Sending an IM is easy. There are several ways to do it, depending on who you want to IM. Here's how:

To send an IM to someone that you haven't added to your Yahoo! Messenger List:

1. Select "Actions."
2. Select "Send an Instant Message."
3. Select "Other Contact."
4. Enter the Yahoo! ID you want to send the message to.
5. Click "OK."
6. Type your message.
7. Click "Send."

If you enter an ID that doesn't exist the following message pops up:

The message for user "username" was not saved. Please verify the recipient's name and try again. Thank you.

To send an IM to a contact that you have added to your Yahoo! Messenger List:

1. Double-click the contact.
2. Select an alias from the "Send As:" field, if you like.
3. Type your message in the lower box.
4. Click "Send."

You can also send an IM to a person who's offline. The next time the person comes online, your message pops up automatically.

You can send an IM to multiple IDs by holding down the "Ctrl" key on your keyboard and clicking on the contacts you want to send the message to.

That's all there is to it. Happy messaging!