Instant Messaging

 
Instant Messaging
Section 1:
Instant Messaging Explained
Essential Information
Instant messaging allows you to see when your friends are
online, so you can chat to each other in real time. It’s a
bit like sending an e-mail and getting an instant response.
Instant messaging works on a standard Internet connection
but you need broadband to make the most of it. And best
of all, it’s completely free.
Section 2:
Choosing an Instant Messaging
Service
Essential Information
Unfortunately, most services aren’t smart enough to talk
to each other so to use instant messaging you and all your
friends need to download the same instant messaging
service. So the first thing to check is if any of your friends
already use instant messaging. If they do, then download
the same service. If not, then you can take the lead and
choose a service. Which one you choose is down to
personal preference, but you’ll then have to convince your
friends to download the same service. Otherwise you’ll be
talking to yourself.
There are three main instant messaging services to
choose from: MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger and
AOL Messenger. Here we concentrate on one of the
most popular, MSN Messenger, but they all work in a
similar way.
Section 3:
Registering with MSN Messenger
Action 1
Visit messenger.msn.com. Click on the Download button
to start installation.
Action 2
You can download the software straight away if you already
have an MSN or Hotmail e-mail account. If you don’t have
one of these then you’ll have to register for a Microsoft .NET
Passport account. Passport gives you access to lots of Microsoft
services with one login address. It’s free and you’ll only have
to do it once.
Action 3
When asked, click on Install to download the software
and then follow the on-screen instructions to complete
the set up.
Getting Started with MSN Messenger
Action 1
Start MSN Messenger either
from the list of All Programs
after you click the Start
button, or by clicking on the
Messenger icon in the bottom
right of your computer screen
(Fig. 1). You will be asked for your e-mail address and
password the first time you start the program.
Action 3
Your online status is important as it tells other people
when you are online. When you start Messenger, your
friends will be notified with a message to say you are
there. If you don’t want to talk to anyone you can change
the status, for example to Busy or On the phone. Your
friends will see that you’re there but they won’t be able to have a
conversation with you. Click on the arrow next to your online
status to change it (Fig. 3).
Online
This lets your friends know you’re online and willing to
talk.
Busy
You can still receive messages when you’re busy
but Messenger doesn’t alert you so you don’t get
interrupted.
Be Right Back
Shows you’re unavailable for a few minutes. You can still
receive messages.
Away
Lets your friends know that you can still receive their
messages, though they won’t get a response. Your online
status automatically switches to Away when you’re inactive
for five minutes
On the Phone
Shows you’re busy but you’ll be back in a while. You can
still receive messages.
Out to Lunch
Tells friends you’re not at your computer but will be back
later. You can still receive messages.
Appear Offl ine
Use this when you really don’t want to talk to anyone or
receive messages – it makes it look like you’re not online
when you are.
Your friends also have an online
status. The icon next to each
of your friend’s names in your
Contact address book (Fig. 4)
shows this. Each icon corresponds to those used in Fig.
3. For example, a red icon means your friend is Offline,
a blue icon means they are Online, and a blue icon with
a ‘no entry’ sign next to it, means they are Busy and
don’t want to talk.
Section 5:
Adding a Contact
Essential Information
Your address book is the key to Messenger. You need
to invite friends or ‘contacts’ to add you to their own
Messenger address books so you can talk to each other.
Action 1
Click on Contacts, Add a Contact then follow the
simple instructions. Here you can add a contact using your
friend’s e-mail address or mobile phone number (Fig. 5).
If they already have Messenger, they will be sent a message
to ask if they want to add you to their address book.
If they agree you’ll get a message back to let you know and
their name will automatically appear in your address book.
If they disagree it means they don’t want to talk to you and
your name will be blocked from contacting them in the
future. If they don’t already use Messenger they’ll be sent
an e-mail inviting them to download it.
Action 2
Your friends can also send an address-book-invite to you.
If they do, you’ll get a message asking if you accept their
invitation.
EXPERT TIP
You’ll notice that each contact in your address book can
be organised into one of several folders such as Coworkers,
Family or Friends. Moving a name to a different
folder is easy. Click on the name once, holding down
your left mouse button. Then move your mouse to drag
the name across. Release the button to drop the name
into the folder.
Section 6:
Sending a Message
Essential Information
Once you have one or more friends in your contact address
book you can start using instant messaging.
Action 1
If the icon next to your friend’s name is blue/green it means
they’re online and free to talk. Start the conversation by
double clicking on their name or by clicking on Actions
then Send an Instant Message.
