How to Chat

1. Click on the row of any member to start chatting with them.
2. The chat conversation will be displayed under the “Chats” tab.

3. Type a message in the text box. 

4. Click the “Send” icon or hit “Enter” on your keyboard.

What Instant Messenger Icons and Badges Mean

1. Gold Member – The gold crown icon indicates the person is a Gold Member.
2. Real ID – The purple check mark indicates that the member is verified confirmed.
3. On IM – The green chat icon indicates the member is logged into Instant Messenger.
4. Attachment – The paperclip indicates a gift, tip or photo attachment in the chat conversation.

How to Open the Profile Preview Overlay

There are other ways to interact with Instant Messenger by opening the Profile Preview overlay.

1. Click on the information “i” icon in the upper right corner of the profile thumbnail to open the Profile Preview overlay.

List view

Tile view

2. If you are in an active chat conversation, click on the “profile thumbnail” in the upper right corner to open the Profile Preview overlay.

How to Send a Photo

1. Open Instant Messenger and click on the “Chats” tab.
2. Click on the member in the left pane to display the chat conversation.
3. Click on the “Attach Photo” icon under the message box.

4. A list of approved album images are displayed. Click on the image(s) you want to send. A check mark will be displayed under each image.

5. Click on the image(s) you want to send. A check mark will be displayed under each image.

6. Click the “Done” button. The photo is attached to the message.
   
7. To add more images click “Add more”. Click the “Send” icon to send the photo(s).    

How to send a Tip

1. Open Instant Messenger and click on the “Chats” tab.
2. Click on the member in the left pane to display the chat conversation.
3. Click on the “Tip” icon under the message box.

4. Click on the tip amount you want to send. The tip amount is highlighted in bold font.

5. Click the “Send” icon to send the tip. The tip is displayed in the message conversation.

How to send a Gift

1. Open Instant Messenger and click on the “Chats” tab.
2. Click on the member in the left pane to display the chat conversation.
3. Click on the “Send Gift” icon under the message box.

4. Click on the gift(s) you want to send. A blue border is displayed around the gift(s) to be sent.

5. Click the “Confirm” button.
6. Click the “Send” icon to send the gifts. The gift(s) are displayed in the message conversation.

Sending a Flirt

1. Click the “Flirt” icon in the Profile Preview overlay to send a flirt.
2. A confirmation message is displayed at the bottom of the window.

Profile Overlay:

Add a member to your Friends Network

1. Click on “Add Friend” to send the member a request to add the member to your Friends Network.
2. A confirmation message is displayed at the bottom of the window.

Profile Overlay:

3. You can also add a friend by clicking on the three dots in the upper right corner of an active chat.

Hotlist a member

Click on “Hotlist” to add a member to your Hotlist. A confirmation message is displayed at the bottom of the window.

Profile Overlay:

You can also add a member to your Hotlist by clicking on the three dots in the upper right corner of an active chat.

Viewing a Members profile page

Click on “View Full Profile” to view a member’s profile. The member’s profile page will load in another window.

Profile Overlay:

Blocking Members

You can block a member by clicking on the “Block User” icon in the Profile Preview overlay. Click the “Block User” button to block the member from chatting with you on Instant Messenger.

Profile Overlay:

You can also add a member to your blocked member list by clicking on the three dots in the upper right corner of an active chat.

Deleting a Chat Conversation

1. Open Instant Messenger and click on the “Chats” tab.

2. Click on the trash icon in the upper left corner of the member list.

3. Click on the radio buttons next to the chat message(s) you want to delete then click on the red trash icon.

4. An overlay is displayed. Click the “Delete” button to remove the conversation from the list of conversations. NOTE: Once a chat conversation is deleted the entire chat history is deleted and cannot be recovered.

5. You can also delete a message by clicking on the “three dot” icon in the upper right corner of an active chat.

Reporting Abuse

1. Open Instant Messenger and click on the “Chats” tab.
2. Click on the member in the left pane to display the chat conversation.
3. Click on the “three dot” icon in the upper right corner.

4. Click on “Report Abuse”.

5. The abuse form will be displayed in another window. Fill in the form to report a member for abuse.

Attaching Photos

1. Open Instant Messenger and click on the Chats tab.
2. Click on the member in the left pane to display the chat conversation.
3. Click on the Attach Photo icon under the message box.

