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Preferences

Preferences

The preference dialog should be setup once, then the information is saved and you wont have to keep entering it.

General

Most of the options in here are self explanatory, but things to think about:
"Stand by and wait until I connect to the net" - This is a good idea, otherwise each time you turn your PC on, a connection to the net might be forced, without you actually realising it.
"Automatically sign me into...." - This is a bad idea, because if you leave your PC, it allows anyone else around to log into your email and other features without knowing your password.

Content

This section lists, on the right, which tabs will be showed on Yahoo! Messenger, which you can click to gain quick access, and a list on the left of those available.  Place on the right, those which you will use often, and send to the left the ones you will not use.

Appearance

The main window settings allow the customisation of the Yahoo! Friends list screen, the main screen when messenger is turned on.  Themse can be made or downloaded from Yahoo!, see http://messenger.yahoo.com , they are simple to produce.

The default font and colours can be changed at any time from the chat screen, there is no reason why this must be done now.

At the very bottom you can choose to ignore other peoples font and size/colour choices, and use just your own, a good idea if you have problems seeing small text, or people post very large text.

Messages

This section is simple, the defaults are best, but you may wish to disable IMVironments on lower spec computers, of if you are woried about safety.  Emoticons are the smileys, 60 of them!

Archive

This is a new feature, that enabled storing messages.  This DOES NOT store chat room messages.  You can select the components you wish to enable, and how long they will remain stored for.  Tools>>Archive from the main screen is how you read archived messages

File Transfer

The defaults are best here, unless you wish to disable file share altogether.  File Transfer allows you to send files to friends and other users over messenger, with no limit.

For safety, you may wish to enter the path to your virus scanner, or scan files manually before opening them, unless you know the sender and file.

Alerts and Sounds

Set as on by default.  Can customise by selecting the alert, then choosing any wav file on your PC.  To test it, click the button with the picture of the ear.

Chat

Some times people send mass invitations to join certain rooms, if this happens, it may be a good idea to disable chat invites.
If you are easily offended by abusive language, or if you are setting this up for a child, or are a child, you may wish to make the language filter strong.

Webcam and superwebcam - set as required.  SuperWebCam is for high speed DSL/Cable users.

Mobile Friends

This is a new service for mobile phone users. US only at present.

Privacy

The top section is about Instant Messaging.  Choosing the Ignore anyone not on my friends list, is a good security move.  You still see them in chat, but you don't see their IMs, which avoids seeing a lot of spam, and abuse.

Connection

No proxies or No network detection is best, even if you have a firewall, these options work better.  If you get a message about you can't voice chat because you are behind a firewall, choose no network detection or no proxies from this screen. A full setup guide to this service is available here

New Users Guide  |  Preferences  |  Chatting  |   Commands  |  More Info!