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I may never come back, and I just want someone to know. This article contains text from a former Shadow Academy course. It is no longer in use, and is preserved here for historical purposes only and should not be used/referenced.
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Course Notes
Info
Hotmail is a subsidiary company of Microsoft. It is a free web based email service. They have added the Microsoft Network originally planned as a proprietary chat system (similar to AOL's non-internet content) but MSN as a service closed down and instead a client called Messenger (MSN) was developed. This a chat client used by many people! It is not necessary to use a hotmail account to become a user of MSN. You can be one as well with any other email account.(You will however be assigned a hotmail account when signing up for a Microsoft Passport).
What MSN Messenger is
A GUI (Graphical User Interface) chat system. It connects you to a server which knows the other connections established and thus can forward your messages to any user. It does not directly connect to other users, thus your IP is protected from chat partners trying to figure it out by commands like "netstat -a".
MSN Messenger Functions
You can chat, send files, send sms, telephone, check your email, visit multi-user chat-rooms and other things from one little application.
Download & installation
Go to http://messenger.msn.com/ (when you click the link to the left the MSN Messenger site will open in a new window so you can continue to read this tutorial). Click the "Download now!" button.
At the next screen you will be asked if you have a Passport Account, if you have a Hotmail e-mail address then you do have a Passport Account and you can click the Next button. If you do not have a Passport Account you will see a link that says If you do not have a Passport, "click here" (just above the Next button). Click the link (a new browser window will open) and fill out the requested information to create a Passport Account (you must fill out the entire form). Be sure to write down your new account name, e-mail address, and password (Microsoft will not be able to help you if you forget this information). After completing the form click the "Sign up" button.
Headmaster's personal note: Some people are rather wary about the privacy policies of Microsoft and the way Passport works. Some of these concerns are justified, so ultimately everyone will have to judge for him- or herself whether to sign up for Passport or not. It is a great tool but the latent risk of Microsoft knowing more than you'd like them to cannot be denied. It is a personal decision to make, unfortunately, MSN messenger, Hotmail and other Microsoft services no longer work unless you have the Passport account. If you're concerned about privacy, I suggest giving them the least possible information and not making it too easy (you might for example want to "accidentally" misspell your last name and use your middle name as first )
If you're successful you'll get a screen that says Congratulations youremail@hotmail.com and you'll see "Continue at MSN Messenger Service" button. Click the Continue at MSN Messenger Service button. (If you do not get the Continue at MSN Messenger Service you may need to correct your registration form as indicated until you are allowed to continue. A couple of notes: Passport names must be unique, you may not get the name that you want on the first try, passwords must be at least eight (8) characters, and all of the fields on the form must be completed).
At the next screen click the "Download Now" button. At the File Download screen select Run this Program from its current location (if using Internet Explorer, Netscape and Mozilla users will have to save the file somewhere and run it manually) and click OK. By selecting Run this Program from its current location the program will automatically start to install when the download is complete. If you select Save this program to disk you will have tell MSN Messenger where you want the file to be saved, find the file once the download is complete and then double click the filename to start the installation program. The only advantage of using Save this program to disk is that you will have the file at a later date if you need to reinstall the program. This tutorial covers using Run this program from its current location, if you choose the other method you should know how to install programs already.
Once the file has finished downloading it will automatically ask you if you want to install it, say yes and say yes to the terms of service agreement (read it first, especially concerning the sections on acceptable use). You will be prompted to restart your computer, say yes. The first time you run MSN Messenger it will ask you for your Passport ID and password, fill out the requested information, check the box that says Remember my name and password on this computer if desired, click OK and setup will be complete.
3—Add contacts
To add a contact click the add button,and select Add by E-mail Address and click Next. Type the hotmail e-mail address (note that also non-hotmail addresses will work as well for MSN, you also can use other than hotmail email address.) of the person you want to chat with and click Next. If it tells you that the the person that you are trying to contact is not using MSN (the person may not be online and that's why you're getting the message, if you know that the person does not have MSN you can click the Send E-mail button to send your friend an invitation to join the MSN Messenger service) click the Next button if you want to continue to add more contacts or the Finish button if you are done adding contacts. You can add as many contacts as you like.
If you cannot see the MSN Messenger Program double click the icon located on the taskbar by the clock. If you would like to check your Hotmail e-mail you can click the link and that will open Hotmail in a new browser window.
Sending messages & chatting
You will only be able to send a message to people who are online. To send a message double click the name of the person that you want to send a message to and the Instant message/chat box below will appear.
Type your message and click Send. You can leave the message box open and continue to surf the web or do whatever it is you were doing. When the person that you sent a message to responds, you will hear a sound and the Messenger box will flash on your taskbar. Click on the Messenger box on your taskbar, type your response, click send or press enter and you're chatting! People also like to use Emoticons (smiley faces, thumbs up, thumbs down, etc.) when sending message.
