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Introducing Yahoo! Messenger

What Is...Installing Messenger and Signing InChanging the LanguageYour Yahoo! ContactsConversing With Your FriendsGetting Started

Getting Started

Now that you’ve installed Yahoo! Messenger, you’re ready to start using the collection of features that let you communicate with your friends in a variety of ways. Follow the quick start below to add contacts, invite friends, and start using Yahoo! Messenger to communicate with anyone, anywhere in the world.

Personalize Yahoo! Messenger and let your friends see your different personalities and moods using:

  • Emoticons—a small character that shows someone how you feel during an instant message conversation. Happy Happy emoticon, Sad Sad emoticon, Laughing Laughing emoticon, and many more.
  • Avatars—special types of display images. Avatars are characters you can personalize and use when interacting with friends online. By changing hairstyles, clothes, accessories, and backgrounds, you can create your own unique persona.
  • Audibles—animated characters that say things out loud. Send them to someone in an IM conversation to say hello, goodbye, and more.

Customize Yahoo! Messenger to fit your needs through:

  • IMVironments—interactive backgrounds you can select when talking to your friends. Choose from many different IMVs in Yahoo! Messenger to express yourself.
  • Alerts and Sounds—audio and visual alerts that occur for specified events, such as when a contact comes or goes offline, or when an instant message arrives.
  • Skins—color schemes to use for your Messenger windows.
  • Stealth Settings—settings that allow you to appear online to some people and offline to others.

Note: Most of these personalization and customization features are not available when you are conversing with one of your Windows Live™ Messenger contacts.

 

Here’s How

  1. Add contacts to your Messenger List.

  2. Invite friends to join you using Yahoo! Messenger.

  3. Let friends know when you’re free to talk.

  4. Send an instant message to your friends.

  5. Personalize your IM conversations.

  6. Show your personality to others.

  7. Add a Pingbox™ to your personal Web page so you can instant message visitors.

  8. Personalize Yahoo! Messenger.

  9. Keep up with your friends through Yahoo! Updates.

  10. Call a friend using the PC-to-PC feature.

  11. Enjoy a video call with your loved ones.

  12. Call a friend using the Yahoo! Phone Out feature.

  13. Get a Phone In number for your computer so that friends can call your computer.

  14. Protect your privacy.

 

What’s Next

Yahoo! Messenger provides a variety of ways to communicate with your friends, family, and colleagues in real time. Add them as contacts to your Messenger List and start using Yahoo! Messenger’s many features.

 

Help Topics

 
 

Words to Know

  • Audible: an animated character inserted in an instant message that says something out loud to your contact after you send your message, such as "Welcome" or "Dude!"
  • Avatar: a character that you can use when interacting with friends online. By changing hairstyles, clothes, accessories, and backgrounds, you can create your own unique persona.
  • Contact: a person with whom you interact; someone to whom you might want to send an email, instant message, or text message.
  • Display image: a picture or avatar that represents you in some way and that you share with your contacts during IM conversations.
  • Emoticon: a small character that shows someone how you feel during an IM conversation, such as happy, sad, or laughing.
  • IMVironment (IMV): a themed environment that you can select when instant messaging your friends. Potentially, both you and your friends see the IMV during your conversation.
  • Instant messaging: the ability to exchange messages in real time with other people over the Internet.
  • Messenger List: the main part of the Contact List in Yahoo! Messenger. The Messenger List includes the contacts with whom you communicate most often.
  • Skin: a selection that controls the overall look of the Messenger windows.
  • Stealth setting: a setting that allows you to choose when specific contacts see you as online or offline.
  • Windows Live™ Messenger: Microsoft® Windows’ free instant messaging application.