Chat is a Facebook feature that allows you to talk in real time with your friends. This application can be used free of charge by all Facebook users, and is available at any time.
Steps
Step 1. Log into your Facebook profile
Enlarge your browser window to make the most of Facebook chat. If the window is too small, the chat will appear as in the figure below.
Step 2. Open the chat sidebar
To do this, click on the "Chat" icon in the lower right corner. Once you click on the icon, a list will open on the right side with a list of all your friends and their relative status (online, offline, etc.).
Step 3. Familiarize yourself with the application
- In the sidebar on the right, a list of friends to chat with appears.
- A green dot next to your friend's name indicates that he is connected, and therefore it is possible to chat with him.
- A mobile phone symbol indicates that your friend is connected via mobile.
- If there is neither a green dot nor a mobile phone symbol next to your friend's name, then he or she is not currently connected, and therefore is not available in the chat. You can, however, click on his name and open a chat window, but what you write will be sent to him in the form of a message.
- Facebook ranks your friends in the chat into different categories. At the top of the list you will find the friends (online, offline, or connected via mobile) with whom you are most likely to want to talk; the lower part of the list contains the "other online friends", with a number in brackets indicating how many of them are connected; all these friends will have a green dot. You can also use the "Search" box to find a particular friend.
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When you start a conversation by clicking on a friend's name, or when your friend texts you, their name appears in a box at the bottom of the screen. The first box will be immediately to the left of the chat icon; if you add another conversation, another box will open to the left of the latter. Write your message in the white box at the bottom of the chat box, and press "Enter" to send it.
- If the box is gray, it means that you have read all the messages your friend has sent you since the beginning of the conversation.
- If the box is blue, and a red number appears, it means you have messages you haven't read yet. The red number indicates the number of messages still to be read.
- By placing the mouse on your friend's name in the chat box, their profile icon will appear; by clicking on this icon you can directly access your friend's Facebook profile.
Step 4. Change your chat settings by clicking on the cogwheel symbol located at the top right of the chat box
You can turn off the sounds, which notify you of a new message, or you can also set it to appear as “offline”, or change the advanced options.
Step 5. Advanced options allow you to define which of your friends can know when you are “online”
You can block certain people, or a list of people, so that they cannot chat with you or know if you are connected.
Step 6. Browse previous messages by clicking on the message icon at the top left
Step 7. Click on the person's name to see their previous messages, or to send a new message
Step 8. In the message window you can attach a file, such as an image, or even a photo taken on the spot with your webcam
Advice
- If you see a yellow triangle with an exclamation point, it means that your internet connection is not fast enough to make the chat work, or that the chat is not available due to a Facebook problem.
- Unlike other chats, Facebook does not allow you to save the complete message history.
