At the top of the Yahoo Messenger screen, there
are three communication icons
(IM,Text,
and Chat).
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Use the IM button to open a blank Instant
Message window. You can select the contact name from the
drop down box at the top of the instant message window. Shortcut: Double-click
the display name of the person on your contact list to whom
you wish to send a message. This will open an IM message
window. |
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Do not use the text icon unless you want to send an instant
message to someone's cell phone (not advised unless the recipient
has given you explicit permission to send text messages to
his/her cell phone). |
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Do not use the chat icon unless you want
to enter a public chat room (not advised). |
Text
By selecting the IM icon, a blank Instant Message
window will open. You will then need to select from the "To" drop-down
menu, the person you would like to IM. |
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There are two text
boxes on the instant message screen. The top box contains
the transcript of all text sent by you and your IM contact.
Use
the lower box to enter the text you want to send. If
the person with whom you are communicating is typing a response,
it will say so in the lower left corner of the message window. If
the person is typing a message, you should wait until you
see his/her response before sending additional text.
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Voice
Before using Voice as part of a one-to-one instant message
(chat session with one other person), consider the following:
- Although you can listen via your computer's speakers, use
a headset mic if you are going to talk.
- If the other person does not have a headset mic, he/she
can still hear you via his/her speakers and respond with
text.
- The speed of each participant's Internet connection
and the quality of his/her headset mic will affect
the overall audio quality. Quality ranges
from crackling ham radio to high-end speaker phone. Generally,
the fewer people participating, the greater the overall
quality will be (simply because you are reducing the
potential number of quality detractors, such
as slow or spotty Internet connections, bad microphones,
etc.).
- The audio portion of your chat does not appear
in the text window (you cannot see it, you can
only hear it). Keep this in mind if there are
any ADA compliance concerns (those concerns will be
based on who is participating in the chat and whether
the chat it is mandatory or optional).
- Currently, there is no way to save a transcript
of the audio portion of your chat. Only the text
portion can be saved.
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To speak with the person with whom you
are text messaging, click the Voice icon. The
person will receive an "accept/deny" message in his/her
instant message window. If
the person does not have a headset mic connected to the
computer, he/she will probably deny the request and then
explain why via the text window. If the person accepts
your request, you will receive this information in the
transcript portion of your instant message window, as shown
below.
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When you begin using audio as part of your instant message, a "Talk" indicator
will appear on your instant message window, as shown below.
- If you do not select "Hands Free", then you will
have to push the green Talk button every time you want
to say something. "Hands Free" mode works best,
unless there are other people in the room with you or there
is significant background noise, which you do not wish to "play/transmit" into
the message.
- If you have selected "Hands Free" mode and you need to speak
privately to someone standing next to you, select mute. Otherwise,
the person with whom you are instant messaging will hear
everything you say.
- If your telephone rings while you are engaged in a Hands-Free
voice chat on Yahoo Messenger, you should also select Mute. Be
sure to de-select Mute when you are ready to begin talking
again via Yahoo Messenger.
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Video
If you and the person with whom you are
chatting both have high speed Internet connections, one
or both of you you can add video to your chat.
Starting your own Webcam:
Assuming that
you have already connected a Webcam to your computer, there
are three ways to start your own Webcam:
Option 1: Before you open an instant
message with someone on your contact list, click the
Messenger menu on your contact list and select "Start My Webcam".
A "View My Webcam" link (see image below) will appear
next to your name in the IM contact list of anyone who
has added your username to his/her list of contacts.
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| Option 2: If you have an open IM
window (with someone on your contact list), select the
Webcam icon located on the IM window toolbar.
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Option 3: In the IM window, select
the Contact menu located on the IM window and select
the "Invite
to View My Webcam".
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If you select either Option 2 or 3 above,
the person with whom you are chatting will see an invitation
to view your Webcam in the transcript window of the IM
window. He/she may accept or decline the invitation. 
If he/she accepts the invitation, a small window
containing your Webcam video (see sample image
below) will appear on his/her screen.
Regardless of the method you use to activate your
Webcam, a warning window will appear containing the terms
and conditions of Yahoo Messenger Webcam service. Click
OK to continue.
You may be prompted to select your connection speed.
Viewing someone else's Webcam: Assuming
that someone on your contact list or the person with whom
you are chatting has started his/her Webcam, there are
two ways to view his/her Webcam image:
Option 1: If you are not engaged in an active
chat session yet, click the "View My Webcam" link
located to the right of the contact's ID/name on your
Messenger contact list. |
Option 2: If you are already engaged in an
active chat session, click the Contact menu in
the IM window, select Contact Options and View Webcam.
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Depending on the other person's IM preferences (settings),
he/she may have to grant permission for you to view his/her
Webcam before the Webcam image appears, as shown below.
If the person does not have a Webcam
installed, or the Webcam is not turned on, you may see the
following error message:
You can adjust the display properties of the video
image from the Webcam menu located inside the Webcam
window (see screen shot below):
- Select "always on top" to force the Webcam
window to remain on top of your open IM (chat) window. Otherwise,
you will not be able to watch the video while you are
instant messaging the person in the video.
- Select Small if the Webcam image is too large,
relative to the size of the IM (chat) window.
 IMPORTANT REMINDER: Only the text portion of your instant
message/chat session can be saved. To save the text transcript,
select "Save As..." from the Conversation menu located in the
upper left corner of the IM box. You must click "Save As...." before
you close the chat window. Once the chat window is
closed, you will not be able to save or retrieve the text of
your chat.
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