Next May the Google Hangouts service will be three years old. In this time, the Californian has managed to create a platform with which to establish work groups, friends, as well as make multiple video calls at any time and day of the week. But Hangouts is much more than a system for speaking and being heard. Anyone who digs a little deeper will find features that allow them to get much more out of their conversations. For example, did you know that you can find your chats from Gmail , tell your contacts what you are doing, or change the text format? We explain how to do these and other things.
Search conversations from Gmail
A quick way to find Hangouts conversations is through the Gmail email service . You just have to enter the term "in: chats" in the search section , followed by the keyword you want to find, to instantly locate that conversation you need to consult urgently. This only works if Hangouts is configured to record conversations. You can check it within any chat window. Click on the gear wheel icon and then check the box for "Conversation History."
Mute notifications
At some point, you may not want to receive notifications, so you can temporarily silence them. You just have to go to the main configuration panel and click on the "stop notifications" or "silence notifications" section , depending on whether you are in the web or mobile version. You will have the possibility to silence the service for 1 hour, 8 hours or 2 days (on your computer). On your mobile you can do it for up to three full days.
Tell your contacts what you are doing
Hangouts includes a status option, very useful when you are temporarily unavailable or have to go out for much longer and you need your contacts to know. In the mobile application, click on the menu button and then choose Status . From your computer you just have to click on the menu button (the down arrow next to your Gmail name ). You will have 140 characters to comment what you want.
Change the text format
In Hangouts you can format your text, in case you want to highlight something in a conversation. For example you can use the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl + U to use the underline, Ctrl + B for the bold and Ctrl + I to add italics. These formatting options cannot be applied on mobile devices, although you can always use the emoji and other functions incorporated into the service to give more emphasis to your words.
Scribble in your messages
There is the option of sending drawings to your contacts within a conversation window. To do this, place the cursor in the left corner of the conversation (on the attach a file icon). Then click on the pencil icon that suddenly appears. When you are in drawing mode you will get a wide range of colors and brush sizes. This is a fun way to express what you want to say.