45. Carry On an IM Conversation  BEFORE YOU BEGIN 43 Set Up Instant Messaging 44 Manage Your IM Contacts
 SEE ALSO 46 About Instant Messaging Services
Unlike email, PIN, and SMS messages, instant messaging takes place in real time. In this way, the sending and receiving of instant messages is referred to as an IM conversation . Just as you talk back and forth with a person in a normal voice conversation, you send messages back and forth in an IM conversation. What makes this unique from other types of text messages is that an IM client application shows the ongoing conversation as a list of messages that are immediately visible. In other words, you don't have to open an IM message to read it. The flow of an IM conversation as a list of immediately viewable text messages in real time is what makes instant messaging such a unique form of wireless communication. | 1. | Sign In to an Instant Messaging Service Launch the desired IM client for the IM service you want to use and sign in to the service. See 43 Set Up Instant Messaging if you haven't already set up an IM account on your device. When you have selected the IM client you want to use, the list of clients appears; this list applies only to the service you selected. 45. Carry On an IM Conversation  | | 2. | Create a New Instant Message If you want to send a message to someone who isn't in your contact list, click the trackwheel, select Send a Message to from the menu that appears, and click again. You will be prompted to enter the user ID (or user number) of the person to whom you want to send the message. Scroll to select a contact from your contact list and then click to confirm the selection. More than likely, you'll want to send a message to an existing contact, in which case you should click the trackwheel, select Send a Message from the menu, and click again to create a new message. A new message screen appears. NOTE By creating a new instant message, you are effectively starting an IM conversation. | | 3. | Enter the Message Text The screen where you enter a new message is interesting in that most of the screen is blank; the area where you enter the message is just a small space along the bottom. This user interface reflects the fact that instant messages are intended to be short and sweet. Additionally, it shows how instant messaging is more about carrying on a conversation, where the back-and-forth dialogue is displayed in the main area of the screen. Enter your instant message in the text entry field along the bottom of the screen. When you're finished, double-click the trackwheel (you're actually clicking once to display a menu and then clicking a second time to select the default menu item, Send .) The message is sent to the target contact. TIP You can use several typing shortcuts while entering text on your BlackBerry device. For example, to make the most of the SureType feature, enter an entire word letter by letter before attempting to select from the list of corrections. If you must make a correction using the SureType pop-up window, press the Next key ( * ) or scroll the trackwheel to highlight the correction and then click. To capitalize a letter, hold the letter key until the capitalized letter appears. To scroll through all the available characters on a given key, hold the key and scroll the trackwheel. To insert a period at the end of a sentence , press the Space key twice. To turn on NUM LOCK, hold down the Shift key ( # ) and press the Alt key; to turn off NUM LOCK, press the Alt key by itself. And finally, to switch between SureType and traditional multitap modes, hold down the Next key ( * ). | | 4. | Receive a Response Message After sending an instant message to someone who is available for chatting, it shouldn't take long to receive a response. If the person is unavailable or otherwise unwilling to "talk," you might get a message much like the one I received in the examplemy friend Shawn changed his status and stepped out just as I sent him a message! In this case, I received an automatic response message letting me know that Shawn was no longer available. Assuming your IM conversation doesn't end as abruptly as mine did, you can continue talking as long as you want and the conversation text will continue scrolling up the screen. TIP You might find that an IM conversation is worth saving so that you can later access the information discussed. To save a conversation, click the trackwheel at any point during the conversation and select Save from the menu that appears. Click once more to save the conversation. You are prompted to enter a "history name " for the conversation, which is used to identify it. To view a saved conversation at a later date, click the trackwheel on the main Yahoo! Messenger screen, select Saved Conversations from the menu, and click again. You will see a list of saved conversations from which to choose. | | 5. | End the Conversation
Unless you change your status, sign out, or exit the IM client, you never truly end a conversationat least not from a technical perspective. When you finish a conversation with someone, you close the conversation screen just by pressing the Escape button. However, if that contact sends you another message, the same conversation screen appears and the conversation is resumed. So ending an IM conversation is really more akin to ending a conversation in the real world. If you want to make sure the conversation is over and you don't receive any more messages, change your status to Busy or Invisible or sign out altogether.
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