Tech-Ease: Chat and Conferencing Questions and Answers

Quick answers to real classroom technology questions. An online service of the Educational Technology Clearinghouse.

ETC HOME
TECH-EASE HOME CHAT FAQ SEARCH

How do I change my buddy icon in iChat?

Changing the picture used to identify you to other users in iChat is easy. You can use any picture you have saved on your hard drive, but better yet, you can take a snapshot with your iSight camera and use that as your buddy icon.

To use an iSight snapshot as your buddy icon:

Make sure you have your iSight camera connected to your computer and open iChat by clicking on its icon in the dock.

Click on the picture icon in the upper right. A small window will open showing you all the photos you can choose from for your buddy icon. You can add pictures to the list by dragging them in from a Finder window.

Buddy Icons

To use an iSight snapshot, choose Edit Picture. You can also choose Buddies > Change My Picture from the application menu.

Buddies, Change My Picture

Click on the Take Video Snapshot button (it has a picture of a camera on it).

Buddy Picture window, Take Video Snapshot

Your new snapshot will appear in the window above the button. You can then use the zoom slider to zoom in or out on your picture. If you zoom in on the picture, you can move the picture to change what part of it appears in the window. When you hover your pointer over the picture it will change to a hand icon to let you know you can move the picture.

Buddy Picture Window, Set Picture

Once you are happy with your picture, click on Set to make it your buddy icon.

Another way to add a snapshot is by opening the video window (double-click on the camera icon next to your name at the top of the window) then choosing Video > Take Snapshot (Shortcut: Command + Option + S).

Video, Take Snapshot

The snapshot will be saved to your desktop as a TIFF file you can then drag into the buddy icon area to set a new buddy icon.

Additional Websites

USF Laptop Initiative: Mail and iChat Basics (PDF)

Apple Support: iChat AV

Apple Learning Interchange: iChat AV and iSight— Bringing Schools Together

Texas Tech University: Introduction to iChat (PDF)

ETC HOME
TECH-EASE HOME CHAT FAQ SEARCH

Site Map | Submit a Question | About Tech-Ease | Privacy Policy | ETC Home
Tech-Ease for Mac is your source for just-in-time answers for classroom technology questions. A companion Tech-Ease for Windows site is also available. This collection is a part of the Educational Technology Clearinghouse. Funding for Tech-Ease content development has been provided by the USF College of Education and various grants from the Florida Department of Education. Copyright 2009 by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology, College of Education, University of South Florida.

			Quick answers to real classroom technology questions. An online service of the Educational Technology Clearinghouse.
ETC HOME	TECH-EASE HOME	CHAT FAQ	SEARCH
How do I change my buddy icon in iChat? Changing the picture used to identify you to other users in iChat is easy. You can use any picture you have saved on your hard drive, but better yet, you can take a snapshot with your iSight camera and use that as your buddy icon. To use an iSight snapshot as your buddy icon: Make sure you have your iSight camera connected to your computer and open iChat by clicking on its icon in the dock. Click on the picture icon in the upper right. A small window will open showing you all the photos you can choose from for your buddy icon. You can add pictures to the list by dragging them in from a Finder window. To use an iSight snapshot, choose Edit Picture. You can also choose Buddies > Change My Picture from the application menu. Click on the Take Video Snapshot button (it has a picture of a camera on it). Your new snapshot will appear in the window above the button. You can then use the zoom slider to zoom in or out on your picture. If you zoom in on the picture, you can move the picture to change what part of it appears in the window. When you hover your pointer over the picture it will change to a hand icon to let you know you can move the picture. Once you are happy with your picture, click on Set to make it your buddy icon. Another way to add a snapshot is by opening the video window (double-click on the camera icon next to your name at the top of the window) then choosing Video > Take Snapshot (Shortcut: Command + Option + S). The snapshot will be saved to your desktop as a TIFF file you can then drag into the buddy icon area to set a new buddy icon.			Additional Websites USF Laptop Initiative: Mail and iChat Basics (PDF) Apple Support: iChat AV Apple Learning Interchange: iChat AV and iSight— Bringing Schools Together Texas Tech University: Introduction to iChat (PDF)
ETC HOME	TECH-EASE HOME	CHAT FAQ	SEARCH
Site Map \| Submit a Question \| About Tech-Ease \| Privacy Policy \| ETC Home Tech-Ease for Mac is your source for just-in-time answers for classroom technology questions. A companion Tech-Ease for Windows site is also available. This collection is a part of the Educational Technology Clearinghouse. Funding for Tech-Ease content development has been provided by the USF College of Education and various grants from the Florida Department of Education. Copyright 2009 by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology, College of Education, University of South Florida.