Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Windows XP in 24 Hours

By Greg Perry

• Table of Contents
  • Copyright
  • About the Author
  • Acknowledgments
  • Tell Us What You Think!
  • Introduction
  • Part I: Wake Up with Windows XP
  • Hour 1. Taking a Bird's-Eye Look at Windows XP
  • Hour 2. Getting Started with Windows XP
  • Hour 3. Managing the Windows XP Interface
  • Part II: Morning Windows Desktop Exploration
  • Hour 4. Working with the My Computer Window
  • Hour 5. Navigating Files with Windows Explorer
  • Hour 6. Calling for Help
  • Hour 7. Improving Your Windows Desktop Experience
  • Part III: Early Afternoon Windows Exploration
  • Hour 8. Installing Programs with Windows XP
  • Hour 9. Finding Files, Folders, and Friends
  • Hour 10. Using the Desktop Accessories
  • Part IV: Late Afternoon Internet Integration
  • Hour 11. Surfing the Web with Internet Explorer
  • Hour 12. Tying Windows into the Web
    • To Do: Listening to Internet Audio
    • Customizing the Explorer Bar
    • Instant Messaging with MSN Messenger
    • Using Messenger
    • MSN Messenger Is Flexible
    • Introducing the Internet Connection Firewall
    • Summary
    • Q&A
    • Workshop
  • Hour 13. Networking with Windows XP
  • Hour 14. Managing E-mail and Newsgroups with Outlook Express
  • Part V: An Evening with Advanced Windows
  • Hour 15. Exploring Your Hardware Interface
  • Hour 16. Understanding Printing and Fonts
  • Hour 17. Using Windows on the Road
  • Hour 18. Giving Windows XP a Tune-Up
  • Hour 19. Managing Your Hard Drives
  • Hour 20. Tinkering with the Advanced System Tools
  • Part VI: Having Fun at Nighttime
  • Hour 21. Using Media Player
  • Hour 22. Picturing Windows XP Graphics
  • Hour 23. Making Movies with Windows XP
  • Hour 24. Advanced Windows XP Tips
  • Part VII: Appendixes
  • Appendix A. Differences Between the Windows Home and Professional Edition
  • Appendix B. Glossary
  • Appendix C. Answers to Quizzes

Using Messenger

After you set up your Microsoft Passport, you can use MSN Messenger to send instant messages to other users. The following To Do item explores some of the ways you can use MSN Messenger while you're online.

To Do: Using MSN Messenger

1. Click the Messenger toolbar button to open the Messenger window.
2. Click the sign-in link.
3. Complete the sign-in window with your Microsoft Passport sign-in name and password.
4. Click OK to sign in to MSN Messenger and display the MSN Messenger window.

5. The first task you'll want to do is enter the e-mail address of other users with whom to communicate. Click the toolbar's Add button. You can add a friend with whom to communicate by entering your friend's e-mail address or by requesting that MSN Messenger search for the friend using Hotmail's internal databases or your own Windows XP address book. MSN Messenger works only with people who have a Passport and Hotmail account. You'll have a better chance at connecting to your friend if you know the Hotmail address or their Passport sign-in name instead of trying to search for their information.
6. Assuming you know your friend's Hotmail address or Passport sign-in name, click Next and enter your friend's Hotmail address or sign-in name. If the friend whose e-mail account you enter does not have an associated Passport sign-in name, you cannot communicate with the person using MSN Messenger. MSN Messenger offers to send your friend an e-mail telling him that you want to communicate with him and explaining how to get a Passport account.
7. Click Finish, close the window, and return to your MSN Messenger window. After you add one or more friends, your MSN Messenger window will look something like the one in Figure 12.3 showing which of your friends are and are not online.
8. The MSN Messenger window shows that some of your contacts might be online while others are not. You can send an instant message to one of your online friends by double-clicking his name. An Instant Message window opens.

9. You'll type messages, one at a time, at the bottom of the Instant Message window, and you'll see your message and the response from your friend in the larger window. Figure 12.4 shows an Instant Message session. You don't have to wait for your friend to respond to each message before you send another.

   

   Figure 12.3 You can now interact with your friends across the Internet.

   

   Figure 12.4 Communicate instantly with anyone else on the Internet.

   An emoticon is a popular combination of punctuation that represent happy faces and sad faces, such as :) and :(. When you type an emoticon, MSN Messenger converts your punctuation-based symbols to their actual happy face and sad face equivalents. If your punctuation does not convert, select Edit, Show Emoticons from MSN Messenger's menu.

10. You are not limited to a two-way conversation. Invite others to join in by clicking the Invite button and selecting To Join This Conversation. You can also keep two or more Instant Message sessions going with multiple people, each conversation remaining in a separate window. Just return to your original MSN Messenger window, which will still be open, and select another online contact.
11. To close one or more of your Instant Message sessions, simply click the window's Close button.
12. If both you and your friend have speakers and a microphone connected to your computers, click the Start talking button. Instant Message sends a note to your friend asking if he or she is willing to begin a voice conversation through MSN Messenger. If your friend agrees to move from a typed conversation to a voice conversation, your friend will press Alt+T and you both will be connected by voice just as you would be if you called each other on the phone (but without the long-distance charges). If you both have digital cameras attached, you can use two-way video to communicate also.

13. When you're finished talking, simply click the Stop talking link to close the Instant Message window.

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