Windows Messenger

Windows Messenger is a Swiss Army Knife sort of program: Instant messenger, videoconferencer, file transferer, shared whiteboard, voice chat. It is built upon MSN Messenger, which has been available for some years, competing with other instant messaging products such as ICQ and AOL Instant Messenger. You're free to use any instant messaging program you like on Windows XP, or any combination of programs. But none of Windows Messenger's competitors, as yet, offers quite the same combination of advanced features and click-and-point ease.

Your online passport

The key to Windows Messenger's ease is a thing called the .NET Passport. The use of a Passport eliminates the need for esoteric things such as IP (Internet Protocol) addresses when trying to set up a videoconference, for example. Instead, using Passport and Messenger you are automatically alerted to the availability of friends and colleagues online.

You're going to hear a lot about .NET. It's Microsoft's plan to provide Internet-based services and integrate them closely with your desktop computing experience (read more about it here). To access such services you'll need a Passport. The Passport uses a username and password to provide secure access to services.

If you use Hotmail, MSN Messenger, MSN Explorer or a number of other online services, you already have a Passport. If you don't have an existing Passport, you can sign up for one the first time you use Windows Messenger.

Note: Creating a .NET Passport is optional. If you don't feel comfortable providing some limited information to Microsoft, then you don't need to do it. However, without a .NET Passport you won't be able to use programs such as Windows Messenger.

geekgirl.tip: Kill the messenger

If you don't want to use Messenger, you can prevent it from loading:

Double-click the Windows Messenger icon in the Notification Area.
From the Tools menu select Options.
Click the Preferences tab.
Click Run This Program When Windows Starts to remove the tick (checkmark) beside it, then click OK.

Using Windows Messenger

When you start Windows XP, you'll find Windows Messenger already lurking in the Notification Area of the Taskbar. Double-click the Messenger icon to open it.

If you don't already have a .NET Passport, it will prompt you to obtain one and open the .NET Passport Wizard to step you through the process. If you already have a Passport, the main Windows Messenger window will open.

Click the Sign In link to go online, sign in to Messenger and display your contact list. You can send messages, have a video conference, exchange files, and initiate many other activities with anyone who is on your contact list.

To add someone to your list:

Click the Add button.
If you know the person's e-mail address or Passport username, use this option to add them. Alternatively, you can search for the person by name to see whether they are listed in the Hotmail member directory.
If you know the person's e-mail address but you're not sure whether they use Messenger, you can send an e-mail recommending they download it.

Communicating with Messenger

Messenger will notify you – via the Notification Area of the Taskbar – when any of your contacts are online. (You can disable this automatic notification via the Tools menu->Options->Preferences->Alerts.)

Sending a message using Windows Messenger is easy:

Double-click anyone in the Online section of your contact list. A Conversation window will open.
Type your message in the bottom section of the Conversation window and press Enter or click Send.

When you receive a message, Messenger will give you an audible or visual indication that a message has arrived. You can then open the Conversation window to reply.

That's communication at its most basic. In the Conversation window you'll see other options listed to the right: Start Camera, Start Talking, Send A File.

The conversation window in Windows Messenger

Converse via the keyboard, or switch to video or audio using Windows Messenger. (Note: Not all my conversations are this techie!)

If you have a video camera, soundcard, speakers and microphone (or, preferably, a headset) you can initiate a video conference using Start Camera. If the other user has similar equipment, you'll have two-way video. You should get remarkably good audio and acceptable video over a dial-up connection and with an average, el-cheapo Webcam. If you get yourself one of the new USB 2.0 Webcams that are becoming available and have a high-speed connection, the experience is exceptional.

If you don't have a Webcam or you're not fit for visual company, you can initiate a voice chat by clicking Start Talking.
The first time you use these options, XP will check that your hardware is set up correctly before making the connection. If you want to use audio or video, invest in a decent headset with boom microphone. It will enhance your experience beyond measure.

