Genealogy Forum NEWS
August, 1998
AOL Tips
AOL's Tip of the Day
A D V A N C E D
How to Turn Off the Instant Message™ Feature
Instant Message conversations are a quick and easy way to communicate with other America Online members. They are fun and useful, but there are times when you don't want to get into a conversation. Sometimes you'll be in the middle of something and not need to know about Aunt Mildred's knee-troubles. In these instances, you can turn them off. Now, the Instant Message box doesn't have an obvious "off" button -- there’s a little trick to it (but then, that's what I'm here for).
To refuse incoming Instant Message sessions, select SEND AN INSTANT MESSAGE from the MEMBERS menu. (AOL 4.0 users: select INSTANT MESSAGE from the PEOPLE icon on the toolbar.) Type $im_off in the To: field of the Instant Message form (where you would usually type a member's name), and then type at least one character in the Message field. Then click on the SEND button.
You will receive the confirmation "You are now ignoring Instant Messages." That lasts for your current online session. Members attempting to send Instant Message greetings to you will also receive a message that you cannot receive Instant Message windows.
When you want to receive the Instant Message feature again, send an Instant Message greeting to $im_on, and don't forget to type at least one character in the Message field.
Cause, you know, you may be the only person Aunt Mildred has to talk to. Heck, come to think of it...let her send you her Instant Message rants... just don't tell her you're gonna go wander off and get some lunch while she talks at your computer.
Meg signing off...
There are more great tips from Meg coming your way. However, if you want to stop receiving these tips it's okay. Meg won't be hurt (too much). Just go to keyword: Tip of the Day. Under "Remove Me from the Tip of the Day," click "Advanced." You may also click REPLY on any tip and type "unsubscribe advanced" as your message.
You're welcome to rejoin at any time, the door's always open! Just return to keyword: Tip of the Day and subscribe again.
(c) 1996 - 1998 America Online, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
IGNORE FEATURE
If you ever encounter someone in chat who's annoying you in some way, you may want to use AOL's Ignore feature. This feature allows you to censor a specific member so you can no longer see what he or she is typing. Here's how to set up AOL's Ignore feature while you're chatting:
How To Use the Ignore Feature:
1. In the People Here listbox in the chat window, double-click the screen name of the member you want to ignore.
2. Click in the box next to Ignore. A check appears in the box.
3. Close the window. You will no longer see anything that member says in the chat room. Others will see the comments, but you will not.
LOGGING
You know how you'll be watching Star Trek, and you'll hear the captain of your choice start off a scene, "Captain's Log, Star Date...." Well, we've got the same feature here on AOL. Just, well, without all the cool tricorders and whatnot.
Logging gets its name because it "logs", or records, the text you see when you're online. When you open a Chat log it will keep a record of the conversations you participate in while in a chat room or auditorium. If you open a Session log it will keep a copy of every article you encounter while online. Nifty, eh?
-- Using A Session Log
If you go to the Today's News area with a Session log open, it will record all the articles you view. It won't record the graphics, but every time you pull up an article to read, it will record the entire text of that article -- even if you just look at the first few paragraphs. If you follow a link from news into another area, your log will follow and record what you see there, as well.
Because it records all the text you see, a Session log is a great way to save time -- just collect all the articles you want to read in a log and then review them when you're offline.
-- Logging in a Chat Room
Conversation often moves quickly in Chat Rooms, but Logging allows you to capture everyone's comments to read later. If someone in a chat room told you about a great vacation spot, a stock to watch, or even a great place on AOL to explore, all the information will be recorded for you.
-- To Keep a Log
Go up to the FILE menu and choose LOG MANAGER. then choose NEW LOG under either System or Chat (or if you're lucky enough to be on a Mac, IM). It'll ask you for a file name to save to, and you'll be off and logging. Come back to this same spot and choose CLOSE LOG when you're done.
Just uh... keep in mind that the transporter technology has not yet been implemented on AOL...
Meg signing off...
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Content © 1998 - 2004 GFNEWS, a monthly publication of Golden Gate Services, Inc. of Armada, MI The Editors welcome your ideas and articles, success stories, favorite genealogy research tips, comments and suggestions. The Genealogy Forum is a proud member of the FGS - Federation of Genealogical Societies