How to Insert Graphical Smileys in Yahoo Mail Messages

Yahoo Mail provides a series of graphical smileys called emoticons in its formatting toolbar. Use them inline in your outgoing emails to attract attention and appear friendly or express another emotion. By default, your Yahoo Mail uses the rich text editor that makes graphical smileys possible. If you switch your email to plain text—also in the formatting toolbar—your emoticons are deleted.

To insert emoticons in your messages in Yahoo Mail:

1. Click Compose at the top of the email screen to open a new email.
2. Enter the text of your outgoing email.
3. Position the cursor wherever you want an emoticon to appear.
4. Click on the Emoticon tab in the formatting toolbar at the bottom of the email. It looks like a smiley face.
5. Click on one of the emoticons to insert it in your message.

Note: If the recipient's email client does not support HTML emails, the emoticons won't display.

The formatting toolbar can be used in other ways to affect the appearance of your outgoing messages. You can use it to change part of the text to bold or italic type or apply a color to the text. It can be used to insert a list format or an indention, as well as adjust the alignment of the text on the screen. You can insert links and graphics using the toolbar.

If you like graphic emoticons, try out the stationery capabilities of Yahoo Mail, also located in the formatting toolbar. These large graphics are seasonal, everyday and birthday background graphics that liven up an email. Just click the icon that looks like a card with a heart on it in the formatting toolbar, and scroll through the thumbnails of the images that are available. To see how one works with your message, just click it to apply the stationery.