Summary: The recent redesign of the Windows Live Hotmail has many people reporting missing folders. It's likely that they're not missing, just hiding.
I'm getting several reports of people who are unable to access the folders that they may have set up in Hotmail. Typically, the claim is that the folders are "gone" after the Hotmail UI update.
I did a little looking into it, and found at least a couple of possibilities that would indicate that the folders aren't gone at all.
They're just hiding.
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First, let me show you what I see:
As you can see, beneath "Deleted" I have my own folder "Leos Folder".
However, if the browser window containing Hotmail is too small to allow Hotmail to show the full list of folders, this happens:
You can see that my folder has disappeared.
If you look closely, though, you'll also see that a scrollbar has appeared next to the folder list. Use that to scroll down, and the rest of the folders can be seen:
I believe that a lot of people are simply missing this particular change to the Hotmail user interface. Your folders are there, just in a list that's partially obscured.
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Now, along those same lines I discovered an issue that can only be described as a bug in the Hotmail user interface.
If I choose "Manage Folders", at the bottom of the folder list, I get this:
However, if I make the browser window narrower, it eventually looks like this:
As you can see, the folder names have disappeared! The column has resized to the point of not showing them at all.
Now, that's just under 1000 pixels wide, which means it probably works well at 1024x768 and larger screens, but if you have, say, 800x600, I know of no solution to manage your folders by name without making your window larger, or perhaps changing the text size to be smaller so that more can fit in the allotted space. (In IE, hit View, Text Size, and then select the next smaller setting than your current setting.)
The fact that the names are allowed to disappear is, in my opinion, a bug in the Windows Live Hotmail user interface. At a minimum, they should have resized a different, less important column, or allowed the columns to be resized.
Related:
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How can I get the old Windows Live Hotmail back? How can I get the old Windows Live Hotmail back?
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Where did the Windows Live Hotmail Reply and Forward buttons go? Every so often the Windows Live Hotmail interface changes and it's easy to miss where certain things went. I'll point you at Reply and Forward.
Article C3579 - November 30, 2008
The thing is....there's nothing under deleted except ' Manage Folders" :(....
Posted by: Kevin H. at December 1, 2008 12:54 AMI think you are talking about folders disappearing when you converted to Windows Live Hotmail, right?
I had the same thing happen when I converted to the first beta of this style. I do believe, at that time, I was able to switch back, out of the beta.
It's no consolation, but it does offer advice that before ever again switching formation in Hotmail, MOVE ALL EXISTING MESSAGES TO YOUR INBOX!
Posted by: Doug at December 2, 2008 7:55 PMMy folders are still active but my contacts folder is empty and it will not allow me to save any address as a contact. HELP!
Posted by: Peggy at December 3, 2008 6:56 AMUnfortunately, there is no scroll bar on my hotmail, my folder I've had there since I opened the account in 1997 is not there anymore, and it is not listed under manage folders. I did save the emails in there but they are on floppy disk, and I no longer have a floppy drive on my new pc. I'm not even sure they are any good any more. After I saved them years ago, I never thought about saving them in a newer format. Pity me...not, I guess.
Posted by: Linda White at December 6, 2008 2:59 PMI have not used my hotmail account for the last month, just wanted to know if it is deleted altogether because I did use it in December. Thank you
Posted by: Rosalyn Holland at January 18, 2009 3:21 AMI can read my hotmail account emails now since i have live. Are the emails gone forever out of my hotmail account? Is live and hotmail the same? I still have an @hotmail.com account? can i still sign in to it?
Posted by: chris s at February 26, 2009 9:36 PMi have had this email address stolen but need my folders to add to my new email address. sometimes a box comes up saying downloading from folders but i do not know how to get this out to add to [email address removed]...can you help me find these folders...i would be greatful...thanks...deborah
Posted by: deborah stalker at June 8, 2009 2:27 PMAll of my contacts and emails on msn have disappeared, including my bills (which need paying) and myh current job emails (which I badly need. I have no scroll bar, and no folder on the hotmail page.
Posted by: Karen Morgan at September 24, 2009 1:55 PM