Connect with Messages in El Capitan

As more of us prefer texting to calling and chatting to email, Apple’s Messages chat app plays an increasingly important role in keeping us connected. Learn how to use Messages to send and receive text, photos, and video to your friends. And brush up on features added in Yosemite, including the ability to send SMS messages on your Mac via your iPhone, message with a group, and send audio soundbites when text alone just won’t do ①.

**①** Messages’ group messaging features let you see everyone’s location on a map, name a group chat so it’s easier to find in your conversations list, and more. — ① Messages’ group messaging features let you see everyone’s location on a map, name a group chat so it’s easier to find in your conversations list, and more.

Messages Is Chat Central

You can chat in a variety of ways:

With Apple’s iMessage messages
Over SMS/MMS, if you have an iPhone running iOS 8 or later
AIM, Jabber, and Yahoo messaging accounts
Over the local network using Bonjour

Set Up iMessages

Choose Messages > Preferences > Accounts ②.

② You need to be signed in with an Apple ID to access iMessage. Go to Messages > Preferences > Accounts to make sure. (My info is scrambled here, but yours will show clearly.)
Select the iMessage account.
Enter your Apple ID and password. Click Sign In. Or, if you don’t have an Apple ID, click Create Apple ID.
Make sure the Enable This Account checkbox is selected.

You can also choose to enable the Send Read Receipts option here. If you do, people you’re messaging with will be notified when you read a message they wrote.

Set Up SMS/MMS Forwarding

Make sure your Mac and iPhone are signed in to iMessage with the same Apple ID. On the Mac, you do this in Messages > Preferences. On an iOS device, tap Settings > Messages.
On your iPhone, tap Settings > Messages > Text Message Forwarding. Toggle the switch next to your Mac’s name to On.
On your Mac, look for a notification with a numeric code ③.

③ Look for a verification code on your Mac.

Tip: If the verification code doesn’t appear, sign out of iMessage on your Mac and iPhone, sign back in, and then try the set up process again.
Enter the code on your iPhone.

SMS messages sent to your iPhone should now be sent to your Mac, too.

Send a Message

Click the Compose button. (If the Messages window isn’t showing, choose File > New Message or press Command-N.)
Begin typing a name in the To field.
A drop-down menu appears with the addresses and phone numbers listed for the person in the Contacts app.
Pick the desired contact method.
Type a message in the chat field at the lower right and press Return.

Be Selective about Where Your Messages Go

One of the problems with SMS/MMS forwarding is that your messages can appear all over the place—on your iPad or your Mac(s)—even when you’re not in possession of the device. Picture your 7 year old playing on the iPad when your best friend sends you a somewhat indelicate text.

Rein it in by being selective about where these messages go. On your iPhone, go to Settings > Messages > Text Message Forwarding. Then examine the list of devices, toggling the switch next to each one’s name to On or Off. If your kids regularly play with the iPad or on the kitchen Mac, for instance, don’t forward your text messages there.

To be safe, also turn off all notifications for Messages on the device in question. (iMessage messages are just as likely to be inappropriate as SMS ones.) On a Mac, go to System Preferences > Notifications, select Messages in the list on the left and choose None. On an iPad, tap Settings, Notifications, Messenger, and toggle the Allow Notifications switch to Off.

Get with the Group

When you’re organizing dinner out with friends, working on a project, or just trying to figure out who’s going to a party, group messaging comes in handy.

To invite people to a group:

Click the Compose button.
Begin typing a name in the To field and from the drop-down menu appears, choose an address that works with iMessage ⑤.

⑤ If an address works with iMessage, you’ll see the word iMessage next to it, along with a blue speech bubble. (I’ve scrambled personal information here, but your contact’s details will appear clearly.)
Type another name in the field. Or, add a participant by clicking the plus button and navigating to the person’s card in Contacts and clicking an iMessage phone number or email address on the card.

After you send the first message, a Details link appears at the top of the window. Click this to see your options:

Name the chat: Any member of the group can edit the Untitled Group Chat field. This makes it easier to find the chat in your messages list.
Invite more people: Click in the Add Contact field and start to type a name. Choose a contact from the drop-down menu that appears.
Share your location: If group members use iOS 8 or later, they can share their locations by tapping Details and then tapping Send My Current Location from their iPhones.(You can also choose Share My Location and then specify a time period, like Share For One Hour.) Group members can all see shared locations on a mini map ⑥. This is particularly handy when someone needs a ride.

**⑥** If members of the group share their locations, Messages shows where they are on a mini map. Your location (determined by your iPhone) is indicated by the blue dot. — ⑥ If members of the group share their locations, Messages shows where they are on a mini map. Your location (determined by your iPhone) is indicated by the blue dot.

Talk differently: Click the phone button by a participant’s name to call him. (See Turn Your Mac into a Speakerphone.) Or, click the FaceTime button to start a video conversation. Click the Contacts button to see the person’s card in the Contacts app.
See photos: Pictures that you and other participants’ share appear not only in the chat window, but also at the bottom of the Details pane. Double-click one to open it.
Mute or leave the chat: If the group chat gets too chatty, check the Do Not Disturb button to mute notifications, or bail out altogether by clicking Leave This Conversation.

Send a Soundbite

For moments that text can’t capture, Messages has soundbites. Click the microphone button at the right of the chat field to record a brief audio message. It begins recording immediately.

Each soundbite appears in your chat window as a little sound wave with a play button. Soundbites expire in 2 minutes—vanishing from your end of the conversation and from your Mac’s drive—unless you click the word Keep ⑦.

**⑦** Each Soundbite appears in the chat as a wave form with a Play button. It will disappear in 2 minutes unless you click Keep. — ⑦ Each Soundbite appears in the chat as a wave form with a Play button. It will disappear in 2 minutes unless you click Keep.

Who will use this feature? Anyone who is too rushed to type, but isn’t in a hurry to hear a response, as well as people who can’t get their message across in text alone.

Soundbites are great for couples sending each other audio love notes or for kids who can’t yet type, but want to send a message to a parent or grandparent. And let’s not forget the teens (and adults who still act like teens) who will joyfully use soundbites to send each other rude noises. For all of us, Apple, thank you.

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