Yahoo! Messenger version 8 Issues, Tips & Tricks

Here's a summary of some of our most FAQ / Common issues we hear about regarding Yahoo! Messenger version 8, most will have links to full forum threads and / or articles that we have already posted so for more information please click the links referenced.

On page one (this page) you will find help for the following....

Page Two More Yahoo! Messenger v8 Tips and Issues....

First and Last Name showing in your Yahoo! Messenger IM's, address book and add requests?
When it comes to account information stored by Yahoo! and subsquently accessed by Yahoo! Messenger, the friends lists and address books, it can get quite confusing and extremely frustrating, especially if all your requests to add friends, or their requests to add you, are going out and / or being accepted with your "real name", this can easily be corrected, it's just a matter of selecting the best solution for you...
For more information and full documentation check out our article Yahoo! Messenger version 8 Account Information

My sounds are missing! / I can't hear the sounds anymore! / No matter how many times I install it my sounds are corrupt!
Yahoo! Messenger version 8.0.0.701 (released 10 August 06) was shipped with new .wav files which means our much loved knock, door, pow etc sound files are no more. If you prefer the "old" sound files included in all previous versions of Yahoo! Messenger, then download WackyB.co.nz_800683sounds.zip unpack the zip file, copy and paste all the .wav files included into C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Messenger\Media and you're now back to the good old days.
For more information and full documentation check out our article Yahoo! Messenger version 8 Default Sounds (.wav files)

I can't install plug-ins, it says it is but it's not there!
Most common reason... there is a difference between Tab Plug-ins and Conversation plug-ins, Tab plug-ins are available from your main messenger window (where your friends list is), conversation plug-ins are only available from within an active conversation window, first place to check for your installed plug-in is from an active IM session, just look for the Plug-ins icon (green puzzle piece).
The next most common issue appears to be YTunnel, if you have that installed then you may find the install process is blocked despite seeing notification that you're plug-in installed correctly.
You must be running Yahoo! Messenger version 8, if you don't have that installed grab it from http://messenger.yahoo.com
For more information about these issues check our articles Yahoo! Plugins and Yahoo! Plug-in Problems

I printed off the cheat sheet for all the Yahoo! Smileys but there must be a simplier way... what is it?!
If you're running version 8 then look no further than the YEmotePLUS smiley plug-in which gives you simple and easy access to all the Yahoo! Messenger emoticons including the hidden / secret ones. You can download it directly from Yahoo! Gallery at http://us.gallery.yahoo.com/apps/380/
For more information check out our article YEmotePLUS plug-in

How do I run mutliple versions of Yahoo! Messenger version 8?
the days of running hacked / modified versions of the main .exe file are over, well for version 8 users at least :)
to run multiple versions of Yahoo! Messenger 8 and above, check out this posting in our forum...
If you are using v8.0 or above version of yahoo messenger you should be able to get multiple copies of messenger by running the following file:
http://www.wackyb.co.nz/yahoo/YahooV8Multi.reg
just click run from current location (no need to download first as it's less than 1k)
Hope this helps
NOTE: do not run this file if you don't know how to backup and restore your registry... use at your own risk
for more information see our WackyB.co.nz forum thread Yahoo version 8 run multiple versions

Yahoo constantly turns voice back on when changing rooms and un-mutes my sound, how do I stop this?
try this little utility that Andy made...

you can download it from http://www.wackyb.net/utils/YIMcVoiceToggle.exe
for more information see our WackyB.co.nz forum thread Yahoo! Messenger v8.0.0.701

Yahoo! Messenger has encountered a problem and needs to close....
"Yahoo! Messenger has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvience.
If you were in the middle of something, the information you were working on might be lost.
Please tell Microsoft about this problem. We have created and error report that you can send to us"

this error message is often caused by the incompatibility between Windows Blinds and Yahoo! Messenger, but is not limited to just that program. Windows Blinds has a support forum filled with Yahoo! Messenger & Windows Blinds compatibility questions that you can check out or you can view our article Yahoo! Messenger and Windows Blinds over at WackyB.com which takes you through how to resolve this issue by disabling skinning of Yahoo Messenger in Windows Blinds
how to resolve this issue Yahoo! Messenger and Windows Blinds

This issue appears to be a problem with any program that alters the original skin / shape / form of Yahoo! Messenger. I have the exact same issue with XNeat, below is an example of "skin" change caused by running XNeat, that impacts on the operation of Yahoo! Messenger....

clicking the Close / Exit button in an active IM session window will immediately cause Yahoo! Messenger to crash and display "Yahoo! Messenger has encountered a problem and needs to close...."
If you encounter any problems that cause Yahoo! Messenger to crash unexpectedly or that you can reproduce, quickly run through your installed programs to see if they alter the default look and feel of Yahoo! Messenger in any way.

