How to Chat With a Friend on Skype

Have you ever wanted to chat with a friend, family member or co-worker without making any noise? Now you can, on Skype. You can chat with anyone else on Skype for no cost and virtually no noise except for the tapping of your keyboard. So just how do you chat with a friend on Skype? Here's how.

Things You'll Need

• Computer with Internet access
• Skype account

Instructions

Add People to Your Contacts List

1. Open your Skype application: Click on "Start," then "Programs," then "Skype" if you're using Windows. If you are a Mac user, click "Applications," then "Skype."

2. Log into your Skype account with your user name and password, if you aren't automatically logged in when you start up Skype.

3. Click "Contacts" in the horizontal text menu at the top of your Skype window.

4. Select "Add a Contact" from the drop down menu. Fill in the field with your friend's Skype name, email address or real name and click on the "Search" button.

5. Look through the results of your search for your friend. You can sort by "Full Name," "Skype Name," "Country," "City" or "Language" by clicking the field headers.

6. If you believe you've found your friend, double-click his or her name, and click "Add Contact."

Chat Using Skype

1. Open your Skype application: Click on "Start," then "Programs," then "Skype" if you're using Windows. If you are a Mac user, click "Applications" then "Skype."

2. Log into your Skype account with your user name and password, if you aren't automatically logged in when you start up Skype.

3. Click on your "Contacts" tab. It's located in the center of the Skype application window and contains a silhouette of a person.

4. Find the contact you'd like to chat with. If your friend hasn't been added to your "Contacts" list yet, you'll need to do that first.

5. Right-click the name of the contact you'd like to chat with. This will prompt a pop-up window to appear.

6. Click "Start Chat" from the menu. There is a light-blue talk bubble next to the menu option. A new chat window will open offering a number of chat options.

Tips & Warnings

• In your new chat window, you'll see a blue circle encasing a talk bubble with a plus sign, which allows you to add more people to the chat. This is a great opportunity to make weekend plans among friends, plan the family-reunion menu or discuss an upcoming business merger with multiple participants.

• The button with a piece of paper and pencil allows you to set a chat topic. This feature is wonderful if you plan on participating in multiple chats at the same time.

• Pressing the red "X" will permanently remove you from that chat, but you'll still be logged into Skype and any other chats you have going.

• To call a chat participant, click the green telephone button.

• You can create a new chat with current participants by clicking the white talk bubble with lines in it.

• Send a file to all participants by clicking the paper with the blue arrow in it.

• The text field at the bottom of your Skype chat window is where you will type chat messages to the chat participants.

• You can see what all participants have typed, including their names and the times their messages were sent, in the large field located in the center of your chat window.