Emoticons are graphical or animated icons that convey intended tone in a chat message. The Sametime clients (Sametime Connect stand-alone, embedded Sametime in Notes, mobile clients) ship with a default set of emoticons that you can insert in chats, and you can add and save custom emoticons as well.

Using an emoticon in a chat

There are multiple ways to add an emoticon, or smiley, to an open chat window in a Sametime client.  To add an emoticon in a chat, you can use any of these options:

1. Type in the ASCII equivalent, such as :-), which returns a happy face emoticon
2. Use the Tools -> Insert -> Emoticons menu command
3. Use the smiley face action bar button as shown in the following picture:

For steps to insert an emoticon when using a mobile client, refer to the integrated help or check the client help for your device in the Sametime wiki: Sametime Mobile help.
If your chat partner has a version of instant messaging that does not support rich text or emoticons, your chat partner will see the ASCII representation of the emoticon, such as :-) instead of .

Managing emoticon palettes

The Sametime clients ship with a default set of emoticons.  To see an example table of these default emoticons and their keyboard equivalents, refer to the table in "Inserting emoticons on a Window device."  IBM does not provide any other emoticons, but you can make use of emoticons supplied by third-parties or create your own images using a graphics program. Emoticons are organized into palettes.   Image types such as gif, jpeg, or png can be added to your Sametime emoticon palette.  You can manage these palettes and their contents, including import or export of a complete palette of emoticons, in the Sametime client interface.

Refer to the picture below for the options in the user interface.  As you can see, there are buttons to manage the palettes in the Palette section:  New, Import, Export, Rename, or Remove.  Within the Contents pane, you have options to Add Picture, Add Text, Remove, or Move (change the emoticons order within the selected palette or move an emoticon from one palette to another).

Be aware, however, that your administrator can set a policy that does not allow custom emoticons in the Sametime client.  If that's the case, the options for managing emoticons, like new or import, won't be available to you.  Your administrator can also set a maximum image size for custom emoticons, where you would see an error if trying to add an emoticon that exceeds that size.

Emoticon Palettes interface:

Adding an individual emoticon

To add an emoticon from a file, such as an image file you've copied to your local drive, use these steps:

1.  Open the Emoticon palette, as follows:

Sametime Connect client	Click File -> Preferences and then click Emoticon palettes in the navigator.
Lotus Notes with embedded Sametime	Click File -> Preferences and then click the plus sign (+) beside Sametime in the navigator. Then click Emoticon palettes.

2. Select the name of the palette to which you want to add the emoticon, or click New to create a new palette.

3. Click the Add Picture button, then browse to the picture file's location.

4.  By default, the item name is the file name.  You can change the Name in the Item section, and optionally, add alternate text or a keyboard equivalent.

You can also add an emoticon to one of your personal palettes by capturing a chat partner's emoticon.  To do that, right-click the emoticon in the chat window, select Add To Emoticon Palette, then pick the palette name.  More details are in How do I save emoticons that my chat partners send me?

Importing and exporting palettes

Rather than adding pictures one by one, you can export and import a complete palette.  Import/export is useful when you are setting up a new computer or for sharing a whole palette with a colleague.  Clicking Export creates a palette file in *.zip format, which can then be used for an Import.

File location

The palette data and image files are stored on your local drive; the location of the stored files varies by Sametime client type (Connect or embedded) and version.  The relevant subdirectory, which will be a subdirectory of the main program directory, is plugins\com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.palettes.
   
To identify the full path location for emoticons when using a Sametime Connect or Notes embedded client, do the following:

1. Open a chat window with yourself
2. Insert an emoticon, and click Send or press enter
3. Right-click the emoticon, then select "Copy Image Location"
4. Paste the location into a text editor, like Notepad.  You now have the location for your client's palette files.

For troubleshooting, you can also refer to these resources:

"Location of embedded Sametime custom emoticon palette files in Lotus Notes 8" (1328385)
"Custom emoticons gone after Connect client upgrade" (1296281)