By Sharael Feist
March 12, 2001
Do you think America Online is frustrating or fascinating? Perhaps you were just getting familiar with AOL 3.0, and now the company’s thrown you for a loop by releasing AOL 4.0– a new version packed full of surprises. Whether you’re irritated by those annoying pop-up ads or amazed that you can spice up your email with splashy graphics, we’ve got some insider tips that can help you navigate AOL smoothly.
We revealed a few AOL secrets on today’s show. Here are the step-by-step instructions so you can try them out at home.
For more AOL secrets, pick up a copy of one of our favorite books, America Online: Amazing Secrets by Laura Arendal.
To remove those pesky pop-up ads:
- Go to My AOL
- Click Marketing Preferences
- Unclick Pop Ups
To temporarily turn off Instant Messages:
- Press Ctrl-I
- In the subject and body of the message, type $im_off
Instant Messages will automatically turn on when you log on again, or you can turn them on by repeating the process above but typing $im_on. “Talk” in the Chat Rooms (Mac Only)
To use a graphics file as a backdrop for your email:
- Open Write Mail
- Right-click in the text box (Mac users click on the camera
icon) - Select Background Picture
- Choose a picture (in GIF or BMP format) from your hard drive
To change your default web page:
- Click on My AOL
- Choose Preferences
- Click on WWW
- Change the URL in the Home Page bar
Did you know that you can literally make your Mac “talk” in the chat rooms?
Here’s how to do it:
- Click on My AOL
- Choose Preferences
- Select Speech
- Check the Talk Chat button