You may be chatting with someone and you want to invite someone else to join the existing chat (you can chat with up to five people simultaneously). To invite a new user to an existing chat, click the Invite Button in the Instant Message/Chat box. When you click the Invite button the screen to the right will appear. Click To join this conversation and select the desired person from the list of online contacts.
You can also use the MSN Messenger to send a file to the person that you are chatting with. There are times when you may be online, but busy and unavailable for chatting. You can change your chat status by clicking on the file menu, selecting My Status and selecting your desired status (see menu to the right). If you select Appear Offline you will not be able to send or receive messages. If you cannot see the MSN Messenger Program double click the icon located on the taskbar by the clock. You can also right click the MSN Messenger Program icon and select My Status from the popup menu. If you need to change the program preferences (the name that you want others to see on their messenger screen, public profile, default font, phone information (you can use MSN Messenger to place free long distance calls), general program preferences, privacy options (you can block people from sending you messages that you have met online), sign up for new accounts, and change your connection settings) click Tools > Options and make the needed changes. There is additional advanced chat functionality available beyond the scope of this course, check the MSN help files if you want to know more.
Emoticons
To the right is a complete list of the Emoticons available in MSN Messenger. To use an Emoticon, select the Emoticon that you want from the To send this list and type the corresponding code listed under the column Type one of the following. Be sure to use parentheses () when indicated as indicated otherwise the Emoticon will not display. Use emoticons in messages to show feelings.
A few common ones:
- ) or :-) Smile
- ( or :-( Sad
- ) or ;-) Wink
(K) Kiss
(Y) Thumb Up
(N) Thumb Down
Search
If you want to search for friends, family or others who have Hotmail accounts, then the Hotmail Member Directory could bring the perfect result. The Hotmail Member Directory is designed to let Hotmail members find each other while still protecting each individual's privacy. Privacy is assured because members' email addresses are never given out, only their names and general location (country). You can contact them directly by email but only through a special page that does not reveal the email address of the intended recipient. If they do not wish to contact you and reveal their email address, then their address will remain protected.
To help protect that policy, you must be a member of the directory yourself in order to search it. Entries are not case-sensitive - 'john smith' will return the same results as 'John Smith'. When search results are too large, providing more specific information will help narrow the results. But remember: You should not assume that the person you find in the Directory is definitely the person who you meant to reach. You'll only find out by introducing in a short email.
Note: As the sender, your email address is shown to the other member and he or she may reply directly to you.
MSN web search
The page where you can use the search option, and find whatever you are looking for via MSN is located at http://search.msn.com/ 'Featured Sites'
The MSN Search editors chosose featured sites on the basis of its relevance and usefulness (and occasionally on commercial aspects, so buyer beware). Because the sites are hand pick-featured, they receive priority in MSN searches. A featured site can be the official site of an artist or film, a relevant news clip or feature on the MSN portal, or simply a link to products and merchandise that MSN thinks best ties in with your search term.
How to submit a site
There is no formal process for submitting a site for free on MSN; if you place your site on the web, and if it is appropriate to a particular search, our search engine will pick it up and display it under the heading 'Web Pages'. However, there are techniques for getting your site noticed.
Microsoft states in its official policy: "We don't divulge the criteria for ranking sites on MSN, although if you have submitted a site through Looksmart you can rest assured that it will feature in all relevant searches. There are a number of web pages that offer tried and tested formulas for improving your site's standing."
Headmaster's personal note: Be wary of web services that promise increasing your search rating. Most of them will sell the best rankings to the highest bidder and their techniques may also be detected by the search engines and your site de-listed entirely. The best bet to get a good ranking is to have clear content, use the HTML "keywords" meta-tag with 5 to 10 words appropriate to your site and make sure that the page you submit to the search engine is not just a container frame or splash screen with no actual content.
Sending/receiving files and SMS
You can use MSN Messenger to send files to your contacts, and also to receive files from them. You can send a variety of files: music, pictures, or documents to your contacts, just like you can with e-mail and instant messages. You do not need to be in an instant message conversation with that contact to send them a file.
To send a file:
1.)Choose the contact to whom you want to send the file in one of these ways:
In the main Messenger window, right-click the name of an online contact, and then click Send a File or Photo.
-or-
In the main Messenger window on the File menu, click Send a File or Photo, then click a contact's name, and then click OK.
-or-
In the conversation window on the File menu, click Send a File or Photo.
2.)In the Send a File dialog box, click the file you want to send, and then click Open. (To find the file you want to send, double-click folders to open them or click the Up One Level button at the top to move up in the file structure.) The request to transfer the file is immediately sent; you're notified when the recipient accepts the file. You can click Cancel to stop the file transfer at any time.
