Make instant messenger sounds using text

Instant messages are a great way to talk with friends and family quickly and silently, but sometimes you may find a situation where a sound is necessary to really communicate your meaning. You can do this through the Trillian instant messaging program. 

When you type and send certain emoticons, an associated "emotisound" will play automatically. For example, if you type "lol," your chat partner will hear a laugh, and if your partner sends you a dog emoticon, you will hear barking.

Here are a few steps to make instant messenger sounds using text or shortcuts.

Instructions

1. Download and install Trillian for Windows from Cerulean Studios (http://www.trillian.im/download/).
2. Run Trillian, and check that emotisounds are enabled. Select "File" in the top menu bar on the buddy list, then "Preferences." In the left frame, click "Windows" and "Display." The box next to "Play Emotisounds" in the upper part of the screen should be checked.
3. Make sure that you and your chat partner are using the same skin. If not, the emotisounds will not play. In the "Preferences," window that you opened to enable emotisounds, click "Skins" in the left frame. Your current skin will be shown in the "Skin Name" box.
4. Make sure the volume is on and turned up on your desktop/laptop.
5. Experiment with different emoticons to see which ones send an emotisound. Different skins also have emotisounds associated with them, so experiment with those, too.

This works in Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.