled but my phone has it enabled...so not sure what's going on there... and mom couldn't open a music file or a pdf the other night... oh wait, she could open it but not save... i don't like the new layout... at least i have a back up email... so if there is anything important that i can't open in hotmail i just send it to my other email account... yahoo has never let me down... well not as far as i remember :D
  • cekaceka
    Oh, God, I won't be able to open word documents either - better send myself one and see.
    I don't like the new hotmail either but what can we do about it?
  • cekaceka
    I just sent a Word Document to myself and then opened it OK.
    We'll see what happens when someone else sends me one!
  • CarolCarol
    Only contact them, and post comments on the web that makes it clear that it isn't working and not liked.
  • PiperPiper
    Don't get me wrong, I love the new layout. My only problem is the not being able of opening documents.
  • boredrobotsboredrobots
    I can open Word documents fine on mine, ones sent from other people as well.
    It lets me log into new Hotmail on my phone as well.
    Must be ex IT bod luck :D
  • CarolCarol
    It may be down to the individual systems we are each running.
  • PiperPiper
    Possibly Carol. It could be down to the browser we use. I use Opera and Opera Mini so things may vary.
  • mcbemusedmcbemused
    Has anyone tried using Open Office? Free from www.openoffice.org, this will open and allow you to edit word documents, and I sometimes find that openoffice will work where word will not.

    Other than that, it may just be that there are initial gremlins in the new Hotmail that will hopefully be ironed out soon.
  • SilentTonySilentTony
    edited July 2010
    Open Office is awful if you have grown with MS but great for a free app (I meant awful if you've always had the MS suite). Hotmail has been a bit weird since they changed it last week but fine really. I've been using the beta version for a while with full SkyDrive so easy adopt really. The free online office software is a great concept though.
  • PiperPiper
    Only great if you can get it to work.
  • SilentTonySilentTony
    Yeah maybe a few people or browsers are having new sofa issues. I use Chrome and have had no problem. I do dislike the fact that DELETE moves when moving from Junk to Inbox.
  • LolliLolli
    edited July 2010
    The answer is simple my dears. Just download EVERYTHING from all your various email Accounts into MS OUTLOOK, which is bundled with office, so if you have word/excel/publisher/powerpoint you'll have it and it's much easier than logging into hotmail all the time (OR HOtmail + Yahoo + bt etc) You also get a second security layer that way, as Hotmail and most other email providers won't let anything with a known virus through and you can have everything in Outlook scanned by your antivirus programme as well, before it opens. Works for me (I use incredimail, cos you get nice 'papers' to choose from.

    My hubby uses hotmail and he was steaming cos he couldn't WRITE any emails today!

    I had no probs. All my hotmail messages were delivered, as were all my other mails.

    Don't think it's a browser issue, tis Microsoft doing their usual of getting a product pour before it is completely bug tested! They admit that themselves.

    BTW I use safari on a PC not a mac and it's great. HUb uses Chrome, but I find that limiting. Lots of things I can do in safari or IE I can't do in Chrome
  • SilentTonySilentTony
    Lolli my god the old Incredimail, I had forgotten all about that. Used that about 8 years ago and loved it. Windows 7 and possibly others do come with the stand alone Live prog which is like Outlook and also Incredimail in a few ways.

    But to widen your point you are right, there are so many options out there, as with everything on the net, that you can pick and chose and personalise it all to your own needs.
  • PiperPiper
    I'd never go to MS Outlook.
  • caseycasey
    I don't even know what a beta version is. Most of these post are double-dutch to me. I just type stuff in Word, then attach it an e-mail and off I go. No iphone, no fancy programmes, just me, my keyboard, screen and printer. I feel I'm sinking into an abyss of technological phsycobabble. Drowning - not waving.
  • DaisyDaisy
    I use hotmail too. The thing that's annoyed me about them recently is that they've removed the automated vacation reply option. It used to be so useful if you were taking time off or going away as it just let people know you'd respond in due course and weren't ignoring them.
  • caseycasey
    I didn't know they'd done that. Another problem created, rather than solved.
  • CarolCarol
    I couldn't get in to hotmail first time I tried, so I tried again and got in without a problem. First time I got a message that indicated it was their problem not my computer...
  • mcbemusedmcbemused
    One new thing I have found really useful in the new-look hotmail is the 'sweep' button - I spent a happy 20 minutes clearing out my inbox emails into their respective folders, something you used to have to do one by one. Now you can simply select an email - an Amazon receipt, say - click sweep all to... choose the folder you want them saved into, and the programme moves every single email from that same sender address at once into its appropriate folder. Absolutely marvellous!
  • dorothyddorothyd
    Casey, with you there, it is all double Dutch to me too,
  • CarolCarol
    edited July 2010
    I've just been able to open a Word attachment in Word on my computer.
    Last night I didn't have the show full message line so wasn't able to see all of a shop newsletter, but that is now available.
    So hopefully further improvements will be made.
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