Action 2
A new window will pop up – this is called the conversation
window. Type your message in the box at the bottom and
click Send. Your friend will receive this and type you a
message in return. As you talk, the transcript of what you’ve
both said appears in the box at the top (Fig. 6).
Action 3
You can carry on chatting for as long as you want. When
you’re finished saying goodbye, close the conversation
window by selecting File from the menu at the top of the
window, then choose Close.
Receiving a message works in the same way. Your
conversation window will pop up with your friend’s
message and you can reply to them straight away.
EXPERT TIP
If you wish, you can keep a copy of the transcripts
of your conversations. Messenger will do this for you
automatically. If you wish to switch this off, go to Tools,
Options, and click on Messages on the left. Untick the
box that says Automatically keep a history of my
conversations. To review old conversations go to the
main Messenger window and choose File and View
message history.
Section 7:
Personalising MSN Messenger
Essential Information
The fun part of messaging is that you can personalise it
with pictures, animations and backgrounds.
Action 1
You can add a picture of yourself or anything you want that
other people can see when you talk to them (see the Display
Picture in Fig. 2). Click on Tools and Change Display
Picture. Select Browse to find a picture on your computer
(perhaps one taken with your digital camera) and it will
automatically appear on the Messenger main screen.
Action 2
You can also change the background image of your
conversation window to something more interesting.
Click on Tools, and then My Backgrounds to see a list
of available backgrounds. Click on Browse to add one of
your own from the pictures on your computer– perhaps
a picture of your last holiday.
EXPERT TIP
If you have MSN Messenger version 7.5 or later you can
also add an animated background. To do this you need to
open a conversation window and click on Backgrounds
then choose one from the list.
Action 3
Tell your friends how you’re feeling by adding a personal
message next to your name on the Messenger main
screen. To add this go to Tools, Options and then click
on Personal on the left. Type your message in the box
that says Type a personal message for your contacts
to see.
Action 4
You can even tell your friends what music you’re listening
to. When you play music in Windows Media Player (see
Chapter Six) the song title of what you’re listening to will
appear on the Messenger main window, instead of your
personal message (Fig. 7). To turn on this feature go to
Tools, Options, Personal and tick the box that says Show
song information from Windows Media Player.
Section 8:
Emoticons and Winks
Essential Information
When you send a friend a message you can send a lot more
than just words. Emoticons and winks are fun cartoon-style
animations you can use to express yourself and add more
‘personality’ to your conversations.
Action 1
Open a conversation window and click on the smiley face
which can be found just above the box where you type your
message to choose from the available emoticons (Fig. 8)
– you could even create your own. While you’re ‘talking’,
you can send an emoticon such as a smiley face to show
you’re happy, or a red face to show you’re angry. To create
your own, select Tools, My Emoticons and Create. You
can choose any picture from your computer and Messenger
will turn it in to an emoticon.
Action 2
A wink is an animated emoticon with music that fills up
the screen and really helps get your point across (Fig. 9).
Click on Winks (on the same line as the smiley face) and
select the one you want to send. You can add more by
clicking Tools and My Winks.
Section 9:
Sharing Files and Photos
Essential Information
You can also send files, photos and documents to your
friends with instant messaging. It’s a simple way to share
information, especially if the other person lives far away
or abroad.
Action 1
To send a file, click on the Send Files button at the top of
a conversation window. Browse to select the file you want
to send from your computer. Your friend has to agree to
accept the file. Once they do the file will be transmitted
(Fig. 10). It might take a while to transfer but you can carry
on chatting in the meantime.
Section 10:
Voice Messages
Essential Information
You can also talk for free with instant messaging. Both you
and the person you’re talking to will need a microphone
and speakers. Plug them into your computer before you
get started.
Action 1
Click on the Voice icon located at the top of a conversation
window. The first time you use it follow the on-screen
instructions which will help set up your microphone
and speakers for optimum performance. Your friend will
receive a message asking if they want to add voice to your
conversation. If they do you can then type and talk at the
same time.
Action 2
If you wanted you could send a short voice clip (up to a
maximum of 15 seconds) to your friend such as a quick
message saying ‘Happy Birthday’ or inviting them out for
dinner. From a conversation window, click and hold the
Voice clip button (or press and hold F2 on your keyboard).
Speak your message, release the button and the voice clip
will be sent instantly to your friend. You’ll need MSN
Messenger version 7.5 or later for this to work.
