Basic AOL Functions
The Heart
Let's start with the little heart that is in the upper right hand corner of most windows. This is what I call "the favorites heart". Web sites can be saved to favorite places, email can be saved too. Chatrooms, and any other window with a heart in the upper right hand corner can be saved. If you click on the heart once, or try to double click on it, a window will pop up listing 4 options.
Add to Favorites - Adds the window to your favorite places.
Insert In Instant Message - Opens a blank Instant Message, with the link in it already. Just type in a screen name, and send.
Insert in E Mail - Inserts the link into a blank e mail, it says: Check out
Cancel - Closes the options window.
Here's a sample. Click here to see a smile. If you are on AOL, you will see it. You too can save it to your favorites by clicking on the heart. Now you can send it to your friends and family.
Another way to save a window to favorites, is by picking up the heart with your mouse, and dragging it up to your Favorites folder on the AOL toolbar, and releasing it. Just drag and drop.
I just mentioned how you can send the smile to your friends and family on AOL. How you ask? Well, that's a simple question. All you have to do is select the option you want from the list, after you click on the heart. The other way, is by dragging and dropping.
To insert a link in an e mail, or Instant Message, all you have to do is drag it onto the IM text area, or text area of the E mail you are composing from your favorites folder.
To insert a link from your favorites, first click on "Favorites" up top on the AOL tool bar. From the drop down menu, select "Favorite Places". Then highlight the link you want to insert, by clicking on it. Hold the mouse button down, and drag the link into the text area. Before dragging the link onto the IM or E mail, make sure you put the cursor where you want the link to begin in the IM or E Mail. If you want to make existing text a link, highlight the text in the IM, or E mail text area, and then drag the link on. It will make the word(s) you highlighted, the link.
Preferences
This is an often overlooked area. When you install AOL, it sets your preferences at "defaults", which are not usually the settings most of us really want. To see your Preferences: On the AOL tool bar up top, click on My AOL> Preferences.
On the Preferences screen, you will see the categories you can set your own preferences for. Each category has it's own settings. They must be set individually by each member, or else, default settings are used.
On the Preferences screen you will see the 14 different preference categories.
They are:
General
Toolbar
Mail
WWW
Chat
Download
Graphics
Passwords
Auto AOL
Personal
Spelling
Font
Language
Marketing
General -
This is where you can set AOL to not display the Channel screen every time you sign on.
(You can still access it from your Toolbar at any time)
This is where you can enable event sounds. Does the Instant Message sound get on your nerves? You can turn it off here.
You can also turn off Chat Room sounds, or turn them on.
and more....
Toolbar -
Here's where you can set the appearance of your Toolbar, as well as it's location. This is also where you can erase the history trail from your AOL Toolbar address box. It saves all KEYWORD addresses, and Internet addresses. It displays the last 20 or so that you visited.
Privacy
Privacy is a biggie. There are almost always ways to protect your privacy, however, sometimes you must take the steps to protect yourself. Lets start with your member profile. If you don't have one, you may feel lucky, after I say more. Profiles are the latest source for Spammers to harvest valid E Mail addresses from. By that I mean if you have a profile, you will be listed in the member directory. The directory is searchable. The Spammers spend hours on end getting valid E Mail addresses by searching the
AOL Members Directory.
If you have a profile, you can be "located" online. The results of the "locate member" will say the name of the Chat Room you are in, or that you are online, but not in a chat area if you aren't in a room. If you are chatting in a Private Room, the results will say so, but not the name of the Private Room. This can be quite embarrassing, being "found" in the "wrong" Chat Room, by the "wrong" person!
You can change who can "see" you, in your buddy list privacy preferences.
BUDDYLIST> Set Up> Privacy Settings> choose the option you want. If you want nobody to be able to see you online, then be sure to apply it to buddylist and instant message.
If you have a profile, you still can be found online, even with your Privacy Settings blocking everyone. How? That Member Directory Search. When you show up in the results, there will be a little red arrow next to your screen name, indicating that you are online. Attempts to locate you will say that you are not currently signed on, even though you are.
So if you really want to surf privately, take advantage of the 7 screen name limit to make a new name, and be sure to NOT create a profile. IF you have a profile, and "blank" it out, you will still have a profile, as far as a search goes, it will just be blank.
More To Come Soon!
Back to AOL Tips
Back to Chuck's Chevy Truck Pages - Home Page