YAHOO MESSENGER : ONE-TO-ONE MESSAGE

One-to-One Messaging with Simple Text,
Audio, and Video

At the top of the Yahoo Messenger screen, there are three communication icons (IM,Text, and Chat).

	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.
	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).
	Do not use the chat icon unless you want to enter a public chat room (not advised).

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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.
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.

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.

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.

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.

Option 3: In the IM window, select the Contact menu located on the IM window and select the "Invite to View My Webcam".

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.

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.