Yahoo! Messenger Tutorials

Working With the Messenger List

What Is... Understanding the Messenger List Interface Changing Your Status Controlling What the List Displays Changing the List's Font

What Is the Messenger List?

The Messenger List is a list of contacts (your friends, family, and associates) who also use Messenger. You can communicate with anyone on your Messenger List—send instant messages, make calls, play games, and more.

The list displays on the Messenger tab and includes groups of contacts.

The Messenger List displays groups of contacts.

Populate your Messenger List with contacts by asking people who have a Yahoo! ID if you can add them to your list. You can also invite people to join you in using Messenger. Once you and a contact agree to communicate, you can use any of Yahoo! Messenger's features to interact with each other.

Your Messenger List includes a contact card for each contact that provides quick communication access and the contact's main details, such as phone number and Yahoo! ID. Use this card to quickly send an instant message, make a call, send an email, and more.

A contact card.

 

Here's How

  1. In the Messenger List, move the cursor over a contact's name.

    Move the cursor over a name to see the contact card.

    The contact card opens.

  2. In the card, do any of the following:

    • Click an icon to initiate communication with the contact.

      Click an icon to initiate communication.

    • Click the email address to send an email message.

      Click the email address.

    • Click View/Edit Contact Details to open the Contact Details window where you can update this contact's details.

      Click View/Edit Contact Details.

    • Click the You appear online/offline to this contact button to change your stealth setting.

      Click the You appear online/offline to this contact button.

    • Click the Show/Hide Contact Details button to show or hide the contact details section of the card.

      Click the Show/Hide Contact Details button.

  3. To close the card, move the cursor off of the contact's name.

 

What's Next

Learn about your Messenger List interface.

 

Words to Know

  • Contact: a person with whom you interact; someone to whom you might want to send an email or instant message.
  • Group: one or more contacts that you organize together under one unique name, similar to an email list. By default, Yahoo! Messenger adds contacts to the "Friends" group included in the application.
  • Messenger List: a list of coworkers, friends, family, and associates who also use Yahoo! Messenger.
  • Yahoo! ID: the name by which a person is known to all Yahoo! networks.
  • Stealth setting: a setting that allows you to choose when specific contacts see you as online or offline.