ms mail identities

I have several Mail 'Identities' that I use in Outlook Express under 1 logged on userid. This feature is quite handy for keeping separate activities compartmentalized.
This Beta version of mail does not support identities (it does offer to collect/combine them into 1 account) will the production mail system do this?

No. Consider identities a feature of the past since they died with Outlook Express. What MS has in mind now is that users will create new profiles or accounts if they wish to keep things separated. It's a shame since the identities feature offered a chance to create a complete new registry set of keys when an earlier identity "went south" and to use as a test bed to help in solving problems with mail.
Progress is not always what it seems and all the MVPs present when the announcement to "kill" identities was made to them were quite vocal in their opposition to the idea. To no avail. The WinMail program was for all purposes at that time "locked in cement" and would not be changed. -- Jim Pickering, MVP, Outlook Express https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile=F9F51EF1-4AE3-4D23-B2D8-1171988A62D6 Please deliver feedback to the newsgroup, so that others can be helped.
"end user" <reply.2.newsgroup> wrote in message

I have several Mail 'Identities' that I use in Outlook Express under 1 logged on userid. This feature is quite handy for keeping separate activities compartmentalized.
This Beta version of mail does not support identities (it does offer to collect/combine them into 1 account) will the production mail system do this?

Then if Outlook Express (or a mail program with equivalent features) will not available in Vista; we will not be moving to Vista.
This feature has numerous benefits for small (and likely large) work groups, I can't believe it is being trashed. I know several people in other companies who also make extensive use of this feature.
How would the 'new profiles or accounts ' you refer to be implemented? Are we talking about separate user logon ids? I currently have 6 active identities and have had as many as 14. These are defined on a desk top and notebook and kept in sync.
"Jim Pickering" wrote in message

No. Consider identities a feature of the past since they died with Outlook Express. What MS has in mind now is that users will create new profiles or accounts if they wish to keep things separated. It's a shame since the identities feature offered a chance to create a complete new registry set of keys when an earlier identity "went south" and to use as a test bed to help in solving problems with mail.
Progress is not always what it seems and all the MVPs present when the announcement to "kill" identities was made to them were quite vocal in their opposition to the idea. To no avail. The WinMail program was for all purposes at that time "locked in cement" and would not be changed. -- Jim Pickering, MVP, Outlook Express https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile=F9F51EF1-4AE3-4D23-B2D8-1171988A62D6 Please deliver feedback to the newsgroup, so that others can be helped.
"end user" <reply.2.newsgroup> wrote in message I have several Mail 'Identities' that I use in Outlook Express under 1 logged on userid. This feature is quite handy for keeping separate activities compartmentalized.
This Beta version of mail does not support identities (it does offer to collect/combine them into 1 account) will the production mail system do this?

Can I suggest that you review the info in Help and Support about profiles. Identities are gone and that's a fact. If that fact makes Vista unusable for you, I think you fail to understand the advantages that can accrue if using profiles/accounts. But there is nothing else that can be done.
Identities in Windows Mail no longer exist. Sorry. -- Jim Pickering, MVP-Outlook Express/Windows Mail Please provide feedback so that others may be helped.

"end user" <reply.2.newsgroup> wrote in message

Then if Outlook Express (or a mail program with equivalent features) will not available in Vista; we will not be moving to Vista.
This feature has numerous benefits for small (and likely large) work groups, I can't believe it is being trashed. I know several people in other companies who also make extensive use of this feature.
How would the 'new profiles or accounts ' you refer to be implemented? Are we talking about separate user logon ids? I currently have 6 active identities and have had as many as 14. These are defined on a desk top and notebook and kept in sync.
"Jim Pickering" wrote in message No. Consider identities a feature of the past since they died with Outlook Express. What MS has in mind now is that users will create new profiles or accounts if they wish to keep things separated. It's a shame since the identities feature offered a chance to create a complete new registry set of keys when an earlier identity "went south" and to use as a test bed to help in solving problems with mail.
Progress is not always what it seems and all the MVPs present when the announcement to "kill" identities was made to them were quite vocal in their opposition to the idea. To no avail. The WinMail program was for all purposes at that time "locked in cement" and would not be changed. -- Jim Pickering, MVP, Outlook Express https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile=F9F51EF1-4AE3-4D23-B2D8-1171988A62D6 Please deliver feedback to the newsgroup, so that others can be helped.
"end user" <reply.2.newsgroup> wrote in message I have several Mail 'Identities' that I use in Outlook Express under 1 logged on userid. This feature is quite handy for keeping separate activities compartmentalized.
This Beta version of mail does not support identities (it does offer to collect/combine them into 1 account) will the production mail system do this?

