Master Messages

Messages has evolved from a simple SMS text messaging app into a capable instant messaging tool. Messages can handle SMS messages, Apple’s own iMessage messages, and voice messages. Messages lets you add visual effects to messages, and developers can create apps that integrate with Messages.

Understand Core Messages Concepts

SMS (Short Message System) and MMS (Multimedia Messaging System) are methods of sending short text messages (or, for MMS, text messages with multimedia attachments) over a cellular network. They’re fast and convenient, but SMS limits text to 160 characters, these methods work only between cellular phones (except with Apple’s Text Message Forwarding), and some phone carriers charge per message (or provide a limited number of messages per month, charging for any above that limit).

iMessage is Apple’s alternative to SMS and MMS. iMessage allows encrypted messages of unlimited length, those messages are sent over a standard internet connection, and messages can be sent and received by the Messages app on any recent iOS device or Mac. Also, iMessage isn’t just tied to your phone number—you can associate it with other phone numbers and even email addresses. The downside is that it works only with other iMessage users—when you send a message to someone who doesn’t use iMessage, it falls back to SMS and MMS.

Here are the basics of using Messages:

• Enable or disable iMessage: Go to Settings > Messages and turn on the iMessage switch.
• Set send and receive addresses: In Settings > Messages, tap Send & Receive. Select your iPhone number and any email addresses where you wish receive iMessages (messages arrive in the Messages app, not your email). Still on the Send & Receive screen, specify the phone number or email address from which you want your iMessages to originate.

• Decide about read receipts: Adjust the Send Read Receipts switch, depending on whether want to send read receipts, which tell those you’re conversing with if you’ve read their messages.

Send a Message

Messages gives you a bewildering number of ways to send messages, all the way from simple text messages to voice messages, video messages, hand-drawn messages—you name it. You’ll even be able to send money with a message at some point, though that isn’t available in iOS 11.0.

Starting a Simple Message

Let’s start with the basics:

1. In the Messages app, tap the Compose icon.
2. Start typing a contact name, email address, or phone number in the To field. You can keep typing or tap to accept a suggestion.
3. Enter your note in the message field and tap the Send icon.

Once a message thread is created, tap it in Messages to open it, tap the message field, and type your message as described above.

Use Emojis in Messages

Emojis are fun, but digging through the emoji picker isn’t. iOS offers a couple of quick ways to communicate in pictographs:

• Emoji suggestions: The QuickType bar suggests emojis as you type (Figure 59). Tap one of the suggestions to replace the current word with that emoji.

  

• Word replacement: Type a message and switch to the Emoji keyboard (see Master Emojis). Words that you can replace with emojis are highlighted in orange (Figure 60).

  

  Tap a highlighted word to change it to an emoji (Figure 61).

  

Add Bubble and Screen Effects

Messages lets you add bubble and screen effects. Bubble effects affect just the message bubble while screen effects are displayed all over the conversation.

To view effects, touch and hold the Send icon. Switch between the two types of effects with the bar at the top of the screen.

Use Bubble Effects

Tap the dot next to a bubble effect to see a preview. Tap the Send icon to send your message with that effect, or back out with the cancel button.

Here are the available bubble effects:

• Slam: A large message bubble slams on onto the screen—good for driving a point home.
• Loud: The message bubble grows, shakes, and shrinks—useful when you need to get someone’s attention.
• Gentle: Your message starts small and grows to regular size—helpful for messages that need a soft touch, like apologies.
• Invisible Ink: This effect obscures the message until its tapped, which is helpful when you’re sending some private information (Figure 62).

Use Screen Effects

Swipe to switch between screen effect previews. Tap the Send icon to send your message with that effect. Tap the cancel button to cancel.

Here are the available screen effects:

• Echo: Your message is multiplied and swirls around the screen.
• Spotlight: The screen darkens and a spotlight is shone on your message.
• Balloons: Balloons fly up the screen.
• Confetti: Confetti falls from the top of the screen Figure 63.

