Personalizing Your IM Conversations
| Changing Font and Color | Using Emoticons | Using Audibles | Using Buzz |
Using Emoticons
Are you feeling ridiculously happy at
the moment 
?
Maybe a tad confused 
?
Can’t find the words to express your feelings in text? Use an emoticon.
An emoticon is a small character that you can include in your instant
message to show how you feel. The concept isn’t new. It’s just better.
You’ve probably sent or received email messages with keyboard characters,
such as ;-) or :-(. Yahoo! Messenger provides these characters in graphic
form and lets you choose from dozens of mood emoticons, many of
them animated, such as rolling on the floor laughing 
!
If you’d like to see all of the emoticons available to use in a conversation, click here.
Here’s How
Add an emoticon to your instant message in any of the following ways:
Click the emoticon button, then select an emoticon from the palette.
Tips:
The palette differs when you’re conversing with a Windows Live™ Messenger contact.
To see a descriptive tooltip, hold the cursor over an emoticon.Type the code directly into your message to use an emoticon that isn’t available on the palette or if you know the emoticon code,.
The input area of the conversation window shows the emoticon code even if you chose from the palette, in this example "B-)".
Press the Enter key or click the Send button to send the message and emoticon.
The conversation area of the conversation window shows the emoticon’s graphic, and this is how your contact sees the emoticon.
What’s Next
Emoticons are on by default, and turning them off (or back on) is easy. In the Messages category of the Preferences window (accessed through the Messenger menu), uncheck Enable emoticons, and then click the OK button.
Words to Know
- Contact: a person with whom you interact; someone to whom you might want to send an email, instant message, or text message.
- Windows Live™ Messenger: Microsoft® Windows’ free instant messaging application.