12 Skype Tricks You Should Know

If you’re anything like us, living far away from your family or talking to offshore clients, you perhaps have all kinds of video calling apps on your device. And, we’re sure, Skype happens to be one of them.

A Skype animal already understands how incredible it is. Besides being a pioneer for video calling industry, it’s also a hive of features. Hive in a sense that there is still so much we don’t know about Skype. Things this platform can do but needs the right kind of eye to notice.

You probably know all about Skype and how to make calls with it, but did you know about these tricks? From hiding your online status to sharing your screen, here are some tips that will help you get the most out of Skype. Enjoy!

12 Skype Tips & Tricks

1. Backing up your Skype conversations

You could be having terrible memory for what you read and write or a tendency to revisit your chats simply to have a moment of past. Either way, this hack is of great use.

• Login to your Skype account and press Win + R to open the Run command.
• This will prompt a dialogue box to open at the bottom left of the screen.
• Now, enter the command ‘%appdata%\skype’ and click ok.

• Soon, a new window will open, where you will find a folder named as your Skype ID.

• Click the folder and look for the main.db file. Here, you will find a complete record of your Skype chats.

• Copy and save.

2. Transferring your Skype contacts

Come high hell or water, but contacts shouldn’t vanish. No brainer, in the event of losing your contact numbers, you find yourself completely off-guard by the unexpected.

Fortunately, Skype has a trick up its sleeve to get you out of such a fix. You can easily backup your contacts in one Skype account and transfer all of them to another, so that you don’t give yourself yet another chase in life.

• Go to your Skype account and click ‘Contacts’ option on the menu bar.
• A drop-down menu will show up with an option ‘Advanced’. Tap on it.
• Now, click ‘Backup contacts to file’. A .vcf file will be created to save on your system.

• Login to another Skype account. Go to Contacts and Advanced options again.
• Click ‘Restore Contacts to File’, located underneath the Backup option.

3. Re-editing your last message

Such an oopsey when you wrongly spell a word in a message or type wrong information. To your rescue, Skype has a trick that lets you make amends to your last message and redeem yourself. Simply press the up arrow key and you will find your last message converting into editable text. Now, make the changes and resend.  

4. Calling directly from the contact list

A little configuration on Skype can help you make calls by simply double-tapping on a contact name in the list. To do this, the skype trick is here:

• Go to Tools option located on the main menu bar of Skype Window.
• Next, click on Options and go to ‘General Settings’.

• Reaching here, you will find the first option telling you to enable ‘double tap’ to make a call straight from the contact list. It says – ‘When I double-click on a contact, start a call.’

• Note that enabling this, you will no longer be able to open the IM window by a direct double tap on the contact.

5. Deleting Chat History

Skype has no option to delete a specific message you’ve received from a contact, although it allows you to delete a particular message you’ve sent to a contact. Simply right-click on the message and click ‘Remove Message’ option to permanently delete the message from the view but remember this will only delete the message for you and not for the recipient.

To clear the entire chat history, you need to navigate through the following options.

• On the main Skype window, go to tools > options > IM & SMS.
• Proceed to IM Settings and then click ‘Show Advanced Options’.
• You will see an option for chat history.
• Select the time frame for which you wish to delete the chat history. And, hit ‘Clear History’.

• Now, your chat history is removed for the time frame you’ve chosen. The action is irrevocable, which means, you will not be able to recover any of the messages now.

Quick Look: Tools > Options > IM & SMS > IM Settings > Show Advanced Options > Choose Time Frame and Hit Clear History.

6. Finding Hidden Emojis and Smileys

Emojis and smileys add a flavor to the messages. Don’t they? And, considering how beautifully they emphasize feelings we experience, it’s always great to know more.

Although you can always click the cute smiley face in the bottom right of the Skype window to open the amazing collection of Skype emojis and smileys, there is another way of doing it as well. Simply type what you’re feeling or wanted to communicate within () brackets.

For instance: type (talk) (party) and (love) on Skype and hit enter. You will see the exact smileys popping up in your chat trail.

To know more, click HERE

This is one of the coolest Skype tricks to try out.