  

• Love: A 3D heart expands out of your message and floats up.
• Lasers: Lasers shoot across the screen.
• Fireworks: Fireworks explode in the background!
• Shooting Star: A star shoots across the screen and explodes.
• Celebration: Golden sparks fill the screen.

Attach Photos or Videos

Tap the camera icon to the left of the message field. The photo bar at the bottom of the screen lets you take a new photo on the spot or choose a recent photo from your library.

Using the photo bar, you can:

• Take a new photo: Toward the left of the photo bar is a viewfinder. Tap the Take Photo button to take and insert a photo. Tap the Camera Swap icon to change cameras.
• Insert photos and videos: Tap a photo or video in the photo bar to insert it. You can insert multiple photos or videos.
• Access Camera or Photo Library: The Camera and Photo Library buttons let you access the full Camera app or your photo library (Figure 64). Swipe the photo bar from left to right to reveal the buttons if you don’t see them.

  

• Remove photos: Tap the delete button on a photo to remove it.
• Add a comment: Once you’ve inserted a photo in the message field, tap under the photo, where it says “Add comment or Send,” and type your message.

Send and Listen to Voice Messages

You can exchange audio messages with users of iOS 8 or later, users of Mac OS X 10.10 El Capitan or later, and Apple Watch wearers.

Press and hold the mic icon to the right of the message box (it appears only when there’s nothing in the message box). When a controller bar appears, recording starts, and you see an audio wave and a timer to the left. Don’t lift your finger until you’re done recording. Let go of the icon to stop recording.

Tap the Play button for a preview, delete the recording by tapping the delete icon or send it by tapping the arrow .

To hear a voice message that you’ve received, tap the Play button on its entry (Figure 65). Alternatively, simply hold the iPhone up to your ear.

Write a Message by Hand

To add a personal touch, you can send a handwritten note.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Enter handwriting mode: On the iPad, tap the Handwriting key on the keyboard. On the iPhone, rotate it to landscape orientation—if doing that doesn’t put you into handwriting mode, tap the Handwriting icon.
• Write a note: Draw on the screen with your finger, a stylus, or (on an iPad Pro) an Apple Pencil.
• Scroll around the canvas: Drag with two fingers.
• Leave handwriting mode: Tap Done to finish your note and insert it in the message. Tap the Keyboard icon to discard the note.
• Insert previous or predefined notes: On the iPhone, tap one of the scripts at the bottom of the screen. On the iPad, tap the History icon to reveal previous and predefined notes.

Reply with Tapback

Tapback lets you respond quickly to messages without typing: Touch, hold, and release a message bubble to reveal a popover with tapback icons. Tap one to add it to a message (Figure 66).

You can have only one tapback response on a message at a time, but you can change it later. Also, you can remove a tapback by opening the popover again and tapping on the current tapback icon.

Discover Messages Apps

Developers can create apps for Messages—it even has its own App Store! While the keyboard is hidden, you can tap icons below the message field to activate an app. Otherwise, tap the App Store icon to access Messages apps.

Use Messages Apps

Here’s how to use Messages apps:

1. If the app drawer isn’t showing, tap the App Store icon to the left of the message field.
2. Tap an app from the app drawer. If the app isn’t showing, touch and hold on the bar and swipe left and right to view more apps (Figure 67).

   

   If the app isn’t in the app drawer, tap More to show all apps. You can favorite apps in this view to make them always available in the app drawer. Tap edit and tap the add button or remove button to add or remove apps from favorites.

   You can also delete apps in the More view by swiping left on an app and tapping Delete.

3. After you tap an app, it displays in Messages, where the keyboard usually is. Tap an icon to insert it in your message. You can also make an app fullscreen by tapping the up arrow.

Use the Digital Touch App

The Digital Touch app brings the unique messaging features of the Apple Watch to Messages.

Here’s what you can do with Digital Touch:

• Sketch: Drag your finger on the Digital Touch canvas. Tap X to cancel or tap the Send icon to share your sketch (Figure 68).

