iMessages: Fun with Texting
By Jennifer Kerr
You can text not only words,
but also photos, videos and more.
There are two kinds of
texting: With another iPhone or iPad or Mac, you will see a blue message
bubble. If you are texting with someone on another kind of phone, you will see
a green bubble. If texting to a group and one person is non-Apple, it will be
green. Blue texts are free; green ones use your texting minutes (but most plans
are unlimited these days).
All iMessages are encrypted.
To use iMessage, turn it on in Settings. You can send messages not only from
the iMessage app, but also from the Mail, Calendar, Contacts or Safari apps
(anywhere you see a phone number).
How to delete messages: To
delete an entire conversation with one or more contacts, tap Edit on the main
Messages page. Mark the ones to delete, then tap Delete in the bottom right. To
delete just one or more individual messages, press down on the message. You
will see More… in a bottom bubble. Tap that and you can then check any messages
you don’t want and hit Delete All in the top left.
SPECIAL EFFECTS in iMessage
(iOS10) Practice these!!!
-Tap back. A quick response.
Tap hard on a message. You will get some choices for a gray emoji response. Tap
one and it instantly is sent.
-Audio message. Tap
microphone in the iMessage space and dictate.
-Photos. To the left of the
iMessage space, slide over to the Camera. You can take a new picture or access
one in your Photos. You can mark up your photo by tapping on it until it goes
full screen. Tap Markup in the bottom left and you can write or draw on the
photo, then send it.
-Sketch and Tap. Tap on the
Heart with two fingers next to the Camera. You can write in the box (choice of
colors) or choose one of the Digital Touch tapping effects on the right side.
Tap on one to get an explanation: Sketch, Fireball, Kiss, Heartbeat,
Heartbreak.
-Other quick messages. Turn
your phone sideways. You can use any of the canned messages or hand-write your
own.
-Apps. Tap the App between
the Heart and the iMessage bubble. You will get a choice of different things to
use. The four balls on the bottom left give you your choices:
1. #images gives you tons of
funny GIFS (tiny movies). You can search to get ones on specific topics
(birthday, etc.) or featuring someone or something (Star Trek, Spongebob,
snakes, cats, etc.).
2. Music. If you have music
on your phone, it will give you some of your recently played songs. You can
send them.
3. Store. This takes you to
the App Store, where you can get (free or small fee) sticker packages. Once you
download them, they automatically show up right there in iMessages.
-Send with Effect: To see
these, you must first write your message (or even part of it). Then the mic in
the message bubble will turn into a blue arrow. Press firmly on this. NOTE: a
quick tap will just send the message; you want to hold it down until you get
the screen that says Send with effect.
1. The Bubble screen gives
you four choices to change how your message is received: Slam, Loud, Gentle and
Invisible Ink. Try these out!
2. The Screen screen gives
you seven choices of special effects to go with your message (most have sound
effects, too): Balloons, Confetti, Inflating Heart, Lasers, Fireworks, Shooting
Star and Celebration. Try all of these. They are fun and recipients love them!
Practice all of these with a
relative or friend. They are great for birthdays and other special occations.