I have read some of the 30 entries found with a search of 'profile'. I have more reading to do but it appears there is a one to one correspondence between userid and profile rather than the one to many correspondence of userid/identity that OE provides. In this respect MS Mail appears to act just like Outlook.
Also (partly tongue in cheek) re: "...I think you fail to understand the advantages that can accrue if using profiles/accounts. " Procrusties felt the users of his bed should conform but they probably did not have an enjoyable 'end user' experience. Being forced to logon 5 times to access 5 different mail accounts (if indeed that is required) is too much of a stretch (or truncation depending on how you look at it).
"Jim Pickering" wrote in message

Can I suggest that you review the info in Help and Support about profiles. Identities are gone and that's a fact. If that fact makes Vista unusable for you, I think you fail to understand the advantages that can accrue if using profiles/accounts. But there is nothing else that can be done.
Identities in Windows Mail no longer exist. Sorry. -- Jim Pickering, MVP-Outlook Express/Windows Mail Please provide feedback so that others may be helped.

"end user" <reply.2.newsgroup> wrote in message Then if Outlook Express (or a mail program with equivalent features) will not available in Vista; we will not be moving to Vista.
This feature has numerous benefits for small (and likely large) work groups, I can't believe it is being trashed. I know several people in other companies who also make extensive use of this feature.
How would the 'new profiles or accounts ' you refer to be implemented? Are we talking about separate user logon ids? I currently have 6 active identities and have had as many as 14. These are defined on a desk top and notebook and kept in sync.
"Jim Pickering" wrote in message No. Consider identities a feature of the past since they died with Outlook Express. What MS has in mind now is that users will create new profiles or accounts if they wish to keep things separated. It's a shame since the identities feature offered a chance to create a complete new registry set of keys when an earlier identity "went south" and to use as a test bed to help in solving problems with mail.
Progress is not always what it seems and all the MVPs present when the announcement to "kill" identities was made to them were quite vocal in their opposition to the idea. To no avail. The WinMail program was for all purposes at that time "locked in cement" and would not be changed. -- Jim Pickering, MVP, Outlook Express https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile=F9F51EF1-4AE3-4D23-B2D8-1171988A62D6 Please deliver feedback to the newsgroup, so that others can be helped.
"end user" <reply.2.newsgroup> wrote in message I have several Mail 'Identities' that I use in Outlook Express under 1 logged on userid. This feature is quite handy for keeping separate activities compartmentalized.
This Beta version of mail does not support identities (it does offer to collect/combine them into 1 account) will the production mail system do this?

I also agree that it is a shame that MS have decided to ditch identities with the new mail program. My family have an an identity each to use with Outlook express. It's much easier and quicker to use this function than switching between profiles on windows. Still there is always Thunderbird. Jim waterfall

"end user" <reply.2.newsgroup> wrote in message

I have read some of the 30 entries found with a search of 'profile'. I have more reading to do but it appears there is a one to one correspondence between userid and profile rather than the one to many correspondence of userid/identity that OE provides. In this respect MS Mail appears to act just like Outlook.
Also (partly tongue in cheek) re: "...I think you fail to understand the advantages that can accrue if using profiles/accounts. " Procrusties felt the users of his bed should conform but they probably did not have an enjoyable 'end user' experience. Being forced to logon 5 times to access 5 different mail accounts (if indeed that is required) is too much of a stretch (or truncation depending on how you look at it).
"Jim Pickering" wrote in message Can I suggest that you review the info in Help and Support about profiles. Identities are gone and that's a fact. If that fact makes Vista unusable for you, I think you fail to understand the advantages that can accrue if using profiles/accounts. But there is nothing else that can be done.
Identities in Windows Mail no longer exist. Sorry. -- Jim Pickering, MVP-Outlook Express/Windows Mail Please provide feedback so that others may be helped.

