? doc/FAQold ? doc/conversation-signals.dox.stu ? doc/gaim.1.in.swpininess Index: doc/FAQ =================================================================== RCS file: /cvsroot/gaim/gaim/doc/FAQ,v retrieving revision 1.30 diff -u -p -r1.30 FAQ --- doc/FAQ 5 Jun 2004 16:14:10 -0000 1.30 +++ doc/FAQ 31 Jul 2004 15:23:23 -0000 @@ -2,56 +2,57 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats 1. Compiling and Installing - 1.1. Why can't I compile Gaim? - 1.2. I'm trying to install Gaim, but it complains that I don't have - libgtkspell.so.0, from where can I get this? - 1.3. Is there some way I can compile just Gaim, without all of these - protocols? - 1.4. I installed a new version of Gaim, but the about window says I'm - still using the old version. - 1.5. Can I use Gaim for GTK+1.2? - 1.6. Can I run Gaim on IRIX? - 1.7. How do I apply the xxxx patch (name.diff)? - 1.8. Why is gaim crashing when I start it? - 1.9. Gaim CVS is buggy. Gaim is buggy. + 1.1. What does "Gaim" stand for? + 1.2. Why can't I compile Gaim? + 1.3. I'm trying to install Gaim, but it complains that I don't have + libgtkspell.so.0, from where can I get this? + 1.4. What do I need to use the SILC protocol? + 1.5. Is there some way I can compile just Gaim, without all of these + protocols? + 1.6. I installed a new version of Gaim, but the about window says I'm + still using the old version. + 1.7. Are the packages signed? If so, by who, and how can I get the + key? + 1.8. Can I use Gaim for GTK+1.2? + 1.9. Can I run Gaim on IRIX? + 1.10. How do I apply the patch "something.diff"? + 1.11. Why is gaim crashing when I start it? + 1.12. Gaim is buggy. Gaim CVS is buggy. Why? + 1.13. Why do you always say not to use CVS? 2. Using Gaim 2.1. How do I register for a new account? - 2.2. How do I use MSN, Yahoo, Jabber, IRC, Gadu-Gadu(GG), Napster, or - Zephyr? - 2.3. How do I make gaim use emacs-like keybindings? - 2.4. How do I change the font Gaim uses? + 2.2. How do I use AIM, MSN, Yahoo!, Jabber, ICQ, or any other + protocol? + 2.3. How do I change the font Gaim uses? + 2.4. How do I make gaim use emacs-like keybindings? 2.5. How do I use smiley themes? 2.6. Why are the status icons so big? 2.7. How do I get sound to work correctly? 2.8. How do I make Gaim use ALSA or OSS for playing sounds? What does the "Automatic" option do? - 2.9. I just changed my buddy icon, and I can't see the new one. - 2.10. Why is everything at such small/large font sizes? Why does Gaim use the same WM_CLASS for every window? It makes - 2.11. it impossible to control window size and placement for the buddy + 2.9. it impossible to control window size and placement for the buddy list separately from the conversations. - 2.12. Why is the toggle to disable tabs not working? - 2.13. What is a "Buddy Pounce"? - 2.14. Where does gaim store its logs? - 2.15. Can I use Gaim for e-mail, blogging, an RSS feed, or something + 2.10. What is a "Buddy Pounce"? + 2.11. Where does gaim store its logs? + 2.12. Can I use Gaim for e-mail, blogging, an RSS feed, or something else that isn't IM-related? 3. Features - 3.1. Does Gaim support file transfer? - 3.2. Is there a Gaim tray icon, or docklet, or gnome applet, or panel - icon, or something? - 3.3. What do those colors in the conversation tab mean? - 3.4. Will Gaim save my buddy list to the server? - 3.5. Can I import or export my buddy list? - 3.6. Does Gaim support animated smileys? - 3.7. Can I make Gaim group screen names by the person that owns them? - You know, like Trillian's Meta Contacts? - 3.8. How do I get the old logging back? - 3.9. How can I convert my old logs to the new format? - 3.10. Where has the system log gone? + 3.1. Does Gaim support file transfer? + 3.2. Is there a Gaim tray icon, or docklet, or gnome applet, or panel + icon, or something? + 3.3. What do those colors in the conversation tab mean? + 3.4. Will Gaim save my buddy list to the server? + 3.5. Can I import or export my buddy list? + 3.6. Does Gaim support animated smileys? + 3.7. Can I make Gaim group screen names by the person that owns them? + You know, like Trillian's Meta Contacts? + 3.8. How do I get the old logging back? + 3.9. How can I convert my old logs to the new format? 