|
So you want to use Windows Live Messenger. Fair enough. Here's the easy way to do it:
1. Sign up for a Windows Live ID.
Point your favorite Web browser to Get Windows Live and click the Sign Up button. Follow the instructions.
2. Download Windows Live Messenger.
Head over to Windows Live Messenger. Click the Get It Free button. When asked whether you want to run or save the file, choose Save (you might want to run it again).
3. When the file has downloaded, click the Run button to run the Windows Live Messenger installer.
You see the splash screen shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Windows Live Messenger isn't a part of Windows; it must be downloaded and installed separately.
4. Click the Next button.
The installer continues its work.
5. In the following screen, deselect all the check boxes except the first one (Windows Live Messenger Shortcuts) and then click the Next button.
You can change your home page to MSN manually, if you really want to.
6. When Windows Live Messenger says it's been installed, click the Finish button.
Windows Live Messenger springs to life, and you see a sign-in screen.
7. On the sign-in screen, type the Windows Live ID you received in Step 1 and your password. Select the Remember Me check box and deselect the other two (Remember My Password and Sign Me In Automatically). Then click the Sign In button.
Windows Live Messenger (WLM) logs you in, and you see both the WLM main page and the MSN Today screen (see Figure 2).
Figure 2: Windows Live Messenger's initial face.
8. Click the Add a Contact button, which is to the right of the Find a Contact or Number box.
Messenger invites you to fill out the information for your messenger-enabled contact.
9. Fill out the contact's information and then click the Save button.
When you add a contact, and that contact doesn't yet have you on her buddy list, she gets a message from you. The contact gets to choose whether she wants you to "see" her.
 | That means you can add someone to your Contact list, do everything properly, and have her show up on your Contact list — but you may never be able to connect to her because she told Messenger that she didn't want to be visible to you. |
10. To start a conversation, double-click the contact's name. Type your message in the box at the bottom of the Conversation window. When you press Enter or click the Send button, the message gets sent to the designated recipient(s).
Although you're limited on the amount of text you can type in the message box, if you press Enter, you can keep on typing. You can copy text from just about anywhere and paste it into the message box: Windows Live Messenger treats it as if you typed it all out.
11. When you're done chatting with this contact, click the X (Close) button to exit the conversation.
Alternatively, you can click the down arrow next to the Minimize button and choose File --> Close.
12. When all your conversations are over and you're done with Windows Live Messenger, click the X (Close) button or click the down arrow and then choose File --> Close.
| Even if you've closed Windows Messenger, it's still active — still lurking in the background listening for incoming messages. If you want to really turn Messenger off, right-click the Messenger icon in the notification area (next to the clock) and choose Exit. |
| 