The Send A File option lets you browse through the files on your computer and send one to your fellow communicator. It's a quick way to exchange photos or documents or other files. When you receive a file, you can view it by opening the Conversation window's File menu and selecting Open Received Files.

geekgirl.tip: Save your words

Sometimes conversations contain more than mere banter or gossip. If you want to save the contents of a conversation:

In the Conversation window, select File --> Save.
By default, conversations are saved in the My Documents folder. You can save it elsewhere by navigating to the desired folder.
Type in a filename for the chat and click Save. The conversations is saved in a text file.

Other ways to communicate

Near the bottom of the Conversation window is an Invite button. You can use it to:

Invite additional people to join your conversation.
Open a whiteboard, where you can do things like draw diagrams or jot down an agenda or minutes while you chat.
Share applications between computers. Application sharing lets you share Microsoft applications (and some third-party applications) between computers, even when the application is installed on only one of the computers.
Initiate a Remote Assistance session, allowing a fellow Windows XP user to take over your computer to help troubleshoot a problem or provide guidance.

Privacy

You may not wish to advertise your presence online to all and sundry. You can set Windows Messenger to protect your privacy:

From the Tools menu select Options and click the Privacy tab.
By default, Messenger allows all other Messenger users to 'see' you when you are online. To change this, click All Other Users in the Allow List, then click Block.
To block an individual user on your contact list, highlight the user's name and click Block.

If you keep yourself visible to other users, make sure the Alert Me When Other Users Add Me To Their Contact Lists option is enabled. This will then let you allow or block any user who adds you to their list.

You can also temporarily change your online status:

Right-click the Messenger icon in the Taskbar and select My Status.
Select a status option. The Appear Offline option is useful when you're online but wish to remain uninterrupted.

geekgirl.tip: Shoot the Messenger!

If you don't use Windows Messenger, you'll find it awfully hard to switch off. Microsoft is hell bent on getting us all to use it as part of it's .NET push (see What the !@#$* is .NET? for more on this topic) and so it has made it hard to disable.

Hard, but not impossible. Here's how you can eliminate Windows Messenger. But please note – this technique involves editing the Registry, something I do not recommend for the inexperienced!

First, make sure you have the Run command on your Start Menu. If it's not there, right-click the Start button and select Properties, on the Start Menu tab click Customize, click the Advanced tab, scroll through the list of Start Menu Items, enable Run Command, then click OK twice to exit.
Click Start, Run, type regedit and click OK.
Open HKEY_CURRENT_USER and navigate to the key:
Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
Delete the key MSMSGS and close the Registry Editor.

Communicating emotions

How do you communicate emotion in a typed conversation? By using emoticons. With emoticons, you can give your words emotional context or simply use shorthand to communicate ideas. Windows Messenger lets you create graphic emoticons by using special strings of characters. The table below lists some of the more common emoticons.

To send this:	Which indicates:	Type one of these:
	happiness	:-) or :)
	laughing	:-D or :d
	surprise	:-O or :o
	sticking out tongue	:-P or :p
	winking	;-) or ;)
	sadness	:-( or :(
	puzzlement	:-S or :s
	anger	:-\| or :\|
	crying	:'(
	frowning	:-@ or :@
	thumbs up	(Y) or (y)
	thumbs down	(N) or (n)
	love	(L) or (l)
	a broken heart	(U) or (u)
	a kiss	(K) or (k)
	a gift	(G) or (g)
	a flower	(F) or (f)
	a girl	(X) or (x)
	a boy	(Z) or (z)
	a camera	(P) or (p)
	a beer	(B) or (b)
	a martini	(D) or (d)
	a phone	(T) or (t)
	a cat	(@)
	a coffee cup	(C) or (c)
	an idea	(I) or (i)
	hot (or cool!)	(H) or (h)
	sleep	(S)
	a star	(*)
	music	(*)
	an envelope	(E) or (e)
	a birthday cake	(^)

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