Download
About
Getting Started
Help Centre
|
 |
 |
Getting Started | Inviting | Using | Customising Google Talk
Google Talk is easy to use. You can be instant messaging and talking with your friends for free in no time. This page will help you get started. For more detailed information, please visit our Help Centre.
Download the 1.3 MB application. It will take a few seconds over a broadband connection or about three minutes over a typical modem. Google Talk requires Windows XP/2000 with a minimum 56k connection speed (broadband is recommended).
-
Sign in with your Google Mail username and password. If you do not have Google Mail, you can get a free account using your mobile phone (only US for now).
Your Google Mail contacts are pre-loaded into Google Talk. Your most frequently emailed contacts are at the top of your Friends list. If some people from your Friends list already have Google Talk, an icon that looks like a coloured ball will be displayed next to their name and you can call or IM them immediately. If another Google Talk user wants to add you to his/her Friends list, an alert will be displayed at the top of your screen. 
You can also invite any of your other friends to download Google Talk so that you can talk to each other for free.
Move your mouse to a name and click on the Invite button or click Add friend to invite multiple people at once.
Pick from your Google Mail Contacts list or enter an email address directly. To add more than one person at a time, separate the addresses with a comma. When you have added all the names that you want, click Next. 
You can invite an unlimited number of Google Mail users to download Google Talk and get added to your Friends list. Because Google Talk requires a Google Mail username and password, if you are not inviting someone at his/her Google Mail address, we will also include an invitation to open a Google Mail account. The number of non-Google Mail users that you can invite at any time is determined by the number of Google Mail invitations that you have left in your account. We try to make sure that users have many Google Mail invitations to give away but if you run out, please be patient. Normally, users receive more Google Mail invitations within a day or two.
Once you have invited your friends, (invited) will appear next to their names.
Once they accept your invitation, download Google Talk and sign in, a coloured ball icon will be displayed next to their name. And if they are online, you will be able to talk or IM with them instantly.
When Google Talk is installed, it automatically starts when you turn on your computer (you can turn this off in Settings).
 |
|
How do I set my availability status?
You can set your availability status or customise a message that appears when others move their mouse over your name in their Google Talk window. |
 |
|
How do I search for my friends?
Search your Friends list by typing a name into the search box. |
|
 |
How do I send an IM or email?
Click on a name to open a chat window. You may have as many chat windows open as you want at one time.
Type directly into the box to send an IM.
Send an email using your Google Mail account by clicking on the Email button or by clicking on the  icon next to a name directly from your Friends list.
|
|
|
How do I make a call?
To call a friend, click on the Call button from an open chat window. You can also make a call by clicking on the  icon next to a name directly from your Friends list.
You can have multiple calls underway at once–but only one can be active at a time. The other calls must be on hold.
To talk with your friends, you must have a computer microphone and speakers. Today, many PC laptops have these built-in. Google Talk also works with USB phones and wired and wireless headsets. We recommend using a headset for best voice quality. |
How do I go off the record?
When you go off the record while chatting, nothing that is said from that point forward gets saved in either person's Google Mail account.
To go off the record, click the Options button and select "Go off the record" from the drop-down menu. You can stop chatting off the record by clicking the "Cancel" link in the chat window or by selecting that choice from the Options drop-down.
Both people in a chat can go off the record or stop chatting off the record at any time. Whenever a change is made, we will always notify both people. Learn more
 |
Click on the Settings link to customise Google Talk, including who appears on your Friends list, people that you want to block, saving your chat history, notifications and audio settings.
|
