Discord shot to prominence as one of the top voice chat applications, especially among gamers. Discord’s quick development of new features can be bewildering to first-time users.
If you’ve ever played an online game, you know how important communication is. When Jason Citron had the idea for Discord in 2014 and published it the following year, people took notice.
In essence, all you have to do is make a profile, join some servers, and start adding people as friends. It’s not hard to see that there’s more to Discord than meets the eye until you delve into its more advanced features, such as the many modes of communication, the administration of servers, and the customization of its various settings.
Keeping all that in mind, you’ll pick up how to utilize Discord in no time. Suppose you’re having trouble getting started with Discord. In that case, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide that will walk you through everything from adding friends to making the Discord longest call to setting up your very own Discord New server and using some of the more complex features.
How to Get Started: Downloading and Installing
Discord provides two distinct choices. You can use it in your browser by visiting its website, or you can download it to your computer or mobile device and run it there.
Open the website and select “open Discord in your browser” to start using it straight from the browser. Once you’ve signed into Discord, you’ll be able to explore the network of servers and interact with other users.
Simply hit the “download” tab at the top of the page to start the process. Clicking this link will lead you to a page listing all the platforms Discord is available on, from which you can select and install the appropriate native software for your device.
The app can then be installed on your smartphone with the help of the install wizard, and you can enter your credentials at that time.
How Start Conversation With Your Friends Through Discord?
Adding friends and having private discussions are two of the most important features of the Discord software. Many people use Discord for this purpose, as it does not require a server to function; all you need are the user names and IDs of your pals.
Add Your Friends
It’s quite simple to add a buddy. You’ll need your pal’s username and 4-digit ID number first.
When you first launch Discord, you’ll be sent to the main menu (or you may click the Discord symbol in the top right corner of the screen to access the main menu directly). There’s a green “add friend” button in the center of that screen at the very top. When you click it, a dialog box will appear asking for the recipient’s login (case sensitive) and a four-digit ID.
You don’t have to manually key in everyone’s names to add them as friends if you’re already on a Discord server. To view someone’s profile, navigate to the conversation pane or user list, locate their username, and click it. To the right, you’ll notice a “send a friend request” button; clicking it will cause Discord to send the user a friend request.
Direct Messages, Audio/Video Calls, and Voice Messages
You can have a text-only conversation with another user using direct messages instead of using audio or video. Simply selecting a user’s username and entering your message into the resulting text box becomes a direct message. It’s a quick and easy way to get in touch with anyone you’ve met on public Discord servers.
In addition to text chats, Discord allows you to have voice conversations with anyone on your friend’s list or in any server’s voice channel. Discord’s primary selling point is its high-quality voice chats, which are unaffected by the number of users in a given channel. The individual volume settings are a nice touch. Channel-wide mutes and deafening can also be implemented by server administrators. Do you know about the Discord longest call ever? SlashedPort estimates that he’s been on the line with his pals since March 17, 2021, or roughly 18,994 hours.
Discord also supports video calls, but they aren’t a top priority. Even with the higher resolution video chat option available in Discord Nitro, the quality is good but not great. Discord can be used for a video chat in a pinch, but we recommend using different software.
Using Discord Servers: A Guide
Discord’s servers are another essential component. You can browse through available servers, join a private one with an invite link, or even host your server and customize it to your liking. Servers are similar to communities in that they bring people together who share a shared interest.
Create Your Own New Server
Eventually, you’ll want to start your own new server, so you’ll need to do that. It’s simple to create a server, whether it’s a place for your friends to meet online or a server for a certain interest or pastime.
A “+” button labeled “add a server” may be found at the very bottom of your list of servers on the left side of the desktop program. When you click it, you’ll be given the option of using a blank template or customizing one of Discord’s existing designs. You can choose to answer some questions later or skip them altogether as the software guides you through setting up your server.