You can also drag and drop a file on a contact in your list to send it.
You can send a file to anyone who has a Microsoft .NET Passport (and MSN Messenger or Windows Messenger). On the File menu, click Send a File or Photo, then click the Other tab, type the person's .NET Passport address, and then click OK. Proceed with step 2 above.
If you're on a local area network with a firewall (as you may be in a corporation), you may not be able to send files to contacts outside the firewall. If you're in this situation, remember that you can use Hotmail (or your default e-mail account) to send files.
If you are using Windows XP and have enabled the Internet Connection Firewall, you will need to manually open the file transfer ports. For more information, click Help, then click Help Topics, and then see Configure your network for instant messaging and file transfer.
Receiving files or photos
Yor contacts can send you attachments during an instant message conversation, and can even send you files or photos without being in an instant message conversation. Once you have received a file and it is saved to your computer, you can open it at a later time.
To receive a file
You will be notified in the conversation window of the sender's name, the name of the file, and its size. You will be given the opportunity to accept or decline the transfer of the file. If you click Accept, the file will be put in the folder specified on the Preferences tab of the Options dialog box.
Note: If the file contains a virus, it will not be activated until you open the file. Be suspicious of files sent to you when you are not expecting them. Before opening a file, send an instant message to the sender, verifying that they actually sent it. Viruses often lurk in files that appear to be sent by someone you know. Also, verify that it is virus-free before you open it using your current virus checker.
Sending SMS
To enable other people to send SMS via MSN Messenger to your mobile, go to Tools, select "Send a Message to a Mobile Device", and then click on "Edit my Paging Settings" or "Setup my Pager Address", depending on the version of MSN you are using. Register your mobile device, after which you will be sent the authorisation code. Enter the code and then proceed to personalise your settings using the Phone preferences. Fill in the numbers and click on �Go to MSN Mobile', which will take you to the MSN Mobile Alert Settings page. Select the Add button next to Instant Messages, which will take you to the Instant Message Alerts page. Select the User & Device information' link to fill in your mobile number and other information, and voila! Your friends and colleagues can now send messages to your mobile using MSN Messenger. MSN Messenger also allows you to send news, sports updates, etc, to a mobile phone for free.
Skinning tutorial
You can customize your MSN's appearance with various "skins" (Bitmaps) to give it a completely new look. Skins consist of graphics items that combine together to give a neat themed user interface.
As skinning is a rather advanced technique and, done wrong, may mess up your Messenger installation (if that happens, just reinstall the software), this section will not be covered in the exam. However, skinning thoroughly improves your experience with MSN, thus you should someday try it.
What you will need
a. Resource Hacker� - (can be downloaded here)
b. A graphics program such as Photoshop�/Paintshop�Pro or Microsoft� Paint
Skinning the BMP's
a. Open Resource Hacker� and locate msmsgs.exe
(Default Folder C:/Program Files/Messenger) (MSN 5.0 default folder -C:/Program Files/MSN Messenger)
b. Browse the Bitmap list and select file you would like to edit, to save BMP right click on file and select Save Bitmap: ***: 1033 and save file. c. After editing the chosen BMP replace with BMP extracted, to replace select file and right click and select Replace Resource. A dialog pops up containing the BMP on the left now click the Open file with new bitmap button and replace.
Skinning the PNG's
a. Brows the PNG list and select the PNG you would like to edit. After selecting the PNG go to the top menu Actions and select Save Resource as a binary file, save the file to the number you selected (e.g. If you selected PNG 212 save as 212.png)
b. After editing selected PNG its time to replace, select the PNG you edited in the list and right click and select Replace Resource. A dialog pops up with empty boxes in which you will enter: Resource Type: "PNG" - Resource Name: (enter PNG # you edited here) - Resource Language: 1033
c. Repeat Step 3.b for every file edited.
Editing the Dialogs
a. Open msgslang.dll using Resource Hacker�, select Dialog and browse throughout the list. When you have found the dialog you would like to edit right click on the dialog box on the left and select Insert Control. (Warning Deleting items in dialogs may cause Messenger to stop functioning)
Replacing Icons
a. Open msmsgs.exe in Resource Hacker� and select Icon Group from the list, browse the list and select the icon you would like to replace.
b. After selecting the icon right click and select Replace Resource then choose the icon you would like to replace that icon with.
Saving
a. Make sure Messenger is completely closed and no programs that require Messenger such as Hotmail are open.
b. When saving Resource Hacker� will make a backup of msmsgs.exe called msmsgs.exe_original, if you have problems simply delete the msmsgs.exe and rename the msmsgs.exe_original to msmsgs.exe