"end user" <reply.2.newsgroup> wrote in message Then if Outlook Express (or a mail program with equivalent features) will not available in Vista; we will not be moving to Vista.
This feature has numerous benefits for small (and likely large) work groups, I can't believe it is being trashed. I know several people in other companies who also make extensive use of this feature.
How would the 'new profiles or accounts ' you refer to be implemented? Are we talking about separate user logon ids? I currently have 6 active identities and have had as many as 14. These are defined on a desk top and notebook and kept in sync.
"Jim Pickering" wrote in message No. Consider identities a feature of the past since they died with Outlook Express. What MS has in mind now is that users will create new profiles or accounts if they wish to keep things separated. It's a shame since the identities feature offered a chance to create a complete new registry set of keys when an earlier identity "went south" and to use as a test bed to help in solving problems with mail.
Progress is not always what it seems and all the MVPs present when the announcement to "kill" identities was made to them were quite vocal in their opposition to the idea. To no avail. The WinMail program was for all purposes at that time "locked in cement" and would not be changed. -- Jim Pickering, MVP, Outlook Express https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile=F9F51EF1-4AE3-4D23-B2D8-1171988A62D6 Please deliver feedback to the newsgroup, so that others can be helped.
"end user" <reply.2.newsgroup> wrote in message I have several Mail 'Identities' that I use in Outlook Express under 1 logged on userid. This feature is quite handy for keeping separate activities compartmentalized.
This Beta version of mail does not support identities (it does offer to collect/combine them into 1 account) will the production mail system do this?

To expand on my previous comment MS seems to think the only use for identities was for multiple users to share 1 account.
"The ability to create e-mail identities in Outlook Express, which allowed multiple people sharing the same computer to keep their e-mail separate, has been removed in Windows Mail. Instead, Windows Mail enables you to create a separate Windows user accounts for each person who wants to use e-mail on a single computer. ..." From the entry "What happened to e-mail identities?" in Help and Support
It does not seem the possibility of 1 user having multiple accounts (and wanting to access/store data from them in 1 place) was considered.
*Snipped*

"end user" <reply.2.newsgroup> wrote in message

I have read some of the 30 entries found with a search of 'profile'. I have more reading to do but it appears there is a one to one correspondence between userid and profile rather than the one to many correspondence of userid/identity that OE provides. In this respect MS Mail appears to act just like Outlook.
Also (partly tongue in cheek) re: "...I think you fail to understand the advantages that can accrue if using profiles/accounts. " Procrusties felt the users of his bed should conform but they probably did not have an enjoyable 'end user' experience. Being forced to logon 5 times to access 5 different mail accounts (if indeed that is required) is too much of a stretch (or truncation depending on how you look at it).

On my WinXP machine I use one OE identity for four different email accounts. The email is sorted into separate folder by message rules as it arrives. I don't have all of those accounts in WinMail because, of course, my Vista machine is not my production machine.
-- Frank Saunders, MS-MVP, OE/WM Please reply in newsgroup.

"end user" <reply.2.newsgroup> wrote in message

Procrusties felt the users of his bed should conform but they probably did not have an enjoyable 'end user' experience.

And Theseus squeezed him until he died. So much for stretching them until they fit. <G> -- Jim Pickering, MVP, Outlook Express

This is all Greek to me.
steve
"Jim Pickering" wrote in message

"end user" <reply.2.newsgroup> wrote in message Procrusties felt the users of his bed should conform but they probably did not have an enjoyable 'end user' experience.
And Theseus squeezed him until he died. So much for stretching them until they fit. <G -- Jim Pickering, MVP, Outlook Express

A number of people are not happy about this and once things finalize and the registry usage of WinMail is better figured out, then I think it will not be unlikely that someone will come up with a 3rd party addition that could emulate the Identities feature of OE for WinMail.
There are bugs right now in WinMail's programming interface that preclude much being done until they are fixed (and I'm told they are in future builds), so once that gets done, then such endeavors can proceed.
So don't despair yet. <G>
steve
"end user" <reply.2.newsgroup> wrote in message

To expand on my previous comment MS seems to think the only use for identities was for multiple users to share 1 account.
"The ability to create e-mail identities in Outlook Express, which allowed multiple people sharing the same computer to keep their e-mail separate, has been removed in Windows Mail. Instead, Windows Mail enables you to create a separate Windows user accounts for each person who wants to use e-mail on a single computer. ..." From the entry "What happened to e-mail identities?" in Help and Support
It does not seem the possibility of 1 user having multiple accounts (and wanting to access/store data from them in 1 place) was considered.
*Snipped*