Okay, let's get started!

Here's how to view contact names how you want to

When you add a contact, what you see depends on what you enter in Contact Details for that contact. To see what you have entered for a contact:

1. Right-click on that contact's name in your friends list.
2. Select Contact Details.
3. The information that you enter here will determine what you will see when this person goes online/offline or sends you an Instant Message.

The display information is just for you. If you enter someone's first name is "Johnny," it doesn't mean that other people will see him/her as "Johnny" too. You'll see "Johnny" in the Instant Message window only when that person contacts you through Yahoo! Messenger.

By default, if you don't enter any contact details for a contact, you'll see the Yahoo! ID.

Similarly, what the other contacts see for you depend on what they have entered for your contact details.

Making others see you as you want to be seen

If you want other contacts to use the information you have entered for yourself, you may want to Send Contact Details for your Yahoo! Messenger ID to them. Here's how you can do that:

1. Click Actions on the main Messenger window.
2. Click Send My Contact Details.
3. You will then need to select the people from your friends list. These contacts will receive your information.
4. Click Next.
5. Check the box against the piece of information you want to send. If you want to change something before sending, click Edit My Contact Details.
6. Click Finish.

Your friend will receive your contact details in an Instant Message, which he/she can Accept or Decline. When your friend accepts the information you sent, it would be added to your friend's address book.

NOTE: The person receiving the updated contact request must accept the request to for the information to be changed on their list.

Editing your Account Information

Now, let's look at how you can personalize your email display name. The name that you enter in your Account Information is what other people will see when you send them an email message.

If you want to edit your name on the Yahoo! Account Info page:

1. Select Messenger from the main menu.
2. Select My Account Info. This will launch a new browser window.
3. Click Edit in the Address/Contact Information section.
4. Enter a name in the first name and last name fields.
5. Click "Finished[/b]. This displays the My Account Info page.
6. Click Finished.

If you change the name on the Yahoo! Account Info page, you will need to sign out and sign in again in order to reflect that name when sending an add request. Changes made in the My Contact Details page are effective immediately.

If you want to edit your name in the My Contact Details section within Yahoo! Messenger:

1. Select Messenger from the main menu.
2. Select My Contact Details. This opens a window where you can change your contact information.
3. Change your First Name and Last Name as you like.
4. Click Save & Close.

If you're sending a private message to someone through Chat, they'll only see your Yahoo! ID or profile you used to connect to Yahoo! Chat, even though your full name may appear in your own message window. For example, if your Yahoo! ID shows as "yahooid15887" and your name shows as "John Hancock" in the message window, they will still only see you as "yahooid15887."