Chat Basics

Using Facebook Chat

1. Click the name of the friend you want to chat with on your sidebar
2. If you don't see your friend's name, use the search box at the bottom of your sidebar to find them
3. Once you open a chat with a friend, type your message and press Enter or Returnto send it

If you’re chatting with a friend and want to add more friends to the conversation:

1. When you're chatting with a friend, click the gear menu  at the top right of your chat window
2. Select Add Friends to Chat... from the dropdown menu
3. Enter the names of the friends you want to add, then click Done

To turn chat on or off:

1. Click the gear menu  at the bottom of your sidebar
2. Select Turn On Chat or Turn Off Chat

If you've previously turned on chat for only some of your friends, chat will only be on for those friends. For example, if you have chat on for only 3 friends, turn off chat, then turn it back on, chat will still only be on for those 3 friends.

To turn on chat for more or all of your friends, you'll need to adjust which friends you're on chat for.

Note: While chat is off, chat messages from friends automatically go to your inbox for you to read later. You’ll also receive them as messages on any mobile Facebook apps you install on your phone.

To close a chat, click the x in the top-right corner of the window or press the Escape (esc) key on your keyboard.

To minimize a chat so you can easily access it later, click the top of the chat window. To reopen a minimized chat, just click the collapsed tab at the bottom of your screen.

Emoticons, Symbols and Sounds

You can add an emoticon to your conversation by clicking the smiley face in the lower-right corner of your chat window. If you have other sticker packs downloaded, you may need to scroll to the right to see the emoticons.

The emoticon you select will look like a text emoticon until you hit send, and then it will appear as the image. For example: if you choose a smiley face, it will appear in your text box as :) until you hit send. Then, it will appear in the chat as.

You can also send stickers by clicking the smiley face.

• Friends with a  next to their names are on chat or Messenger.
• Friends with a phone  next to their names have downloaded one of the Facebook apps (ex: Facebook for iPhone and Android). These friends can see your chats and messages on their phones.
• Friends with no icon next to their names are off chat. Chats or messages you send them will go directly to their messages inbox.
• To turn off chat sounds, click  in the chat sidebar and uncheck Chat Sounds.

  This will disable all chat sounds. To turn chat sounds back on, just return to the gear menu and check Chat Sounds again.

  You may need to log out and log back in again before the new setting takes effect.

Chat Issues

If you don't see a friend in chat, just type their name into the search box at the bottom of your sidebar. Clicking on a friend’s name opens a chat window. If your friend isn't available to chat, you can still send them messages in chat, but they'll be delivered to your friend's inbox for them to read later.

How you know a friend is available to chat:

• Friends with a  next to their names are on chat or Messenger.
• Friends with a  next to their name have downloaded one of the Facebook apps (ex: Facebook for iPhone and Android). These friends can see your chat messages on their phones.
• Friends with no icon next to their names are off chat. Chats you send them will go directly to their messages inbox.