Numerous text and audio channels will be generated from the provided templates. By way of illustration, the “clips and highlights” text channel and the “gaming” voice channel are both generated by the Gaming template, whereas the “homework help” and “session planning” word channels and the “study room” audio channel are generated by the Study Group template.
Set Up The New Server
After launching your own new server from scratch, you must now configure it for use. When you hover over a server’s name and click the arrow, you’ll be sent to that server’s configuration page. Here you may customize your server’s name and image, make and edit roles, add stickers and widgets, and generate an invite link to recruit new players.
When you’re done there, make sure your server has both text and audio channels. Both voice and text channels are available on all Discord servers. It’s a good idea to designate a specific function for each available texting channel. Make subreddits for specific purposes; photos, inquiries, random chatter, etc. The same leeway applies to voice channels, which are entirely up to you to configure.
Invite new users to the server once all text channels and at least one voice channel have been established. Simply expand the menu that appears next to your server’s name and select “Invite people.” Then, Discord will provide you with a list of suggested members to invite and a link to share with others so they may join your server.
Join a Discord Server
With Discord, you aren’t limited to hosting your own server but are also free to join those hosted by others. You can choose from among thousands of public and private servers. To join, you need to follow a link or have a buddy already on the server send you an invite.
To attract new members, many online communities broadcast their invite links openly. If the server is private, you won’t be able to join until someone on the server sends you an invite link.
Join as many servers as you like, then sort them into different folders as you see fit. Discord’s UI makes it easy to organize your server list into folders by simply dragging and dropping servers into the desired location. Then, drag more servers into the designated folder.
Tools and User Settings
Discord’s fundamentals—friends and servers—are just the beginning. You can tailor your experience and make it quicker and easier thanks to the platform’s many features and settings. You can use the Markdown markup language, create your own keybinds, connect Discord to external apps, and even install bots on your server.
Discord Markdown
Markdown is a simple language that lets you easily add formatting and style to your text. You may simply format your content to look like this, like this, or even like this in Discord because the app supports the Markdown format. Here’s a handy table to compare and contrast the various formats.
Discord allows for both single-line and multi-line code blocks and block quotations. A code block is denoted by text enclosed in backticks (‘), while a block quotation begins with the characters “>” and is followed by a space. Multiline code blocks are created by enclosing the code in three backticks, while multiline block quotes are created by enclosing the quote in three block quotes.
Keybinds
A keybind is a set of keystrokes you can press to accomplish a certain task. It’s not too dissimilar from using a macro in a word processor.
You may assign functions to keyboard shortcuts in Discord. You can assign a keystroke to a certain function by going to the “keybinds” section of the user preferences (the cog symbol next to your username). Creating a keybind for a frequently used operation can greatly improve your productivity.
Standard keybinds include “push-to-talk,” “mute,” and “exit” for entering and leaving voice channels, respectively. It’s encouraged that you experiment with the various keybinds that Discord offers.
Connections
You can connect Discord to other services, like Battle.net, Steam, Spotify, and Reddit if you wish to. Your current Steam game or song playing can be shown on your Discord profile if the two services are integrated.
Select “connections” from the left-hand menu of the user settings icon to begin integrating any of the supported apps. After finding the app you want to connect to, click its icon to be directed to the app’s integration screen.
Discord Bots
The bots in Discord are one of its lesser-known features. Adding bots to a server requires administrative access, but they have the potential to radically alter the server’s functionality. You can choose from the thousands already available, or you can build your own with some coding skills.
Everything from playing music in voice chats to posting memes to moderating servers to creating a leveling system in your server is within the scope of what a bot may do. You may even back up your whole server or install role-playing games.
Wrapping up
Discord is a highly adaptable voice and text chat service, letting you connect with old friends and make new ones around shared passions. However, it can be somewhat daunting for those who have never used it before.
It’s all part of the Discord experience, and we hope we’ve made it a little easier for you to add contacts and talk with them over audio or video call, connect servers and new channels, create new server, hear about the Discord longest call ever, and use Discord’s sophisticated features.