You probably know your way around Gchat by now – unless , of line , you ’ve been trapped in a freaky alternate existence where everyone ’s still curating their Buddy List on AIM . Even if you ’re logged in and chatting away all day , every Clarence Shepard Day Jr. , you may not be taking full advantage of all the indiscriminately useful stuff Gchat does to make your life easier . So , without further ado , here are nine conjuration and hint to turn you into a master of Gchat and Google Hangouts .
Move your chat list to the right side of your inbox
By default , your chat list is docked to the left side of your Gmail , but if you favor a morestreamlined flavour and feel to your Gmail , you may swap sides . come home the sprocket wheel to get toSettings > Labs , and enable right - side chat . Voila .
Change other people’s avatars without them knowing
mayhap you ’re sick of staring at your coworker ’s Ron Burgundy avatar , or you keep confusing multitude in your contact list and want a better fashion to identify them . you may tack on a custom photograph for anyone in your chat list without them even knowing . To do it , tap the contact search bar at the top of your chat tilt , look up the person , click " Contact Info , " " Change Photo , " and upload the jibe you ’d favor .
Make your chat windows different colors
There ’s no panic quite like the one that accompanies sending a racy or out or keeping subject matter to the wrong contact , and since all Gchat window face jolly much the same , it can happen all too easily . Thankfully , there ’s a trick to add up a colored ground to each different chat windowpane so you’re able to distinguish them better . All you need to do is type " /bikeshed " into the window you need to specialize – it ’ll mechanically tote up a backcloth colouring material .
Go off the record if you don’t want your conversation archived
Did you know every conversation you ’ve ever had on Gchat is archived and well accessible ? Well , you do now ! To take a walkway down memory lane , tap More from the left - side Inbox menu , select Chat , and scroll through your sordid history of smalltalk . Of course , you may go off the record if you need . open up a confab window with the mortal in question , snap the preferences cog roulette wheel , uncheck Hangout history , and talk freely ( just remember , if the other soul has n’t done this there ’s still a phonograph record of what you ’re saying somewhere ) .
Change font settings on the fly
Your witty quips and criminal scoldings do n’t have the same impact if you ’re not crystal clear how what you ’re publish should be interpreted , so here are some stylisation live tips : on a Mac , to activate bold , italics , or underscore press Command + b , Command + i , or Command + u , respectively . On a microcomputer , it ’s Ctrl + b , Ctrl + i , and Ctrl + u. Know them , love them , live them . Just keep in intellect that you must type the command again for turn the data formatting off .
Play around with Easter eggs
Like every right Google product , Gchat has its fair part of hidden Easter ballock feature article . They ’re more fun and unearthly than utilitarian , but worth exploring nevertheless . Here ’s a moderately self-coloured listto get you started .
Send on-demand doodles
Whether you ’re trying to illustrate something super specific to a coworker or just want to play tic - tac - toe , you could easy reverse your schmoose window into sketch board ( if you have a Google+ story ) . Hover over the picture ikon in the bottom - right corner of the Old World chat window , and you ’ll notice a pencil pappa up – click it and go wild .
Have your conversation translated in real time
Are you trying to make casual conversation with your digital paramour from a foreign land ? Do n’t bother slash out your hoary high school Italian – Google ’s get you cover with a couple 12 unlike language bot that ’ll mechanically interpret whatever you type to them . Here’sthe list of languages that are supported .
Call cellphones and landlines for free
If you ’re phone - less and urgently need to talk to someone ( or desire to try call your mislaid iPhone ) , you may dial up any domestic figure for free from a chat window . At the bottom of your contact lens inclination , tap the phone image and follow the prompts .
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Screenshot via Gmail
Screenshot via Gmail
Screenshot via Gmail
