AOL Instant Messenger Basics
Photo Sharing Using AOL Messenger
How about chatting with a friend on AIM and at the same time demonstrating to them what you are talking about? AIM has an excellent feature that lets you share pictures with buddies very quickly and easily. Simply read through our instructions below and then you can quickly start sharing tons of photos with your contacts on AOL Instant Messenger.
Follow these four easy steps to Share Pictures Using your AOL Instant Messenger:1. First, before you can send pictures to your AIM buddies, you must start a conversation window with them. Once the window is open, simply click on the picture icon in the top portion of the chat window. The picture icon is going to be the third button from the right or fourth from the left.
2. Once you click the picture icon, an invite message will be sent to your buddy. Your buddy must accept this invitation so you can proceed to the next step.
3. As soon as your contact has accepted your invitation, you can then start to drag and drop pictures from your PC right into the viewer window. If your pictures are not stored on your desktop you can also manually search for them by clicking the "Browse" button in your AIM messenger and then going through the folders.
4. Once your pictures are uploaded, they become visible to both of you and your buddy. Now you can go ahead and teach all your friends how to share pictures on AIM. Enjoy sharing your photos with each other!
Chatting in Real Time IM
The latest AIM version includes the new Real-Time IM feature. Please note: in order to utilize this feature, you will need to be chatting with users on AIM 6.8 or later.
Real-Time IM feature allows you and your buddy see what the other person is typing in real-time, right in your IM window, while they are actually typing. It is similar to seeing a preview of an IM. Previously, you could not read a message from your buddy until it is sent and ais displayed in your IM window. However, with Real-Time IM, you can now see each symbol that your buddy is typing in the IM window even before they hit “Send”.
Real-Time IM allows direct connection from your PC to your buddy's PC in order to send and receive information in real-time. This is also known as Direct IM connection. AOL recommends that you only accept Direct IM connections from buddies you know.
To invite a buddy to join you in Real-Time IM, just click the Actions menu at the top of the IM window, or at the bottom of the Buddy List window, and then select Real-Time IM. You may also press Ctrl+R on your keyboard to initiate Real-Time IM. Once your buddy accepts the invitation, both of you can begin to communicate in real-time.
How to Use Keyboard Shortcuts in your AIM
Keyboard shortcuts or hot keys help you perform an action quickly and easily using your computer keyboard.
Please find below a list of handy keyboard shortcuts for your AOL Instant Messenger.
Keyboard Shortcuts Action
Ctrl + N
Open a new IM window
Alt + C
Open a chat invitation window
Ctrl + P
Print an IM conversation
Ctrl + W
Hide the Buddy List® window
Alt + Shift + F4
Exit AIM
Ctrl + D
Add a buddy
Ctrl + G
Add a group/category
F2
Edit selection
Del
Delete selection
F7
Open the Settings window
Alt + O
Get Buddy Info
Ctrl + H
Show IM logs
F1
Open AIM help
Alt + I
New IM window
Ctrl + F4
Close an IM window
Ctrl + S
Save an IM window
Ctrl + Shift+ W
Close all IM windows
Ctrl + Z
Undo
Ctrl + Y
Redo
Ctrl + X
Cut
Ctrl + C
Copy
Ctrl + V
Paste
Ctrl + A
Select all
Ctrl + L
Insert a hyperlink in an IM window
F2 (When your IM form is in focus)
Display time stamp on an IM window
Ctrl + J
Block a buddy
Ctrl + shift + I
Toggle between invisible and visible modes
Ctrl + S
Search for a buddy
Ctrl + I
Import buddies
Ctrl + F
Find a buddy in your Buddy List®
AOL Instant Messenger Video Tutorial
This brief video demonstrates how to use and download AOL Instant Messenger, how to configure microphone and video,
and how to text message using AIM.