4. A list of approved album images are displayed.

5.  Click on the image(s) you want to send. A checkmark will be displayed under each image.

6. Click the Done button. The photo is attached to the message. To add more images click Add more.                           
   
7. Click the Send icon to send the photo.

Sending Gifts

1. Open Instant Messenger and click on the Chats tab.
2. Click on the member in the left pane to display the chat conversation.
3. Click on the Send Gift icon under the message box. 

4. Click on the gift(s) you want to send. A blue border is displayed around the gift(s) to be sent.

5. Click the Confirm button.                                
6. Click the Send icon to send the gifts. The gift(s) are displayed in the message conversation.   

Sending Tips

1. Open Instant Messenger and click on the Chats tab.
2. Click on the member in the left pane to display the chat conversation.
3. Click on the Tip icon under the message box. 

4. Click on the tip amount you want to send. The tip amount is highlighted in bold font.

5. Click the Send icon to send the tip. The tip is displayed in the message conversation. 

Searching for a Specific Member

1. To search for a specific member, click on the “Search username” box. 
2. Type the member’s handle you are searching for. As you start typing the member’s handle, the results will start to display members who are online and match the typed text.

Searching for Members with Custom Filters

1. To search for members who meet a certain criteria, click on “Filters” icon to the left of the search field

2. Select the options you want to search by then click on the “Save” icon (blue circle icon with a check mark).

3. The results will be displayed under the “For You” tab.

4. A summary of the custom filter selections is displayed at the top of the page. 

5. Click on the “more” link to view a summary of the selected filters.
6.  Click “Refine Search” to change the filter selections.

Navigating Instant Messenger

The information below provides a summary of the features you will find in Instant Messenger:

1. Chats – The Active tab displays incoming messages and chat conversations with members that you have either initiated or accepted.
2. Online – The Online tab displays members who match the criteria set in your cupid preferences that are currently logged into Instant Messenger.
3. Friends – The Friends tab displays members in your Friends Network that currently logged into Instant Messenger.
4. For You – The Custom tab displays members who match criteria selected in the custom filter settings
5. Custom Filter search – Create a custom filter.
6. Search by username – Search for a specific member.
7. Notification icon – Mute or unmute notifications by clicking on the icon.
8. Information icon – Click on this icon to display the Profile Preview overlay.
9. Send Message – Click on this icon to start chatting with a member. In List view you can start chatting by clicking in the row the member is listed in.
10. Tile or List view – Click on this icon to toggle between list view and tile view
11. Refresh icon – Click on this icon to refresh the member list

List view

Tile view

Where do I find the Instant Messenger?

To open instant messenger, log into your account and click on the IM icon located in the top right hand corner of the site homepage.

Where do I find my active chats?

The Chats tab displays incoming messages and chat conversations with members that you have either initiated or accepted. Click here for more information.

How do I find users who are currently online?

The Online tab displays members who match the criteria set in your cupid preferences that are currently logged into Instant Messenger. Click here for screenshots.

Where do I see conversations that I am having with my friends?

The Friends tab displays members in your Friends Network that currently logged into Instant Messenger. Click here for screenshots.

Where can I find people who I might be interested in?

The For You tab displays members who match criteria selected in the custom filter settings. Click here for screenshots.

Where can I configure my custom filter?

Custom Filter search allows you to customize your search filter. Click here for more information.

How can I search for a user?

Search by username allows you to search for a specific member. Click here for more information.

Where can I turn on or off notifications?

Notification icon allows you to mute or unmute notifications. Click here for screenshots.

Where can I see a member’s profile overlay?

The Information icon displays the member’s profile preview overlay. Click here for more information.

How do I send a message to someone? 

In tile view the green Send Message icon opens a conversation with a member. In list view click on the row of the member you want to chat with. Click here for screenshots.

How do I change the list or tile view?

The blue Tile or List view icon toggles between list view and tile view. Click here for screenshots.

How do I refresh the member list?

After 5 minutes of inactivity the blue Refresh icon is displayed. Clicking on this icon refreshes the member list. Click here for screenshots.