Download Getting Started Buddy Lists Messages Profiles Personal Preferences		To Send a Message to Someone 1. On the Online tab of the Buddy List window, select the person's screen name. 2. Click the IM button. The Instant Message window opens. 3. Type your message and click Send. Tip *You can use the toolbar to change text or background colors, change text size, or emphasize text with bold, italic, or underlining. To Send a Hyperlink 1. Within an Instant Message window, type and select the text you want to turn into a hyperlink. 2. Click the Link button on the toolbar. The Edit Hyperlink dialog opens. 3. Specify the URL (Internet location) of the site you want the link to point to. You can also specify an e-mail address as the URL. For example, mailto:johndoe@aol.com. 4. Click OK to save the setting and close the dialog. Tips *You can also click the Link button with no text selected. If you do this, you will need to enter the link text into the dialog. The link appears at the insertion point location. *If you enter a URL as text (for example, http://www.aol.com or mailto:johndoe@aol.com), the text automatically converts to a hyperlink when you send the message. To Create Smilies Automatically You can add the following commonly used smilies (or emoticons) to your messages by typing the corresponding characters. Type :-) Happy :-( Sad ;-) Wink :) Happy Notes *You can also create smilies by holding down the right mouse button in a message, clicking Insert, then Smilies, and then clicking the smilies you want to insert. *To control whether these smilies appear in your Instant Message window and on your right mouse button menu, see the topic To Turn Smilies On or Off. To Turn Smilies On or Off You can control whether online symbols (also known as smilies) appear in your Instant Message windows. To see which smilies can appear in your Instant Message windows, see the topic To Create Smilies Automatically. 1. Click the Menu button, and then point to Options. 2. Click Edit Preferences, and then click the Misc tab. 3. If you do not want to see the smilies in your Instant Message windows, select the Disable graphical smilies option. The Smilies submenu will also be removed from the Insert menu (accessed by clicking the right mouse button in a message). If you want to see the smilie icons in your Instant Message windows, deselect the Disable graphical smilies option. 4. Click OK to save the setting and close the dialog. To Save Messages 1. Within an Instant Message window, choose Save from the File menu. The Save Text to File window opens. 2. Enter a name for the file in the File name field. 3. In the Save as type field, select Text Only if you want to save just the text of the messages. If you want to save the text and be able to follow any hyperlinks in the messages, select AOL Rich Text Format. This will create an HTML file you can view with your web browser. 4. Click Save to save the messages that appear in the upper pane of the Instant Message window. How Away and Idle Messages Work If you need to step away from your computer but do not want to sign off, you can instruct AOL Instant Messenger'. to let others know you are temporarily not available. If you know you are going to step away, you can turn on your away message to let others know when you will be back. Your away message appears when anyone requests information about you, but AOL Instant Messenger can also automatically respond to anyone who sends you a message while you are away. If you do not set your away message but simply leave your computer inactive for 10 minutes, then AOL Instant Messenger considers you idle. Anyone who requests information about you can see that your system is idle, but AOL Instant Messenger can also automatically respond to anyone who sends you a message while you are idle. To Define a New Away Message 1. Click the Menu button, and then point to Options. 2. Click Edit Preferences, and then click the Away tab. 3. Make sure the Auto respond and insert in personal profile option is selected. If you do not want AOL Instant Messenger to reply automatically to messages you receive when away, select the Insert in personal profile only option. 4. In the text field below these options, type the new away message. 5. Click Add Message. 6. Click OK to save your change and close the dialog. To Turn On an Away Message 1. Click the Menu button, and then point to Away. 2. Choose the away message you want to use. The away message appears on your screen. To turn off your away message, click I.9m Back. To Delete an Away Message 1. Click the Menu button, and then point to Options. 2. Click Edit Preferences, and then click the Away tab. 3. Select the away message you want to delete. 4. Click Remove. 5. Click OK to save your change and close the dialog. To Define an Idle Message 1. Click the Menu button, and then point to Options. 2. Click Edit Preferences, and then click the Away tab. 3. Select Auto respond when idle with message. 4. In the text field below this checkbox, type the message you want to send to anyone who sends you a message while your computer is idle. 5. Click OK to save your change and close the dialog. If you do not use your computer for 10 minutes, AOL Instant Messenger automatically sends your idle message to anyone who sends you a message. To stop sending the idle message, press a key or click a mouse button.