4. ICQ Protocol @@ -64,22 +65,22 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats 6. AIM/ICQ (OSCAR) Protocol - 6.1. Can I set my profile? - 6.2. Can I set a buddy icon? - 6.3. Some of my buddies are not showing up as online, why is that? - 6.4. Can I use AIM URI's such as "aim:goim?screenname=robflynn"? - 6.5. Does Gaim support DirectIM and IM Image? - 6.6. Can I send SMS messages? - 6.7. Can I add SMS numbers to my buddy list? - 6.8. I heard AOL is combining ICQ and AIM, does that mean I can send a - message from an AIM account to an ICQ account and vice-versa? - 6.9. Why can't I connect via either Oscar or TOC? + 6.1. Can I set my profile? + 6.2. Can I set a buddy icon? + 6.3. Some of my buddies are not showing up as online, why is that? + 6.4. Can I use AIM URI's such as "aim:goim?screenname=robflynn"? + 6.5. I just changed my buddy icon, and I can't see the new one. + 6.6. Does Gaim support DirectIM and IM Image? + 6.7. Can I send SMS messages? + 6.8. Can I add SMS numbers to my buddy list? + 6.9. I heard AOL is combining ICQ and AIM, does that mean I can send + a message from an AIM account to an ICQ account and vice-versa? + 6.10. Why can't I connect via either Oscar or TOC? 7. IRC Protocol - 7.1. Why am I getting disconnected when I try to connect to IRC? - 7.2. How do I join a channel with the IRC plugin? - 7.3. Is there a way to make Gaim automatically identify me and/or join + 7.1. How do I join a channel with the IRC plugin? + 7.2. Is there a way to make Gaim automatically identify me and/or join IRC chats on login? 8. Jabber Protocol @@ -103,20 +104,19 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats 10.1. I'm getting lots of "Already in Opposite list" errors on msn, why? - 10.2. I'm getting an "Invalid User" popup whenever I sign on. How can - I make this go away? - 10.3. Is there a way to invite more than one person to an MSN chat? - 10.4. Is MSNP9 (MSN6) going to be supported? - 10.5. Will I be able to use Gaim for MSN after October 15th 2003? (The + 10.2. Is there a way to invite more than one person to an MSN chat? + 10.3. Is MSNP9 (MSN6) going to be supported? + 10.4. Will I be able to use Gaim for MSN after October 15th 2003? (The day they're preventing third party clients from connecting) - 10.6. I just upgraded Gaim and the MSN plugin will not load. Why? - 10.7. The MSN plugin won't load, but I have Mozilla NSS! - 10.8. What does "MSN: S: 911 3" in the debug window mean when I cannot + 10.5. I just upgraded Gaim and the MSN plugin will not load. Why? + 10.6. The MSN plugin won't load, but I have Mozilla NSS! + 10.7. What does "MSN: S: 911 3" in the debug window mean when I cannot connect to msn? 11. Gadu-Gadu Protocol 11.1. What is Gadu-Gadu? + 11.2. Why doesn't it work right? 12. Zephyr Protocol @@ -132,42 +132,57 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats 13.2. Trepia is showing people in Japan, England, etc. on my buddy list. I thought this was supposed to show people in my area? -14. Scripts and Plugins +14. SILC Protocol - 14.1. How do I use perl scripts with Gaim? - 14.2. How do I compile a plugin for Gaim? - 14.3. I have a plugin or perl script for Gaim that does not work with + 14.1. What is SILC? + +15. Novell Protocol + + 15.1. Are there any public servers for Novell? + 15.2. I can't seem to get it to work. + +16. Scripts and Plugins + + 16.1. How do I use perl scripts with Gaim? + 16.2. How do I compile a plugin for Gaim? + 16.3. I have a plugin or perl script for Gaim that does not work with 0.60 or higher. - 14.4. Where can I find documentation on writing plugins and Perl + 16.4. Where can I find documentation on writing plugins and Perl scripts? -15. Development +17. Development - 15.1. Can I help? - 15.2. Gaim never leaves a core file. - 15.3. Where should I report bugs? - 15.4. Where should I submit patches? - 15.5. Did you guys reverse engineer it? + 17.1. Can I help? + 17.2. Gaim never leaves a core file. + 17.3. Where should I report bugs? + 17.4. Where should I submit patches? + 17.5. Did you guys reverse engineer it? -16. Misc. Questions +18. Misc. Questions - 16.1. Can I IM you guys? - 16.2. Hello? + 18.1. Can I IM you guys? + 18.2. Hello? Can I give you money/hardware/other expensive things that can be - 16.3. hocked for cash what with you all being students/ + 18.3. hocked for cash what with you all being students/ full-time-workers and helping to produce this wonderful software instead of studying/sleeping? - 16.4. Does Gaim support secure instant messaging (encrypted IMs)? - 16.5. Why are the passwords in