Section 11:
Webcams and Instant Messaging
Essential Information
A webcam really brings messaging to life as you can see who
you’re talking to. It’s best if both people have a webcam
but if you have a webcam and your friend doesn’t, that’s
still fine. They’ll be able to see you but you won’t be able
to see them. Chapter Seven has tips on buying and using
a webcam.
Action 1
Messaging with a webcam is very easy. In a conversation
window click the Video icon at the top of the screen to
ask your friend if they want to add a webcam to your
conversation. If they accept, the webcam image of your
friend will appear automatically on your screen (Fig. 11).
Action 2
Newer versions of Messenger offer Video Conversation,
which make it feel like you’re almost there with your
friend. This uses your webcam and microphone together
so you can see and hear your friend in real time. From a
conversation window click on the Video icon and choose
Start a Video Conversation. If your friend accepts, you’ll
both see and hear each other. Click on the small arrow in
the bottom right-hand corner of the webcam image of your
friend to see them in full screen on your monitor.
Section 12:
Advanced Features of MSN Messenger
MSN Messenger is invaluable and fun and you’ll find there
are extra features you can also use.
Whiteboard
Express yourself by doodling with your mouse pointer
at the same time as
your friend (Fig.
12). You can then
copy your artistic
creation to another
program afterwards.
In a conversation
window click on
Activities and then
Whiteboard.
Remote Assistance
Remote Assistance allows your friend to see your computer
screen and take control of it remotely. This is great if they
want to show you something on your computer or help
you solve a problem. But it is strange watching your friend
controlling the mouse pointer on your computer screen.
In a conversation window select the Activities icon and
Remote Assistance. Messenger will then invite your
friend to switch on Remote Assistance. They’ll have to
agree before you can start.
Application Sharing
With Remote Assistance you can also share any program on
your computer using Application Sharing. You could share
Microsoft Word for example and write a letter together or
surf the web together to book a holiday or concert tickets.
Only one person controls the screen at any one time. Invite
your friend to start Application Sharing from a conversation
window by clicking on the Activities button.
EXPERT TIP
You can send text messages to your friend’s mobile
phone as well as receive them. If you’re not at your
computer when your friend replies, Messenger will save
their message until the next time you log on. Click the
right button on your mouse over any of the contacts in
your address book and choose Add a Mobile Number
for this Contact. If your friend isn’t online when you
are using Messenger, the icon next to their name will be
yellow. This means that you can still send a text message
to their mobile phone. To do this, double click on their
name in your address book and follow the on-screen
instructions. You’ll have to buy credits online in order
to send a mobile message. It costs about the same as
sending a text message from a normal mobile phone. If
you don’t have credits select Buy now after you double
click on a contact’s name.
Section 13:
Managing Your Privacy
Essential Information
If you switch on your computer to do something specific
it can sometimes be distracting to get messages from your
friends. So make sure you keep a track of your online
status and switch it to Busy or something else if you don’t
want to talk.
Action 1
You must decide whether or not you want Messenger to
start automatically when you switch on your computer.
To allow Messenger to connect and to launch the program
every time you switch on, go to Tools, Options and click
General. Tick the box that says Automatically run
Messenger when I log on to Windows as well as the
box that says Allow automatic sign in when connected
to the Internet.
Action 2
If you want Messenger to connect to the Internet in the
background but not to start the program when you start up
your computer untick the Automatically run Messenger
when I log on to Windows box. That way you can get on
with what you’re doing and Messenger will only interrupt
you if a friend sends you a message.
Action 3
When Messenger starts it will
show your status as online
and available to talk. But
you can choose to start the
program with another status
such as Appear Offline, so
you can decide later if you
want to let friends know you
are there. To do this, start
Messenger and before you
click to Sign In change the
status below your password
(Fig. 13). Messenger will
remember this and will start
with the same status in the
future.
Section 14:
Other Messaging Services
AOL Instant Messenger (AIM)
aim.com
AIM allows you to set up multiple identities so you can
have different, customised versions of you. That way you
can have a more serious one for work and something more
relaxed for your friends and family.
Yahoo! Messenger
messenger.yahoo.com
Yahoo! has packed loads of extra features into their
messaging service including Stealth Settings which
allow you to appear online to some friends and offline
to others.
Multiple Messengers
The problem with MSN Messenger, Yahoo! or AIM is
that you can only talk to people who use the same service.
Multiple messengers are clever enough to talk to everyone
no matter which service they use. But they don’t have many
advanced features such as webcams and mobile messaging.
However, they are a good option if all your friends use
different instant messaging services, and aren’t willing to
change to the same one. Two examples include:
Trillian
ceruleanstudios.com
Miranda
miranda-im.org