[su_note note_color=”#fff8f8″ text_color=”#3d3639″]
10 Best Emoji Apps for Android & iPhone

With origins in Japan, Emojis were initially called as Emotion icons and now with the fast paced millennials we know them as Emojis. In this article we help you know 10 of the best emoji apps on the play store… READ MORE[/su_note]

7. Enabling Hotkeys

Okay. Using shortcuts makes you faster. Using Ctrl + C to copy a text is quicker than hovering over the text, clicking right on the mouse and selecting copy. It’s already proven how keyboard shortcuts save you plenty of time and make you efficient.

Skype has keyboard shortcuts too. Hotkeys, as a techie might refer. And, you can activate them to boost your productivity. See how.

• Head to the main Skype Window and click Tools tab.
• Now, Options > Advanced > Hotkeys > Enable Keyboard Shortcuts. You’re done.

This way, you’ll activate keyboard shortcuts for frequently used actions.

8. Pausing Animated Emoticons

Animated emoticons are fun. They ensure that your texting doesn’t go basic. But, not everyone has the same preferences. There are a few who like still emotive faces than the movable ones. And, Skype does a serving by offering a trick that pauses the animated emoticons. The steps are as follows:

• As the common case, go to the main Skype window and press Tools tab in the menu bar.
• Next, select Options and then, IM & SMS.
• Select IM Appearance, where you will be able to configure the IM settings.
• Untick the Show Animated Emoticons. Simple!

Quick Look: Tools > Options > IM & SMS > IM Appearance > Disable Show Animated Emoticons

9. Setting Up Your Caller ID

Enable Skype caller ID feature, because you don’t want yourself to be mistaken as a company executive selling off some useless deals or a bonehead who has got nothing better in life. The chat service, if used for making landline and international calls, will flash your number on the other side, so that your call isn’t considered as one coming from an unknown number.

To do so..

• Go to the Account option on Skype. This will prompt a webpage having all the information related to calls.
• Next, click Caller ID button, select Country/Region and the Phone Number.

• In the end, tap on Verify Number option and you’re done.

Quick Look: Skype Menu > Accounts > Select Caller ID > Choose Country/Region > Add Phone Number > Hit Verify Number.

[su_note note_color=”#fff8f8″ text_color=”#3d3639″]
The Absolute 10 Best Webcam Software

One of the best things about computers is how they allow us to communicate with other people. What are the 10 best webcam software? Most people would be lost today if they couldn’t use webcams to see their friends and family and be seen by them remotely. READ MORE[/su_note]

10. Changing the font and text size

While teeny is Skype’s default font size, you can always make changes to get it there where your comfort lies. You can easily change font and text size on Skype by going through a series of steps.

• Go to Tools menu on the Skype menu and select Options.
• Select IM & SMS option given on the left sidebar. Then, IM Appearance.
• Tap on Change Font option and customize accordingly.

11. Hiding the Typing indicator

Generally, a typing indicator shows when someone is writing a message to you. Similarly, it also shows when you’re typing a message to a contact of yours. If you’re looking at hiding this feature, this tip is for you.

• Go to Tools option on Skype’s menu bar and click Options.
• There, you need to select IM & SMS again and then IM Settings.
• Now, Show Advanced Options and Untick ‘Show when I am typing option’.

12. Accessing Multiple Chat Windows

If you’re chatting with multiple people at the same time, switching between contact options to view and reply to the messages could be a pain. It might even hamper your productivity.

Skype lets you open multiple chat windows and thankfully so. To activate this:

Go to View option and select Compact View. This will open multiple chat windows in compact sizes all over the screen. To reverse the action, select Default View by going through the same process.

[su_note note_color=”#fff8f8″ text_color=”#3d3639″]
10 Snapchat Tricks That Will Knock Your Socks Off

It’s really easy to see what attracts someone to the app. The stuff you share is private and short-lived. The stories stay just a day, and the snaps you send barely last not a minute after they have been viewed. READ MORE[/su_note]

Try these Skype tricks to get better at your everyday tasks. You will be thanking us for sure. To know more of such tips and tricks of various other platforms, keep checking this space. If you’ve tried any other Skype trick we’re missing out here, mention it in the comments section below. We will definitely take it up and add to our post.