  

• Tap: Tap the Digital Touch canvas with one finger to send animated rings that fade away into smoke.
• Fireball: Press the canvas with one finger. You can drag your finger around while pressing to move the fireball around the canvas.
• Kiss: Tap the canvas with two fingers.
• Heartbeat: Touch and hold the canvas with two fingers.
• Heartbreak: Touch and hold the canvas with two fingers, and then drag your fingers down.

You can also use Digital Touch to send photo and video messages with onscreen drawings. Tap the video icon to begin. You can:

• Sketch: Drag your finger on the screen to draw, either before, after, or while taking a photo or video. Tap the colored circles to change the line color. You can also use the previously mentioned Digital Touch gestures to overlay the photo or video with kisses, fireballs, and so on.
• Swap cameras: Tap the Camera Swap icon. The front-facing camera is the default.
• Take a photo: Tap the Take Photo button.
• Record video: Tap the record button to record videos up to 10 seconds in length. Tap the stop button to finish recording.
• Send the photo or video: Tap the Send button.
• Cancel the photo or video: Tap the back button.
• Exit camera mode: Tap the delete button to return to fullscreen Digital Touch.
• Return to Messages: Tap the down arrow to exit fullscreen Digital Touch.

Place Stickers

Some Messages apps offer stickers, which you can tap to insert into a message, or place on top of messages by tapping, holding, and dragging them onto the message bubble.

Unfortunately, they’re a pain to remove:

1. Touch and hold a placed sticker.
2. Choose Sticker Details.
3. On the Sticker Details screen, swipe the sticker you want to delete from right to left to reveal Delete.
4. Tap Delete.

Access the Messages App Store

It isn’t immediately obvious how you install Messages apps:

1. Tap the App Store icon.
2. Open the App Store app in the app drawer.
3. Tap Visit Store.

The Messages App Store is like a miniature version of the App Store. It features stickers (see Place Stickers), games, and other amusements and utilities.

Manage Message Details

While viewing a Messages chat, tap the info icon in the upper-right corner to uncover a host of capabilities that apply to both group and individual chats.

Deal with Groups

Certain options are displayed only in a group message:

• Name a group: Tap Enter a Group Name to label the group message. The group name replaces the participants’ names at the top of the chat’s thread and in the chat’s entry in your messages list.
• Leave a group chat: You can leave a group chat that just won’t end. Tap Leave this Conversation; you may need to scroll down to find it.
• Add a contact to a chat: Not only can you leave an ongoing conversation, but you can also invite someone else to it. Tap Add Contact.
• Mute a chat: To remain in the chat but stop receiving a notification each time a new message arrives, enable Hide Alerts.

Manage All Attachments

All chat attachments appear in a grid in Details view. In iOS 11 (as in iOS 10), attachments are split into two tabs: Images and Attachments. The Attachments tab contains things like saved voice messages, PDF documents, and contact cards.

Here’s how to work with Messages attachments:

• Save and share images and attachments: Tap an image or attachment to open it. Tap the Share icon and either choose Save Image or another place to send the image or attachment.
• Batch-save images: In the Details view for a chat, touch and hold any photo or video until a popover appears, and then tap More. Select the items you want to save, and then tap Save # Images in the lower-left corner.
• Batch-delete images and attachments: Follow the directions just above for saving a batch of images, but tap the Trash icon to delete them.

Share Your Location

It can often be useful to share you physical location with others. Here’s how:

• Share your location once: Tap Send My Current Location to send a map showing your current location to the chat.

  Message participants can tap the attachment that appears to open a Maps-like view of your location. From that view, they can start navigating toward you by tapping Directions To Here.

• Share your location over time: Tap Share My Location to let message participants monitor your location for 1 hour, until the end of the day, or indefinitely.

Message participants can view a map of your location in the Details view. They can tap the map for more location-related options.

Sharing your location over time shares it with the people in the chat, not just within the chat itself. Chat members can see your location in the Find My Friends app (see Use Find My Friends) and in any other chats you have with them.