103. Set Your Message Status

BEFORE YOU BEGIN	SEE ALSO
Create a Google Talk Account	Set Google Talk Options

When you run Google Talk, your friends can automatically see that you're available to talk (as long as they are connected to the Internet and are also running Google Talk). If you like, you can change your status to tell them you don't want to be disturbed. And you can also set a customized message for when you're available and another message for when you're away.

Click the Available Down Arrow

In the Google Talk window, click the down arrow next to the Available status under your name. When you do this, you display a menu that enables you to change your message status.

Create a Custom Available Message

If you want to create a customized message that appears on your friends' screens when you are available, click the Custom message option next to the green ball and type the message you want to appear when you are available. The new custom message appears just under your name. When your friends run Google Talk and you are available, that message appears next to your name on their screens.

The custom message also appears as a choice whenever you click the Available down arrow. You can select it, or create a new message, as explained in this step.

Set Your Status to Busy

If you don't want to be disturbed, select Busy from the menu. Your friends see a Busy status next to your name in their Google Talk windows. If they try to invite you to a conversation, they receive a busy message, and the invitation is not sent.

Customize Your Busy Message

You can create a new Busy message in the same way you created a new Available message in step 2: Click the Custom message option next to the red ball in the status drop-down list and type the message you want to appear when you are busy. This message appears just under your name in the Google Talk contacts list. When your friends run Google Talk and you are busy, that message appears next to your name on their Google Talk windows.

The customized Busy message also appears as a choice whenever you click the status down arrow to display the list of status options. You can select it, or create a new message.

Note

You can create multiple customized Busy messages and multiple customized Available messages. Whenever you create a new one, it is added to the list.

Clear Your Custom Messages

To get rid of all your custom messages, select the Clear custom messages option from the status drop-down list. All your custom messages are deleted. There is no way to delete individual messages; it's all or none.