How To Email & Messaging How to Send IMs in Gmail Share Pin Email Print Email & Messaging Guides & Tutorials Basics Installing & Upgrading Tips & Tricks Key Concepts VoIP by Brandon De Hoyos Self-described IM veteran covers the latest in messaging trends and videography. Updated September 11, 2017 01 of 10 Using Gmail's Embedded Google Talk IM Client Used with permission. Just as Google Talk users are able to send IMs and launch multimedia audio chats, Gmail users can now use their inbox to participate in web-based IMs and webcam chats. Sending IMs with Gmail First, log into your Gmail account and locate the chat menu with the green dot, underneath the "Contacts" link on the left-hand side. Press the cross (+) symbol to continue. 02 of 10 Select a Gmail Contact for Chat Used with permission. Next, select a Gmail contact to chat with from your available contacts. Double-click on their name to continue. What's with the Green Dot? Gmail contacts with a green button next to their name indicate they are online now on Gmail or Google Talk and available to talk. 03 of 10 Your Gmail Chat Begins Used with permission. An IM window will appear in the lower, right-hand corner of Gmail addressed to the Gmail contact you chose to chat with. Enter your first message in the text field provided and hit enter on your keyboard to send your message. 04 of 10 Going Off the Record in Gmail Used with permission. Want to prevent a Gmail chat from making it into your Gmail archives? Going off-the-record will turn off IM archiving so you can chat without having to worry about deleting an IM record later. How to Go Off the Record on Gmail Select "Off the Record" from the Options menu on the lower, left-hand corner of the Gmail chat window. 05 of 10 Blocking Gmail Chat Contacts Used with permission. Sometimes, blocking a Gmail contact from sending you Gmail IM and webcam chats will be necessary, especially if you become a victim of cyberbullying or Internet harassment. Blocking a Gmail Contact To block a Gmail contact from sending an IM or webcam chat to you, select "Block" under the Options menu in the lower, left-hand corner of the Gmail chat window. 06 of 10 How to Launch a Gmail Group Chat Used with permission. Want to start a chat with more than one Gmail contact at once? Select "Group Chat" from the Options menu in the lower, left-hand corner of the Gmail chat to invite more people to join your conversation. 07 of 10 Add Gmail Group Chat Participants Used with permission. Next, enter the names of the Gmail contacts you would like to join your Gmail group chat and press "Invite." Your Gmail contacts will receive an invitation to join the Gmail chat already in progress. 08 of 10 Popping Out Gmail Chat Used with permission. Want to pop your chat out of the Gmail inbox and into its own web browser? Select "Pop Out" from the Options menu in the lower, left-hand corner to pop out your Gmail chat into its own window. 09 of 10 Adding Webcam and Audio Chat to Gmail Used with permission. Want to try something different? Ditch the text-based Gmail chat and add the Gmail Webcam and Audio Chat plugin today. Select "Add Voice/Video Chat" from the Options menu in the lower, left-hand corner to download and install the Gmail Webcam and Audio Chat plugin. 10 of 10 Gmail Emoticons Menu Used with permission. Want to make your Gmail chats a little more animated? Check out the free library of exciting Gmail emoticons while chatting by selecting the emoticon icon in the bottom, right-hand corner of your Gmail IM. Continue Reading