Sometimes when you log into Skype and open messages from friends, you see squares instead of text and there is no way to find out the contents. Let’s try to figure out what this could mean and how to get rid of such phenomena.

Why do you see boxes and question marks instead of text?

The main reason why such problems occur is a failure of encodings. The integrity of the registry is violated and it crashes.

Another factor affecting the correctness of the letter is the installation of a localization language on the device, which is not compatible with the operating system.

In any case, the breakdowns need to be repaired. We will now tell you how this is done.

How to solve the problem by updating the application

The first step is to reinstall the messenger on your computer, and also clear the settings and temporary files. This can be done in several ways.

Method 1. Reset

  • close the program;
  • in the lower right corner near the clock, hover your mouse over the Skype icon and click “Exit”;
  • then click on the “Start” button;
  • select “Run”, after which a window will appear on the screen in which you need to enter the following text: “%appdata%\skype”;
  • click on “Enter”;
  • A folder with files will open in front of you, where you need to find “shared.xml” and delete it.

Method 2. Deleting a profile

  • press simultaneously Windows keys+R;
  • in the “Run” window that pops up, enter “%appdata%” in the “Open” line without entering quotes;
  • then rename the “Skype” folder or delete it;
  • then launch Skype. Please note that dialogs existing in the application will not be saved; this does not affect contacts.

Method 3. Deleting a messenger

  • in the lower left corner, click the “Start” button;
  • select the line “Control Panel”;
  • then go to “Programs and Features”;
  • find Skype and delete it.

If you have Windows 7, delete the profile at this address:

c:\Users\re\AppData\Roaming\Skype\Skype username;

When using Windows XP:

C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Skype\Skype username\

After this, install CCleaner and clean the system and registry. Reboot Personal Computer. Download new version Skype and launch it.

Arial, Tahoma and other working fonts in Skype

You can also try to eliminate problems in the form of small squares and question marks by changing the font in Skype. For this:

  • go to “Settings”;
  • select the “Chats and SMS” option;
  • go to “Visual Design”;
  • Click Change Font.

From the standard set, choose Arial or Tahoma.

If none of the suggested options help, check if OS updates are available from Windows Update.

We hope our tips helped you get Skype back to working order.

    Red Exclamation point means that the message was not delivered (and will not be sent in the future). Try writing it again.

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Skype is quite convenient program, absolutely easy to use. With its help, you can negotiate with business partners, communicate with friends, relatives, colleagues or just acquaintances. Moreover, communication can be either with live video broadcast or simply limited to chatting. You can also communicate with several interlocutors at the same time.

Sometimes appearance Your interlocutor's Skype can tell you a lot about the person himself. For example, what is he doing now and is he in the mood to communicate with you? this moment. It’s very easy to understand, just look at the status of your interlocutor on Skype.

What are network statuses

As you already understand, there are icons in Skype that mean the state of the user of the program, his mood, desire to communicate or, conversely, reluctance. Similar statuses were available in icq, so those users who used this application easily adapted to Skype.

Paying attention to online statuses is quite important, especially if there is formal correspondence ahead. Also, in formal correspondence, it is unacceptable to send . It is likely that your intended interlocutor is absolutely not in the mood for a conversation; perhaps he is busy, and your letter will distract him. For example, if there is a Do Not Disturb icon, then the user may not even respond to your text message, and you should be prepared for this.

What do the network icons mean?

As you understand, paying attention to statuses on Skype is quite important. This may lead to dissatisfaction on one of the parties due to the fact that the person was distracted, which means that such a trifle can even ruin the mood. In order for you to understand what these or other statuses mean, I will briefly tell you about each of them.

So, the standard green color status means that the person is active and ready to communicate. If the icon is the same, but yellow, your interlocutor is not there, even though his computer is working. Most likely, even if you write him a letter, the answer will not come right away: the person will answer you when he changes his status to “Online”.

Please note that if the user’s status is set to “Do not disturb”, it is highly undesirable to write to him. Typically, such icons are placed when, for example, a video conference is taking place, and any interference from an outsider is extremely undesirable.

If you want to stay online, but don’t want anyone to see you, you can set the status to “Offline”. And if you want to be visible only to a certain list of people, select “Invisible”.

Now you know exactly what they mean for everyone Skype user network icons. Remember them, because when corresponding it is very important to show tact and patience.

Many computer and smartphone users have used Skype at least once. This program has become quite popular in recent years. Through it you can not only communicate via texts, but also via video calling. To get along well with this program, you need to know the meaning of all Skype icons.

Network status

The very first thing you need to know is your online status. It comes in several types and, accordingly, has different functions.

  • The “online” status means that you are visible to all added contacts and any message sent to you will be delivered.
  • The do not disturb status provides an additional feature. When you enable this status, messages sent to you by other users will be temporarily undelivered. As soon as the status is updated to another one, a message will come.
  • The “out of office” status does not give additional properties. You can turn it on when you leave your computer or laptop.
  • The statuses “invisible” and “offline” mean that users will see them the same. But when the status is “offline,” the program is automatically disabled, and when the status is “invisible,” all messages and activity of other users will be visible. At this time, those who are added to your contact list will think that you are temporarily offline.

Hidden icons

On Skype you can also meet hidden icons. In other words, users call these icons “emoticons”. The standard set of emoticons does not consist of the most interesting emoticons. But skype made hidden icons. They can be discovered by entering the appropriate name in the text field. But in order for the icons to be displayed as pictures, you need to know the rule - always, in any case, the name of the icons is enclosed in brackets.

In Skype, icons are divided into “simple” and “black”. The following emoticons can be classified as simple:

  • (call) - call me;
  • (u) – broken heart;
  • (toivo) - a person with a beloved pet;
  • (bug) - bug;
  • (cat) – black cat;
  • (dog) – dog.

