Alerts and Sounds Page Options

The options on the Alerts and Sounds page let you control whether Messenger alerts you to events and which sounds if any Messenger plays.

Alerts area Select the Display Alerts When Contacts Come Online check box if you want Messenger to pop up an alert above the notification area when one of your contacts comes online. Select the Display Alerts When a Message Is Received check box if you want Messenger to pop up an alert when you receive an instant message. Select the Display Alerts When E-Mail Is Received check box if you want Messenger to pop up an alert when you receive e-mail on your Hotmail or MSN account. Select the Display Alerts When New Videos Are Available check box if you want Messenger to pop up an alert when new videos are available on MSN Videos. Select the Display Alerts When a Sharing Folder Is Updated check box if you want Messenger to pop up an alert when one of your contacts adds a file to a sharing folder a folder you’re sharing with one or more contacts.

Sounds area Messenger can play sounds to give you an aural cue for events such as incoming calls, nudges, a contact signing in, or an instant message or e-mail message arriving. To change which sound Messenger plays for an event, follow these steps:

1. Select the event in the Windows Live Messenger Events list box. The text box under the Windows Live Messenger Events list box shows the path and name of the current sound file. Click the Play button if you want to hear the sound.

2. To change the sound, click the Browse button, use the resulting Open dialog box to select the sound, and then click the Open button.

3. To prevent Messenger from playing a sound for an event, clear the event’s check box in the Windows Live Messenger Events list box.

Sharing Folders Page Options

Messenger lets you share files with your contacts in two ways:

• By sending a single file at a time during a conversation.

• By using a sharing folder, a folder that’s shared between you and the contact. Any files you put in the sharing folder are shared with the contact. Likewise, any files your contact puts in the folder are shared with you. A sharing folder simplifies the process of transferring files.

Use the options on the Sharing Folders page of the Options dialog box to control whether Messenger uses sharing folders:

1. If you want to use sharing folders, select the Use Sharing Folders Instead of Sending One File at a Time check box.

2. In the Manage Which Contacts Have a Sharing Folder Stored on This Computer area, specify which contacts get sharing folders by moving them from the All Contacts list to the Sharing Folders list. Select a contact in the All Contacts list, and then click the Add button to add the contact to the Sharing Folders list. To remove a contact from the Sharing Folders list, click the contact’s entry, and then click the Remove button.

3. If you want Messenger to automatically create a sharing folder for a contact who doesn’t already have one, select the Automatically Create Sharing Folders When I Send Files to My Contacts check box.

File Transfer Page Options

The File Transfer page offers the following options:

File Transfer Options area In the Save Received Files in This Folder text box, specify the folder in which you want Messenger to place the files your contacts send to you. The default folder is the My Received Files folder in your Documents folder. Messenger creates this folder automatically the first time you receive a file. To change the folder, click the Browse button, use the Browse for Folder dialog box to select the folder, and then click the OK button. To scan the files for malware, select the Scan Files for Viruses Using check box. You can then choose between using your existing antivirus program assuming you have one, as you should or Windows Live Safety Scanner, which at this writing is the only scanner that can check shared folders. To use your antivirus program, click the Browse button, use the resulting dialog box to select the program, and then click the Open button. To use the Windows Live Safety Scanner, click the Install button, and then follow through the process for downloading and installing Windows Live Safety Scanner. If you want Messenger to refuse any file types that are dangerous, such as script files, select the Automatically Reject File Transfers for Known Unsafe File Types check box. You may find that this setting also prevents you from receiving some file types that you actually want, such as program files.

Automatic Background Sharing area Select the Automatically Share Backgrounds and Accept Shared Backgrounds check box if you want Messenger to share the background images you use in conversation windows with the other participants. Similarly, Messenger accepts the backgrounds that your contacts have chosen to share.

Phone Page Options

The Phone page of the Options dialog box lets you specify your country or region code and your home, work, and mobile phone numbers. You can also click the Mobile Settings button to access the MSN site for setting up a mobile phone account so that you can receive messages sent by your Messenger contacts on your mobile phone, or click the Settings button to access the MSN Direct site for setting up a Smart Watch.

Tabs Page Options

The Tabs page of the Options dialog box lets you choose the order in which tabs appear. You can restore the default order by clicking the Restore Defaults button.

Privacy Page Options

The Privacy page of the Options dialog box is where you maintain your Allow List people who can see your online status and can send you messages and your Block List people who can do neither. To move a contact from one list to another, select them in the appropriate list box and click the Allow button or the Block button. By default, Messenger prevents all other users except your contacts from contacting you and viewing your status until you explicitly allow them. If you want to make yourself publicly available, click the All Others item in the Block List box, and then click the Allow button. To see which users have added you to their contact lists, click the View button. Messenger displays the Who Has You in Their Contact List? dialog box, which contains a list of names. You can right-click a name and choose Add to Contacts from the context menu to add the person to your list of contacts. Select the Alert Me When Other People Add Me to Their Contact List check box if you want Messenger to notify you when another user adds you to their contact list. This check box is available only if you move the All Others item from the Block List box to the Allow List box. Otherwise, Messenger selects this check box and makes it unavailable.

