Since we have a lot of users upgrading to Yahoo! Messenger 9.0 right now, I’ve seen some comments/complaints about the extra programs and settings that are bundled with the Yahoo! Messenger 9.0 installer. I thought I’d take a moment to explain what they are and how you can customize your own installation.
In addition to the Messenger client, there are a few other items that you can add at the same time while installing Yahoo! Messenger 9.0: Yahoo! Toolbar, setwww.yahoo.com as your browser’s home page, and set Yahoo! as your default search provider (in the search box that’s built into your browser window).
On the first screen of the installer, the additional items are listed. You’ll also notice two items at the top – typical install and custom install. Click on the custom install link and it will show you a more detailed set of options for your install including desktop and quick launch shortcuts, Yahoo! Toolbar, and the homepage and search settings mentioned earlier (pictured below). Note that if you already have some of these things installed or set (e.g. you already have Yahoo! as your homepage), they won’t appear in the list of options.
If you want all of these items installed along with Yahoo! Messenger, just click the Next button at the bottom. Or uncheck the boxes for the items you don’t want. None of them are required for the installation of Yahoo! Messenger, they are simply extras that we offer to our Yahoo! users.
These same options are offered during the automatic upgrade process that happens when we offer you a new version at sign-in (which many of you are now seeing for Yahoo! Messenger 9.0). These same customization options are available in that installation wizard as well.
Sarah Bacon
Product Manager