Picture Perfect

Gregg Keizer

Like its predecessor, America Online's Instant Messenger 3.5 lets you send files to buddies. But the new beta version also adds a special way to send just pictures: IM Images. Using a faster direct connection between two online PCs, you can send an images to your contacts, who can then just look at it in the message window, copy and to paste it into another program, or save it as a bitmap file. Making the connection and manipulating the image, however, aren't always easy. Use these tips to get a handle on the process.

Beat bad connections. Choose My AIM, Edit Options, Edit Preferences and click the IM Images tab. Check the box titled "Use alternate Internet address" to eliminate most connection problems. You may be able to make a direct connection between you and a buddy without this checked, but in our experience most attempts will fail if you don't change this setting. Leave the rest of this dialog as you found it, and click OK.

Shrink those files. You can send files that are in.bmp, but why send a huge bitmap when a smaller.jpg format file will look the same (and take half the time to send)? Before you push a massive pic on a pal, convert it to a.jpg file. Most image editors can do this, as can the trial version of Paint Shop Pro.

Save or copy new images. When you want to save an image, right-click it and choose Save Picture. To copy the picture to the Clipboard, right-click the image and pick Copy Picture, then paste it in a document in the application of your choice.