Security Page Options

The Security page of the Options dialog box contains the following options:

Security area Select the Always Ask Me for My Password When Checking Hotmail or Opening Other Microsoft Passport Enabled Web Pages check box if you want to enter your Passport password manually each time it’s required by a website. Entering the password manually improves your security, but you may find yourself needing to enter the password too often for speedy or comfortable browsing. If you’re using a public computer, or you’re sharing a Windows user account with other people, select the This Is a Shared Computer so Don’t Store My Address Book, Display Picture, or Personal Message on It check box. If you share your computer with other people for example, your family but have your own user account, you don’t need to select this check box for security. Select the Allow Me to Connect Directly to My Contacts When Sending Messages check box if you want Messenger to send messages directly to your contacts’ computers rather than routing them through the Windows Live Messenger service. Connecting directly may give faster performance but poses a slight security concern. Select the Allow Voice Clips to Be Sent, Received, and Temporarily Stored on My Computer check box if you want to use voice clips. Clear this check box if you don’t want to use voice clips to conserve bandwidth or for security reasons. Select the Allow Links in the Conversation Window check box if you want to allow Messenger to display clickable hyperlinks in conversation windows. The danger of hyperlinks is that someone might direct you to a site that’s offensive or that contains malware. Select the Allow Windows Live Messenger to Start a Conversation from a Link in a Web Browser check box if you want to be able to start a Messenger conversation by clicking a link in your web browser. The security concern here is that you might start a conversation with someone other than who you intended to reach.

Contact Storage area Select the Encrypt Contact List Data so That It Is Not Accessible Outside of Windows Live Messenger check box if you want to keep your contact list data encrypted. This is a good idea for security.

Connection Page Options

The Connection page of the Options dialog box shows you what kind of Internet connection you’re using - for example, a wired network connection that uses port-restricted Network Address Translation NAT, such as a DSL router. If Messenger isn’t connecting to the server, you can click the Start button to launch the Connection Troubleshooter.

If you need to specify proxy server settings for connecting to the Internet, click the Advanced Settings button, and then work in the Settings dialog box. Normally, you’ll set these settings for Internet Explorer rather than for Messenger. Setting Up Audio and Video

If you have speakers or headphones and a microphone, you can use them to make voice calls via Messenger. If you have a webcam or another live video camera, you can make video calls as well. To set up Messenger for making voice and video calls, follow these steps: 1. Make sure your sound and video hardware is plugged in and working. 2. Click the Show Menu button, and then choose Tools Audio and Video Setup to start the Audio and Video Setup Wizard.

3. Follow the steps of the wizard, selecting your speakers and setting the playback volume, selecting the microphone and setting the recording volume , and then selecting your webcam.

Signing Out and Signing Back In

Depending on the settings you’ve chosen, Messenger may automatically sign you in when you start it or when it launches automatically after you log on to Windows. If you chose not to sign in automatically, click the Sign In button. To sign out manually, leaving Messenger running, click the Show Menu button, and then choose File Sign Out. If you sign out while you’re in a conversation, Messenger displays a dialog box explaining that all windows will be closed. Click the OK button to continue signing out, or click the Cancel button if you want to end the conversation before signing out. Normally, you’ll want to sign back in as the same user. To do so, click the Sign In button in the main Messenger window. To sign in using a different Windows Live ID, click the drop-down button on the E-mail Address box, and then choose Sign in with a Different E-mail Address to clear the existing address and password if it is saved. You can then type the new address and password, choose whether you want Messenger to remember you, and then click the Sign In button.

Adding and Removing a Contact

You can add a contact to your list of contacts by using their instant messaging name, by adding them when they contact you, or by reciprocating when they add you as a contact.

Adding a Contact by Instant Messaging Address

If you know a contact’s instant messaging address, you can add them to your contact list as follows:

1. Click the Add a Contact button in the Messenger window, or click the Show Menu button and then choose Contacts Add a Contact. Messenger displays the Windows Live Contacts – Add a Contact dialog box with the General category displayed .

2. In the Instant Messaging Address text box, type your contact’s IM address.

3. To personalize the invitation that Messenger sends to your contact, select the Type a Personal Invitation check box, and then type the message in the text box that appears. For example, you might make sure the contact can identify you clearly from your IM identity.

4. If you want to add mobile phone information, select the country or region in the drop-down list, and then enter the number in the text boxes.

5. If you want to use a nickname for the contact, type it in the Nickname text box.

6. In the Group drop-down list, select the contact group to which you want to add the contact - for example, Friends or Family.

7.Select the Subscribe to Updates for this Contact check box if you want Messenger to automatically pick up new information about this contact from their Windows Live ID.

8. Add more information about the contact if you want by using the fields in the other categories. For example, click the Contact category in the left pane, and then enter details such as the contact’s first, middle, and last names, or their phone numbers.

9. Click the Save button. Messenger sends a request to the contact asking them to be one of your contacts.

Adding a Contact when People Add You to Their Contact List

You can also add a contact quickly by adding a person who adds you to their contact list unless you’ve configured Messenger not to notify you when this happens. When someone adds you to their contact list, Messenger displays the Windows Live Messenger dialog box asking whether you want to allow this person or block them. Select the Allow this Person to See when You Are Online and Contact You option button or the Block This Person from Seeing When You Are Online and Contacting You option button as appropriate. If you want to add the person to your contact list, leave the Add This Person to My Contact List check box selected. If not, clear it. Then click the OK button. Messenger closes the dialog box and takes the actions you specified.

Removing a Contact from Your Contact List

To remove a contact from your contact list, select their entry and press the Delete key. Alternatively, right-click the contact and choose Delete Contact from the context menu. Messenger displays a dialog box as shown here to let you decide whether to block the contact as well. If the contact is one of your Hotmail contacts, you can choose whether to remove them from your Hotmail contacts too.