Adding Symbols and Voice to an Instant Message

As you type an instant message, you can format your messages by inserting graphical symbols called emoticons, such as a happy face, which help convey your emotions, or graphical animations, such as as a wink (New!). If your conversation needs a nudge to get people conversing, you can use the Nudge button (New!). If you want to add a little audio to an instant message, you can record a voice clip (New!) and send it to others involved in the conversation. The voice clip appears in the conversation window and plays automatically. You need a microphone to record a voice clip and audio speakers to hear a clip.

Insert Emoticons

In the Conversation window, click the Emoticons button.

Click the icon you want to insert into the conversation.

• To create, modify, or remove an emoticon, click Show all.

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Timesaver:

You can also type a sequence of characters to quickly insert emoticons as you type your message. To find out the characters, point to an icon on the Emoticons menu.

Did You Know? You can insert a nudge message to keep a conversation going. In the Conversation window, click the Nudge button. You can create your own blog. A blog is short for Web log, which is an online journal. In the main Messenger window, click the Get your own space button. In the Create your Windows Live Space Web site, follow the online instructions. You can save an instant message. In the Conversation window, click the File menu, click Save As, select a folder location, type a file name, and then click Save.

Insert a Wink

In the Conversation window, click the Wink button.

Click the wink icon you want to insert into the conversation.

• To preview or remove a wink, click Show all.

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Record and Play a Voice Clip

In the Conversation window, point to the Voice Clip button.

Press and hold down the Voice Clip button or press F2, and then record your voice message.

Release the button or key to send the voice message.

To play or stop a voice clip, click Play / Stop in the Conversation window.

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Timesaver:

Press Esc to stop the voice clip.

Did You Know? You can save a voice clip. In the Conversation window, click Save As or drag it from the conversation window onto your desktop or into a folder. You reuse a voice clip in another conversation. In the Conversation window, drag a voice clip to another another conversation window.