| Specifying Message Preferences | Changing the Skin | Controlling Alerts and Sounds |
Note: The alerts and sounds described in this task are seen
and heard while using the Yahoo! Messenger client. For example, you can
set an alert to let you know when an email message arrives in your Yahoo! Mail account.
Then, if you like, you can access your Mail account from Messenger.
This alert occurs only if you’re signed into Messenger. If you’re
signed into Yahoo! Mail but not Messenger, the alert doesn’t occur.
If you’re new to Messenger, take a look at the Introducing Yahoo! Messenger tutorial where you’ll
learn how to download, install, and launch the Messenger client.
As you use Messenger, you’ll most likely see alerts and hear sounds. For example, when a contact sends you an instant message or an email message, you might hear a sound, or when a contact signs into Messenger, you might hear a sound and see a small window telling you that the contact is online. We’ve included lots of alerts and sounds to let you know when things happen. You can control these through the Messenger Preferences window.
If you haven’t already, open and sign into Yahoo! Messenger. Need help?
Open the Messenger Preferences window by selecting Preferences from the Messenger menu in the main Yahoo! Messenger window.

In the Preferences window, select the Alerts & Sounds category on the left.

On the right side of the Preferences window, check Enable alert sounds (it’s checked by default), then select an event from the Alert me when list (such as I receive a message in Yahoo! Mail as shown below).

The area below the event list updates to show the possible alerts and sounds that you can set for the selected event.
In the area below the list, check the alert options you would like Yahoo! Messenger to employ when the event occurs.

Tips:
Many events have alerts and sounds enabled by default.
If you don’t want to be alerted to a particular event, select the
event, and then uncheck each box in the Alert me by section.
To change a sound, click the Browse button
and
select from the list of available sounds. To hear the displayed
sound, click the Play button
.
This is the sound you will hear when the event occurs.
Click the OK button.
You’ll see alerts and hear sounds for all the events you have enabled when the events occur.
Don’t like all the movement and noise? You can turn off all alerts by unchecking Enable alert sounds. If you want some alerts, but not all, keep Enable alert sounds checked, and then uncheck the alert options for specific events.