accounts.xml not encrypted? - 16.6. What is gaim-remote? - 16.7. When will the next version of Gaim be released? + 18.4. Does Gaim support secure instant messaging (encrypted IMs)? + 18.5. Why are the passwords in accounts.xml not encrypted? + 18.6. What is gaim-remote? + 18.7. When will the next version of Gaim be released? +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | 1. Compiling and Installing +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -1.1 Why can't I compile Gaim? - +1.1 What does "Gaim" stand for? + + For freedom! No, seriously, it doesn't stand for anything. It's our name and + we're sticking to it. The two acceptable forms of capitalization are "Gaim" + and "gaim" (and not "GAIM"). + +1.2 Why can't I compile Gaim? + Make sure you have relatively recent versions of automake, autoconf, and gettext. HOWEVER, generally speaking, having the absolute newest of them is not as good as having one version short of newest since we might not have @@ -186,16 +201,24 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats Having problems getting SSL and MSN working? See http://gaim.sf.net/ faq-ssl.php for distribution specific hints. -1.2 I'm trying to install Gaim, but it complains that I don't have +1.3 I'm trying to install Gaim, but it complains that I don't have libgtkspell.so.0, from where can I get this? - + libtgtkspell.so.0 is provided by gtkspell. This library is used by Gaim to provide the "Highlight misspelled words" feature. You can find an RPM of gtkspell at freshrpms.net. You can find the source and a non-Red Hat specific RPM at gtkspell.sourceforge.net. -1.3 Is there some way I can compile just Gaim, without all of these protocols? - +1.4 What do I need to use the SILC protocol? + + You need to install the SILC toolkit (http://silcnet.org/software/download/ + toolkit/) and the Gaim SILC plugin. This plugin is generally provided as a + separate package (such as a gaim-silc RPM). If you're compiling yourself, see + the ./configure --help for specifying the SILC includes and libs. If you're + compiling an SRPM, use "--with silc" to build the gaim-silc RPM. + +1.5 Is there some way I can compile just Gaim, without all of these protocols? + Yeah. There are actually three ways to do it. 1. Use the --with-static-prpls option to ./configure along with @@ -212,9 +235,9 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats /protocols/jabber), and run make from there. Then after you've compiled all of them, change back to src/ and run make gaim. -1.4 I installed a new version of Gaim, but the about window says I'm still +1.6 I installed a new version of Gaim, but the about window says I'm still using the old version. - + If you compiled yourself, and you previously had an rpm or a Debian package installed, you need to remove that first. rpm -e gaim or dpkg -p gaim should work. @@ -223,33 +246,45 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats Gaim from source, you need to make uninstall to remove all Gaim files from / usr/local. -1.5 Can I use Gaim for GTK+1.2? - +1.7 Are the packages signed? If so, by who, and how can I get the key? + + Yes, all packages are signed. The signature for the tarball and bzip2 archive + are provided by separate downloads. The RPMs we provide are signed by either + Ethan Blanton, Mark Doliner, or Christian Hammond. Usually the Mandrake and + Fedora Core 1 RPMs are signed by Mark Doliner and the Red Hat 8 and 9 RPMs + are signed by Ethan Blanton. The keys can be obtained from any key server. + http://pgp.mit.edu/ is popular. + +1.8 Can I use Gaim for GTK+1.2? + As of version 0.60, Gaim has been completely converted to using GTK+2.0. We really really really recommend using the most current version of Gaim and not a GTK+1.2 version of Gaim. However, if you are living in the '90s, or you're - afraid GTK+2.0 will insult your mother, you can use Gaim 0.59.x, which is - GTK+1.2 based. We should warn you though, the 0.59.x releases haven't had new - features since the middle of 2002. Also, the 0.59.x releases aren't + afraid GTK+2.0 will insult your mother, you can use Gaim 0.59.9, which is the + last version of Gaim that used GTK+1.2. We should warn you though, this + version of Gaim hasn't had any new features since the middle of 2002, and + some protocols likely do not work. Also, the 0.59.x releases aren't breathtakingly beautiful. -1.6 Can I run Gaim on