Mail (Windows)

Mail

A component of Microsoft Windows
Mail running on Windows 10 in light mode
Details
Type	Email client
Included with	Windows Vista, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile, Windows Holographic
Also available for	Windows Phone 7, Windows Phone 8, Windows Phone 8.1
Replaces	Outlook Express, Windows Live Mail
Related components
Calendar, People

Mail is an email and newsgroup client developed by Microsoft and included in the Windows Vista, 8, 8.1, and 10 operating systems. The main feature of Mail is sending and receiving email. It is a successor to Outlook Express, which was either included with or released for Windows 9x family and the older versions of Windows NT family.

Windows Mail was announced by Microsoft as the successor to Outlook Express on October 10, 2005 via its community website Channel 9. This initial version featured fundamental changes and a new user interface but not as much in the way of new features.

The origins of Windows Mail can be traced back to a pre-release version of Outlook Express 7 included in early builds of Windows Vista, then known by its codename, "Longhorn." This version of Outlook Express introduced various changes to the user interface and relied on WinFS for the management and storage of contacts and other data. While retaining support for (POP) and (IMAP) email protocols, Outlook Express 7 dropped support for HTTP, an omission inherited by Windows Mail.

Windows Mail's user interface is changed to match the look and feel of Windows Vista. Some interface features were imported from Microsoft Outlook 2003, including the right-hand "reading pane". Microsoft Help Groups has been added, which is a preconfigured link to Microsoft's newsgroups. Some additional functionality has been layered on top of the standard newsgroup functionality to have individual threads be marked as a "question" or an "answered question". Postings may be rated as well.

Windows Mail uses IPv6 if the domain name for the servers resolves to IPv6.

Mail messages are now stored in individual files instead of in a single database file. A transactional index database based on the Extensible Storage Engine enables real-time searching and improves the stability and the reliability of the stored data. In case of corruption, the indices can be rebuilt from the mail files. Account setup information is no longer stored in Windows Registry. It is instead stored alongside the mail itself, making it possible to copy an entire Windows Mail configuration and mail store to another machine in a single step.