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Windows Messenger allows you to send instant messages to all your contacts, making it somewhat equivalent to an online chat. You can access the instant-messaging service in a number of ways: from the Start menu on the Windows taskbar, the Notification area of the Windows taskbar, within Internet Explorer, or from within Outlook Express.
- To open Windows Messenger from the Start menu on the taskbar, click Start, point to All Programs, and then click Windows Messenger on the continuation menu.
- To open Windows Messenger from the Notification area of the taskbar, double-click the Messenger icon (the one with the icon that looks like a ball on top of a flat pyramid that's supposed to look like a person), or right-click it and then choose Open on the shortcut menu. (Note that the Messenger icon doesn't show up in the Notification area until you click the Expand button [<<] to display more icons and until after you've signed up for a passport, as explained in the paragraph following this list.)
- To open Windows Messenger from Internet Explorer, click the Messenger button on the Standard Buttons toolbar or choose Tools --> Windows Messenger on the pull-down menu.
- To open Windows Messenger from Outlook Express, choose Tools --> Windows Messenger --> Log On from the Outlook Express pull-down menu (if you're already logged onto MSN, you click Send Instant Message on the continuation menu instead of Log On).
The first time that you open Windows Messenger, it takes you to the Microsoft Passport home page. Before you can use instant messaging, you must sign up and get a passport. This process involves assigning yourself an online handle (such as cooldude500), a sign-in name that becomes your e-mail address when combined with hotmail.com (such as nancy345@hotmail.com), and a password for logging onto Windows Messenger. To get a Passport account, open the Welcome screen of the Windows Messenger wizard (using any of the aforementioned methods) and then click the Next button to advance to the Get a Free Passport screen, where you click the Get a Passport button.
After you finish setting up your passport account, you can log on at any time to Windows Messenger from the Windows Messenger Wizard. Just click the Next button twice to reach the Provide Passport Information screen, where you type your sign-in name and password in the text boxes provided. Then click Next to advance to the final screen, where you click the Finish button. Windows closes the Windows Messenger wizard and opens the Windows Messenger window.
Adding contacts
After you have your passport, you're ready to add the contacts with whom you want to correspond to your Windows Messenger list. Note that all the contacts that you add to this list must already have passports. If the person who you want to add to your list doesn't have a passport, Windows Messenger will send him or her an e-mail message inviting that person to sign up for one. The e-mail message even contains a link that takes the recipient to the Microsoft Passport home page.
To add a contact, follow these steps:
1. Open the Windows Messenger window by right-clicking the Messenger icon in the Notification area of the Windows taskbar; then choose Open on the shortcut menu.
2. Click the Add a Contact link or choose File --> Add a Contact on the pull-down menus to open the Add a Contact Wizard.
3. By default, Windows Messenger selects the By E-mail Address or Sign-in Name radio button to search for new contacts by their regular e-mail addresses.
If you know the contact's e-mail address (meaning that he or she has a passport), click the Search for a Contact radio button instead to search for the person by name and location.
4. Click Next to advance to the next dialog box.
5. Enter the appropriate search information.
This information is the e-mail address, if By E-mail Address or Sign-in Name was selected in Step 3; or the first and last name, physical location, and which directory to search (either the Hotmail Member Directory or your Windows Address Book), if you selected Search for a Contact.
6. Click Next to search for the contact.
If the contact is located and has a passport, the wizard will display a message to that effect in the next dialog box. If the contact is located by the wizard but doesn't yet have a passport, the wizard will display a message indicating that this is the case and that you can send this person an e-mail inviting him or her to join. To send such an e-mail message, click the Next button and then type your invitation to join to the person in the upper list box. You can also edit the message that's automatically added to yours shown in the lower list box by clicking the Change Language button. When you're satisfied with the message, click Next to send the message.
7. (Optional) To repeat the process outlined in Steps 3 through 6 and add other contacts, click Next.
8. After you finish adding contacts, click Finish to close the Add a Contact Wizard and return to the Windows Messenger window.
The sign-in names for all the contacts that you successfully added will now appear in the All Contacts section of the Windows Messenger window.
Sending instant messages
After you add your contact, you're ready for instant messaging. You can check to see if any of your contacts are logged onto Windows Messenger by double-clicking their names in the All Contacts section of the Windows Messenger window. A dialog box then opens, indicating whether or not this contact is online and ready to accept messages.
To send an instant message to someone in your contacts list who is currently online, click the contact's handle (that is, that contact's instant-messaging online nickname) in the Windows Messenger window and then click the Send an Instant Message link in the I Want To section at the bottom of the Windows Messenger window. Doing this opens a Conversation dialog box with the contact's handle on the title bar. To send a message to this contact (up to 400 words), start typing the message text at the cursor in the box at the bottom of this dialog box. When you finish typing the text, click the Send button to the right or press Enter.
As soon as you send your message, your contact's computer beeps, and your handle appears in a flashing button on his or her Windows taskbar. When the contact clicks this button, a Conversation dialog box with your handle in the title opens. The contact can then respond to your initial message by typing one of his or her own and then clicking the Send button.
The contact's response will then immediately show up in that person's Conversation dialog box on your computer, and you can respond to his or her response, thus starting what can prove to be an almost real-time chat (some delay may occur if your contact's responses are rather lengthy and your Internet connection is slow).
When you close Windows Messenger by clicking the Close button, the Messenger displays an alert box indicating that although you're closing the window, Windows Messenger will continue to run in the background on the Windows taskbar so that you can continue to receive notifications and messages.
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