IRIX? - +1.9 Can I run Gaim on IRIX? + It has been done before. Please see http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php? thread_id=725839&forum_id=665 at our SourceForge Forum. -1.7 How do I apply the xxxx patch (name.diff)? - - Type patch -p0 < name.diff from inside the gaim directory. If that doesn't - work, try patch -p1 < name.diff. +1.10 How do I apply the patch "something.diff"? + + Type patch -p0 < something.diff from inside the gaim directory. If that + doesn't work, try patch -p1 < something.diff. + +1.11 Why is gaim crashing when I start it? -1.8 Why is gaim crashing when I start it? - First of all make sure you are using the most recent version of Gaim. If you - still have problems, try the things in the following list: + still have problems, try the following: - * Try running gaim with GDK_USE_XFT=0 set (type that in a terminal and then - run Gaim from the same terminal). + * Make sure only one version of Gaim is installed. "whereis gaim" can + sometimes be useful for determining this. + * "export GDK_USE_XFT=0" in a terminal and then run Gaim from the same + terminal. * If gaim is not crashing, but is just sitting there not displaying anything, try turning off anything else that might be using the sound device (ie xmms) and then starting gaim. If this fixes the problem, it is @@ -257,71 +292,119 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats esd or arts. * Try disabling or deleting any 3rd party plugins, especially anything related to encryption. - * If you use 0.75 on win32, try deleting tcl.dll. - * If you use 0.70 or lower, make sure only one version of Gaim is - installed. - * If you use 0.67 and do not have yourself on your buddy list, upgrade. + * If you use 0.75 or higher on win32, try deleting tcl.dll. * If you have ever installed 0.65, edit your ~/.gaimrc, changing your auto away preference from -1 to 0. - * If you use MSN, and have a version 0.64, downgrade to 0.63 or upgrade to - 0.65. -1.9 Gaim CVS is buggy. Gaim is buggy. - - Yes, it is! CVS is often unsupported by Gaim, as are non-current versions. - This is because non-current versions have old bugs which may be fixed in the - current version, and CVS is frequently unusable because of the changes in the - code (and it has new bugs). If you are using either and have a problem, - upgrade/install the current stable version of Gaim before posting a bug or - asking for help in Gaim's IRC channel. If the bug does not exist in the - current version, then please do not ask for help. +1.12 Gaim is buggy. Gaim CVS is buggy. Why? + + Non-current versions have old bugs which may be fixed in the current + version--that's why we make new releases. CVS is frequently unusable because + of changes in the code. Bugs are introduced during the development process + and are hopefully fixed before a release is made. + +1.13 Why do you always say not to use CVS? + + That's a long story. For starters, see the previous question. It is often the + case that Gaim CVS exhibits bad behavior due to features and bugfixes which + are in a transitory state or which are not yet well understood. These bad + behaviors range from the harmless (maybe a graphical glitch in a dialog box) + to the irritating (a particular protocol may not work), to the downright + damaging (recently a bug in CVS destroyed the user's buddy lists). While + behaviors like this are acceptable to some users (particularly developers, + who are used to such things), they tend to cause many Gaim CVS users to + contact Gaim developers and report the same (usually egregious) bug over and + over - using time which could be better spent fixing the bugs. + + A second major point involves public resources - a CVS checkout is not a + cheap operation. As many Sourceforge users are aware, at various points in + the recent past Sourceforge CVS has been less than pleasant to work with. + This is, of course, because Sourceforge hosts dozens and dozens of useful and + active projects which use CVS as a primary method of source code + collaboration. Unfortunately, when too many users are poking around in that + CVS just for the sake of poking around, it prevents other users who are + trying to do work to improve those very same projects from accomplishing + their tasks. It is better for the community if an enterprising individual + wishing to fix a particular bug she has seen can get to the