Renaming Contacts in Skype

When you add a Skype user to your contacts list, the name that is displayed by default is the full name from the person’s Skype profile, or if no such name exists, his or her Skype user name. If you are a SkypeOut subscriber, you are asked to name phone numbers as you add them to your contacts list. In either case, you can change the name of any contact to a name of your choice to help you better organize your contacts list.
To rename a contact, right-click on it in your contacts list. Then, from the popup list that appears, choose Rename …, and type in a new name then press the enter key or click elsewhere with your mouse. The name will change and the entry will reposition itself in your contacts list based on alphabetical ordering (within the group to which it belongs.

Searching and Adding Contacts in Skype

To search for other Skype users to add to your contact list, either click on the Search icon on the Skype softphone toolbar, or go to Skype:

Contacts: Search for Skype Users.
Search for other Skype users.

Using the search window, you can filter the list of all users in the Skype online community down to only those people you are interested in and that you might want to add to your contacts list. Note that the users you are searching for don’t need to be signed in to Skype for you to find them and add them to your contact list. When you find someone you want to add to your list, highlight her entry in the list and then click on the Add Selected Contact button. When you’re finished adding new Skype contacts, click on the Close button. An alternative way to search for, and add, new Skype contacts is to click on the Add Contact icon on the toolbar of the Skype softphone.
Alternatively, you can go to Skype: Contacts: Add a Contact ….
Either method will display the Add a Contact window, as shown in the following figure.
If you are a SkypeOut subscriber, the preceding method is the only way you can add regular and mobile phone contacts to your contacts list without first making a call. In the Add a Contact window, just click on the link To add a SkypeOut contact, click here (this link is only displayed if you are a SkypeOut subscriber). Otherwise, when you hang up after dialing a phone number not in your contacts list, you will be invited by Skype to add that number to your list. Using the Add a Contact window, you can search for a Skype user by Skype user name, full name, or e-mail address. Entering a search string and clicking the Search button (or the Search Again button if you are conducting additional searches) presents you with a list of matching Skype users. Again, simply highlight a name and click on the Add Selected Contact button to add the name to your contacts list. Alternatively, if you are a SkypeOut subscriber, clicking on the link To add a SkypeOut contact, click here enables you to enter a name and a regular phone number for that name.
By whatever method you add a new Skype contact to your contacts list, when adding the contact, you will be given the opportunity to send him a personal message, as shown in the next figure. In the interests of everyone’s privacy, just adding a contact to your list does not automatically give you access to that person’s contact details (for example, that person’s online status). A person you invite to join your contact list can choose to accept the invitation, ignore it, or block you from contacting him ever again. If a contact accepts your invitation to share his contact details with you, his entry in your contacts list will provide more information; if not, all you will see next to his name is a gray icon with a question mark on it, and when you mouse over his entry in your contact list you will see a message saying, “This user has not shared his/her details with you”.

Importing Skype in Contact

Your contact list is a tiny subset of the Skype online community with whom you communicate more often. If you are a SkypeOut subscriber, you can add SkypeOut contacts as well. Contact names are displayed in your Skype softphone for convenience and ease of use. You can also call or chat with someone not in your contact list by using her Skype user name or phone number by manually entering in the address bar her name or number each time you want to communicate with her. However, organizing and managing your contacts list can be a real productivity boost!
Skype is unlikely to be the first application you run on your PC that maintains a list of contacts. So to help get you started, Skype has a tool for importing contacts that already exist on your computer. It will import, if you so choose, contacts into Skype from the following applications:
Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Outlook Express, Microsoft
MSN Messenger, and Opera (www.opera.com). To import your existing contacts into Skype, go to Skype: Contacts: Import Contacts …, and follow the instructions of Skype’s contact import wizard tool.