Skype to Skype
Skype to Skype calls allows you to make free phone calls to anyone else with a computer, a mic and a Skype account, no matter where they are in the world. It’s a great way for businesses or individuals to save money by using voice over IP instead of making expensive phone calls.
Here’s how to make a call from your Skype account to another Skype account.
Step 1: Add New Contact
In order to contact someone on Skype, you first need to have a friend relationship with them. In other words, you can’t call someone until they’ve “approved” that you can call them.
To add someone as a friend, go to Contacts in the top navigation bar.
Then select New Contact.
Step 2: Search for Your Contact
Type in either the person’s name, email address or Skype username to search for your friend’s account.
Skype will automatically search its database and display a list of all potential matches.
It’ll display the person’s name, Skype name and country, hopefully giving you enough information to be able to tell which one is your friend from all the possible matches.
Select the name of your contact and click “Add Contact.”
Step 3: Write an Introduction (Optional)
If you met the contact some time ago, or if the contact isn’t explicitly expecting you to add them, then it often helps to write an intro reminding them of who you are and where you met.
Click Send to send your friend invitation. Before you can call this person, they have to receive your invitation and then confirm that you’re friends.
Once the two of you are friends, you can easily place a call to one another.
Step 4: Choose Who to Call
Double click on the name of the person you want to call from your contacts list.
Step 5: Select Call
Press the call button from the dialogue box that pops up.
Skype will attempt to make the call connection. You’ll hear a dial tone, then the person on the other end will receive your call and decide whether or not to take your call
If they other person accepts the call, you’ll see the active call dialogue box.
When you’re finished with your, click on the red handset to hang up.
That’s all there is to it! In short, to make a Skype to Skype call, first add the person as a friend and have them accept you as a friend. Then double click on their name in your friends list and select “Call.”
Video Call
Want to interact with your friends with both voice and video? You can, with Skype’s video call features. As long as you and your friend have webcams built in or connected to a computer, you can use Skype’s video call features.
Alternatively, you can also do a video call with the iPhone 4’s built in camera and the Skype iPhone app.
To make a video call using Skype, follow these steps.
Step 1: Select the Person to Call
Double click on the person you want to call. The call box will pop up.
Step 2: Click Video Call
Click on the video call button to initiate a video call.
When the person on the other end of the call picks up the call, you’ll see the connected video call window. It looks like this:
Once connected, you’ll be able to see your friend in the upper screen and yourself in the lower screen. The lower screen enables you to see exactly how you look to your friend.
Connecting a video call is that simple. Here are a few more options for the video call:
Step 3: Video Options
Hover your mouse over the top of the screen to see the video options bar.
Here’s what each of these options does:
Snapshot: Saves a picture of the screen.
Full screen: Enlarges the video to a full screen view.
Zoom in: Zoom in on your friend.
Pop-out: Pops the video out of the chat window, making it smaller and more maneuverable.
Step 4: More Tools
Along the bottom of the call box are a few more tools for managing the video chat.
#1 – Ends the call.
#2 – Mutes your microphone.
#3 – Adjust the volume of your mic.
#4 – Invite more people to this video chat.
#5 – Hover over this button to see your video feed.
#6 – Screen sharing.
#7 – Show the dial pad.
#8 – Show the chat box.
#9 – Like a cell phone, this box will light up with bars showing you how strong your connection is.
That’s it! You now know how to make a video call and how to adjust the video call options. Making a video call may seem daunting if you’ve never done it before, but in reality it’s just a few clicks away.
Instant Messaging
Don’t want to actually make a Skype call? Or have a friend who doesn’t have a mic on his or her computer?
You can easily use Skype’s text chat instead. With Skype chat, you can send instant messages, share files between one another and even create your own multi-person chat room right on the spot.
Here’s how to use Skype instant messenger.
Step 1: Choose Who to Chat With
Double click on the name of the person who you want to call.
Step 2: Type in the Chat Box
At the bottom of the box that pops up is a blank box. Type what you want to say in this box and press enter.
Above the box where you type your messages is the chat box. In the chat box, you’ll see what your friend’s said and what you’ve said, along with any other activities like phone calls or files sent and received.
That’s the basics of how to use Skype chat. Next we’ll go over a few other optional features of Skype chat.
Step 3: Insert Smiley Faces
Smiley faces are a great way to add some character to a conversation. Skype’s smiley faces aren’t limited to just faces but include a few symbols as well.
First, click on the smiley symbol on the left. Then select the smiley you want to use. It’ll automatically be inserted into the message box.
Step 4: Send a File
Want to share a file with a friend? It’s easy. Just click “Send file” above the message box.
Select the file you want to send from the file box that pops up.
Step 4: Add People to Chat
Want to chat with a team or a group of friends instead of just one person? You can. Just click “Add people” to invite others to join your chat.
A box will pop up, where you can select who to invite.
Just highlight the people from your friends list on the left who you want to invite, then click select. If you change your mind about any of them, click remove on the right.
Once you’ve selected everyone who you want to add, click “Add” along the bottom. They’ll all be invited to join your chat room.
That’s how to initiate and use a Skype chat. We’ve also covered how to use smileys, send files and invite more users to the chat room.
Screen Sharing
Screen sharing is a revolutionary technology by Skype that allows its users to easily see each other’s desktops. In the past, screen sharing technology was either very slow or very expensive. With Skype, you can share desktops with one another over a fast and free connection.
Before you start, make sure you have the latest version of Skype installed.
Here’s how to use Skype’s screen sharing system.
Step 1: Choose Who to Call
Double click on the name of the person you want to call in your screen name list.
Step 2: Place a Video Call
You need to first be in a video call before you can start screen sharing. Click Video Call to initiate a video call.
Step 3: Click on the Screen Sharing Button
At the bottom of the video call is a row of buttons. Click on the screen sharing button.
Step 4: Choose Whole Screen or One Window
Select whether you want your users to see your entire screen or just one window.
Once you click either of these selections, Skype will switch over from camera view to screen sharing view. It may take a second to load.
Step 5: Screen Sharing Controls
Once you’re in a screen sharing connection, you can easily control the share with options along the top.
#1 – Click this button to have #3 pop up.
#2 – Click this button to stop sharing.
#3 – This window shows you what your friend is seeing. It doesn’t appear unless you click on button #1. If you’re sharing just one window rather than your whole screen, click on Select Window to change the window that your friend is looking at.
Congratulations! You now know how to screen share and control the screen share connection. Using screen share makes it very easy for anyone to demonstrate how to do things on a computer, share work live or teach computer related skills.