Among the “black” icons, the following can be distinguished:

  • (drunk) – drunken face;
  • (smoking) – smoking emoticon;
  • (poolparty) – swimming pool, naked man with an inflatable ring;
  • (blackwidow) – black widow;
  • (mooning) – stands with his back and takes off his pants;
  • (Santamooning) – hooligan Santa Claus takes off his pants;
  • (hollest) – sexy female legs;
  • (finger) – an angry emoticon shows the middle finger;
  • (wtf) – swears;
  • (fubar) – completely dissatisfied with the current situation.

As you can see above, all hidden icons in Skype are written in English words. The developers have not yet introduced a Russian version of the icon search.

How to find hidden emoticons

Sometimes there are situations when you want to send a person a Skype that means something, but among the available emoticons there is no such emotion. If you don’t have time to search for commands for hidden emoticons, you can do it on your own. To do this you need to know the minimum volume in English and what certain words mean.

For example, a cat is cat, a dog is dog, and a beetle is bug. Alcohol - drunk, smoking - smoking, obscene language - wtf and so on.

It also happens that you send your pen pal an interesting emoticon, which, naturally, is not simple, but hidden, and he does not see it. The smile is displayed in text form, that is, in the command that is intended to create it. Why is this happening? Yes, due to the fact that your friend has more old version Skype. To display all hidden Skype emoticons, you just need to update the program version.

If you have a situation where when you send a hidden emoticon, but it remains in text format, this means that you also need to update your communication program.

To display emoticons correctly, you always need to update Skype. You can set the update by default in the settings or do it manually. You can do this no more than three times a month. There won't be any noticeable changes, but any hidden emoji sent by anyone will appear in full glory. It is also worth remembering that hidden emoticons are updated periodically. If you follow this, then communication with your friends and comrades will be much more interesting and colorful.

Other icons

If someone else’s contact on Skype shows a gray icon with a question mark, then this can only mean two options:

  • the user has blocked you;
  • you sent the user a request to add to contacts, but he has not yet confirmed this action. The user may have refused to add you to their contact list. In any case, his refusal or expectation will be visible to you as a single gray icon with a question mark.

When a message or file is being sent in a program, different icons may also appear. Probably everyone is wondering what they mean. When a message is being sent, a rotating blue or dark gray circle appears next to the message for the moment it is sent. If the user to whom the message is addressed is not online, the circle will rotate until the recipient turns on any mode other than “do not disturb” and “offline.” Also, such a circle can be found in the presence of poor Internet. Since the dispatch time text message If the connection is poor, it may take several seconds; a “waiting” circle for sending and receiving text appears.

When sending a file (document, photo or video), Skype shows another icon - a circle consisting of dots. These dots alternately gain brightness and then fade. This “game” of the icon will continue until the file is sent. If the file was successfully sent, but you see a circle next to it, this means that the recipient did not receive it.

Skype is not at all a complicated program, as it might seem at first glance. All icons can be understood in a very short period of time. The program is designed in such a way that even an amateur can easily understand it.

This article discusses why, instead of Russian letters, squares, incomprehensible symbols, gibberish, question marks, dots, scribbles or cubes appear in Windows 7, vista, XP?

What to do to get rid of these phenomena? There is no universal recipe. A lot depends on Windows versions, and the assembly itself.

The first reason why this happens is an encoding failure. The integrity of the registry is compromised and crashes occur. But this is not always the main source.

It often happens that even on a newly installed operating system, after launching some programs, instead of Russian letters, squares, incomprehensible symbols, quacks, question marks, dots, scribbles or cubes appear.

If the problem is with numbers, then it’s quick, and this one will help you get rid of question marks instead of normal letters.

This happens especially often after installing cracks. People's “craftsmen” do not take everything into account, and perhaps they make translations only for one operation.

Perhaps this is not the main thing, considering that everything is in the encoding. Maybe the program just doesn't support certain letters.

Although this is surprising, the default operating system windows system 7, instead of Russian letters, in some the program displays squares, incomprehensible symbols, gibberish, question marks, dots, scribbles or cubes.

I always make changes to the registry after reinstallation, even if everything works fine. There will be no problems with unclear symbols in the future.

Troubleshooting the problem through the registry

This manipulation is very easy to do. To do this, download and run the first file.

I emphasize, only the first, second - if after the first, incomprehensible symbols, hieroglyphs or gibberish do not disappear and normal Russian letters do not appear.

Just don’t forget to restart your computer after making changes to the system registry, otherwise you won’t expect any changes.

There are several other ways to change the encoding, but it is better not to do them, since this will be shifting the burden (cargo) from a sore spot to an unhealthy one.

The program that currently displays gibberish, hieroglyphs and generally incomprehensible things may start working, but Russian letters in others will be broken.

Just in case, you can try renaming the files " c_1252.nls….. c_1255.nls" add “bak” to them at the very end. It should look like this c_1252.nls.bak.” Do this for all four. They are located in this path: C:\Windows\System32.

I would like to say that I reinstalled at least 100 Windows 7. True, almost all were 32 (86) maximum. There were problems with displaying Russian letters.

This was especially true for programs. In some cases, questions appeared, squares, incomprehensible symbols, gibberish, question marks, dots, scribbles or cubes, but the very first method described always helped.

Also, squares, strange symbols, gibberish, question marks, dots, scribbles or cubes may appear in or skyrim.

This happens due to a mismatch of formats (encodings). They can be installed independently for each case separately (in manual mode) Look at the figure:

At the very top, click “file”, then move the cursor to the “encoding” place and click change. Good luck.