iChat: Pasted Emoticon Graphic Does Not Work as Expected

When you copy and paste an emoticon graphic (such as the smiley face), the pasted graphic does not appear in your message as expected.

Symptom

Pasted emoticon graphics do not work as expected.


Solution

Emoticons are transmitted to your recipient via their text equivalents, such as :-) for the smiley face. When you copy and paste, you are attempting to send an inline graphic, so the desired result is not achieved. You may work around this by typing the text equivalent of the emoticon, subsequently copying and pasting it as many times as desired. Here is a list of emoticons used in iChat:

Smile                    :-)    or :)
Wink                     ;-) or ;)
Frown                    :-( or :(
Undecided                :-/
Gasp                     :-O or :O or =-O
Laugh                    :-D or :D
Kiss                     :-* or :*
Sticking out tongue      :-P or :P
Embarrassed              :-[ or :[
Foot in mouth            :-! or :!
Cool                     8-) or 8) or B-) or B)
Angry                    >:-( or >:( or >:O
Innocent                 O:-) or O:)
Cry                      :'(
Lips are sealed          :-X or :X
Money-mouth              :-$ or :$

Published Date: Feb 17, 2012