If Yahoo! Messenger is crashing when you load it, make sure you have Macromedia Flash Player installed, this MUST be installed via Internet Explorer.

How I find out what version of Yahoo! Messenger I am running?
from within Yahoo! Messenger click Help > About Yahoo! Messenger a wee About box pops up telling you what version you have installed

How do I delete my archives??!
inside Yahoo! Messenger hit Contacts > Message Archive
the Messages Archive window will popup
to delete the whole lot, click the Message folder, right click then select Delete (or hit the X icon in between the Save and Reply icons)
individual folders can be deleted as above, just select the folder ID you wish to delete, right click, select Delete

How to do I view / print / save my Yahoo! Messenger archives?
a lot of ppl don't like the way saves or prints their Yahoo Messenger archives.... if you only want to view / save / print your own (with smileys or without) then check out Andys Yahoo! Messenger Archive Viewer which is free for individual account use (US$6.95 for multiple or commercial use)

I want to return to Yahoo! Messenger version 7 or 7.5, where do I download it?

Still having problems? make sure you meet the basic system requirements for Yahoo Messenger v8 and then check out our article Yahoo! Messenger v8 Settings, Ports, Prefs to make sure it's all set up correctly :) Still need more help? swing by our WackyB.co.nz Forum :)

How can I protect myself from phishing sites?
Yahoo! is now offering Custom Sign-in Seals which you can create at https://protect.login.yahoo.com/login/set_pref/, if you need help creating your seal then check out my article over at bee.geek.nz ~ Yahoo Tries to Help

Scripting must be enabled via Internet Explorer (double check this if you can't see the text in your incoming or outgoing IM's)
Log out of Yahoo! Messenger and close, now spring open Internet Explorer
hit Tools select Internet Options
click on the Security Tab to select it
Under Select a Zone to view or change security settings click on the Internet icon (world globe)
Under Security Level for this Zone click on Custom Level
The Settings window will open, scroll down to the category Scripting
Enable
    - Active scripting
    - Allow paste operations via script
    - Scripting of Java applets
click OK, click OK
Launch Yahoo! Messenger, now login again.

If your smileys aren't animated check...
log off Yahoo! Messenger and close
fire up Internet Explorer
click on Tools
select Internet Options
click the Advanced tab
under the Multimedia category
make sure Show Pictures has been selected
click Apply
click OK
restart Yahoo! Messenger
click on Messenger
select Preferences
under the Messages category
make sure Enable Emoticons is selected
click Apply
click OK

How do I remove ID's from the drop list?
The drop down / search list that expands, (directly above your friends list) where it has the rotating text "Type a Yahoo! ID" or "Type an email address" or "Type a mobile number" can get extremely long, if you want to clear this list (sorry but I'm unaware how to remove individual ID's listed) then please follow the instructions below....

Log out of Yahoo! Messenger and exit the program, now pop into your Yahoo! Cache directory located at....

C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Messenger\Cache

now what files you see in that directory is going to depend on if you have logged in using one default ID or mutilple ID's, if one then there will be one .conversationhistory.xml file, if you have logged in with multiple ID's or your computer is shared, then there will be multiple .conversationhistory.xml files one for each ID you have used so take care if the drop down list is important to you.

The file you need to delete will look something like...

Ex4PoBU5oaXdyQjk0tQ_FQ-- .conversationhistory.xml

in the example above Ex4PoBU5oaXdyQjk0tQ_FQ shown above will be different to what you see (each file name created is unique) so just look for any / all files ending with... --.conversationhistory.xml

when you locate the correct file just right click and select delete. If you're worried about doing or you're on a shared computer then just rename the extension
e.g rename
Ex4PoBU5oaXdyQjk0tQ_FQ--.conversationhistory.xml

to
Ex4PoBU5oaXdyQjk0tQ_FQ--.conversationhistory.OLD

Sign back into Yahoo! Messenger and your list should now be clear.

When you sign out of yahoo messenger a new conversationhistory.xml file is created and/or updated if you renamed the wrong file (as suggested above) just delete the newly created file and rename Ex4PoBU5oaXdyQjk0tQ_FQ--.conversationhistory.OLD back to Ex4PoBU5oaXdyQjk0tQ_FQ--.conversationhistory.xml

Don't forget to check out Page Two More Yahoo! Messenger v8 Tips and Issues....

Need more settings information? check out our article Yahoo! Messenger v8 Settings, Ports, Prefs
Problem still not resolved? Question still unanswered? Need more help? check out our WackyB.co.nz ~ Forum :)