code and create a + patch, even if this means that some users have to wait a few weeks for the + next release to see what new features it might hold. + + The third point is not a problem which has yet come up, but it is in the back + of the mind of the developers who bring you Gaim. As a third-party IM client, + Gaim is not a priority (and indeed may be an irritant) for the IM service + providers. We do our best to keep Gaim playing nice and being friendly on the + IM networks it uses; however, at times there are bugs in the protocol + support. If a few dozen people are using this buggy client, the IM providers + are not likely to go out of their way to do anything about it. However, if + hundreds of people are pointing an ill-behaved client at an IM server, the + server administrators may be forced to take action. (This is particularly + likely if the buggy behavior is damaging in some way.) Gaim releases + represent code which the gaim developers feel is relatively well-behaved and + stable. This includes not only the interface seen by Gaim users, but the + traffic seen by IM service providers. Gaim CVS bears no such guarantees. + + In short, there are a lot of good reasons to not use Gaim CVS if one does not + wish to develop Gaim, Gaim plugins, or a codebase which interacts with Gaim + in some intimate way. There are, however, only a few reasons to use Gaim CVS + outside of the above. Please weigh these things carefully and decide whether + you wish to use Gaim CVS for a good reason which furthers the community, or + for selfish reasons which are not entirely important. +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | 2. Using Gaim +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2.1 How do I register for a new account? - + This depends on the protocol. AIM: Go to http://my.screenname.aol.com/_cqr/login/login.psp?siteId= snshomepage&authLev=1&mcState=initialized&createSn=1. - ICQ: Go to http://web.icq.com/register. + MSN (including Hotmail email): Go to http://registernet.passport.com/. + + MSN (using your own email address): Go to https://register.passport.net/ + reg.srf?lc=1033&id=486&ru= + http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Epassport%2Enet%2FConsumer%2FDefault%2Easp%3Flc%3D1033&sl=1 Yahoo: Go to http://edit.yahoo.com/config/eval_register. - MSN (including hotmail email): Go to http://registernet.passport.com/. + Jabber: See the question How do I register a new Jabber account? below. - MSN (using your own email address): Go to this website + ICQ: Go to http://web.icq.com/register. Gadu-Gadu: Use the official client to create an account. - Jabber: See the question How do I register a new Jabber account? below. + Novell: See your Novell server administrator. - Novell: See your novell server administrator. +2.2 How do I use AIM, MSN, Yahoo!, Jabber, ICQ, or any other protocol? -2.2 How do I use MSN, Yahoo, Jabber, IRC, Gadu-Gadu(GG), Napster, or Zephyr? - Use the Account Editor (Tools->Accounts, or the Accounts button on the start - screen) to add the account of the appropriate messaging service. The protocol - plugin is loaded automatically. + screen) to add the account of the appropriate messaging service. Use the + checkbox in the account editor to sign online. -2.3 How do I make gaim use emacs-like keybindings? - - You need to edit your ~/.gtkrc-2.0 to contain the keybindings line from http: - //gaim.sf.net/gtkrc-2.0. +2.3 How do I change the font Gaim uses? -2.4 How do I change the font Gaim uses? - The font preference in Gaim is used only for the formatting of outgoing - messages, and that only on the few protocols we support outgoing format on. - The display fonts used by the rest of Gaim are those specified by GTK. To - change this font you need to edit your ~/.gtkrc-2.0 file. If you need help - you can see our example .gtkrc-2.0 (http://gaim.sf.net/gtkrc-2.0) file. + messages. The display fonts used by the rest of Gaim are those specified by + GTK. To change this font you need to edit your ~/.gtkrc-2.0 file. If you need + help you can see our example .gtkrc-2.0 (http://gaim.sf.net/gtkrc-2.0) file. + + You can also just switch to a different GTK theme. You can find GTK themes + (and information on using them) by visiting themes.freshmeat.net, + art.gnome.org, or searching on Google. + + If you're having a problem with the font size used by a specific person, you + can try turning on the Ignore Font Sizes preference in Preferences->Message + Text. + +2.4 How do I make gaim use emacs-like keybindings? + + You need to edit your ~/.gtkrc-2.0 to contain the keybindings line from http: + //gaim.sf.net/gtkrc-2.0. 2.5 How do I use smiley themes? - + To select a theme, open Gaim's preferences to the "Smiley Themes" page and click on whichever theme you want to use. To install a theme, simply drag it into the theme selector. You can find themes on the Gaim Smiley Themes (http: @@ -331,7 +414,7 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats directory in ~/.gaim/smileys/ 2.6 Why are the status icons so big? - + We believe that, by adding a second line of text to each buddy list entry, we're able to show more information about each buddy on the buddy list. The 'Big List,' as we call it, shows status text, idle time, and warning level @@ -339,24 +422,23 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats buddy, indicating at the same time a mobile user who is away. Most importantly, it puts the buddy icon in the list, making it far easier to locate buddies within a large list where names are harder to pick out than - images. Due to the increased usability of this UI, we have made it the + images. Due to the increased usability of this interface, we have made it the default. We are aware that some people feel more comfortable using an interface more - similar to IM clients they may have used in the past. 'Big List' can be - disabled by un-checking "Show buddy icons in list" in the Buddy List - preferences. + similar to IM clients they may have used in the past. The 'Big List' can be + disabled by un-checking "Show buddy icons" in the Buddy List preferences. 2.7 How do I get sound to work correctly? - + Gaim uses libao to play sounds. Playing sounds directly through esound or arts is no longer supported. - `Libao is a cross-platform library that allows programs to output PCM audio + Libao is a cross-platform library that allows programs to output PCM audio data to the native audio devices on a wide variety of platforms. It currently supports OSS (Open Sound System), ESD (ESounD), ALSA (Advanced Linux Sound Architecture), Sun audio system (used in Solaris, OpenBSD, and NetBSD), aRts - (Analog Realtime Synthesizer). ' + (Analog Realtime Synthesizer). To compile Gaim with support for libao you need libao-devel and audiofile-devel. To use libao you need libao and audiofile. If you do not @@ -365,46 +447,25 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats 2.8 How do I make Gaim use ALSA or OSS for playing sounds? What does the "Automatic" option do? - + If you choose "Automatic", "ESD", or "Arts", Gaim uses libao to play sounds. Choosing "ESD" or "Arts" forces libao to play sounds using that method, while choosing "Automatic" lets it decide for itself. - If you choose Automatc, you can create a file, either /etc/libao.conf or ~ + If you choose "Automatic", you can create a file, either /etc/libao.conf or ~ /.libao, and put one of the following lines in it: - default_driver=alsa default_driver=oss - Other drivers, like alsa09, arts, esd, irix, macosx, and sun might also be supported, depending on your platform, and how libao was compiled. See also 'man 5 libao.conf'. -2.9 I just changed my buddy icon, and I can't see the new one. - - First, try IMing yourself a few times. Buddy icons are checked when you IM - people, so depending on the protocol, that may work. If it still doesn't - update, check the file size (buddy icons must be smaller than 4kb) and the - image size (it should be 48x48 or 50x50 in most cases). Also, check the file - type. GIF or JPEG images are best supported; most other formats do not work - at all. If all of that checks out and it still doesn't work, and you're sure - the protocol supports it, try restarting Gaim. +2.9 Why does Gaim use the same WM_CLASS for every window? It makes it + impossible to control window size and placement for the buddy list + separately from the conversations. -2.10 Why is everything at such small/large font sizes? - - You need to edit your .gtkrc-2.0 in your home directory. This is almost - certainly a gtk theme thing. You can find more gtk themes by visiting - themes.freshmeat.net, art.gnome.org, or searching on Google. If it is a - particular message window, you can also try ignoring font sizes (Tools-> - Preferences->Message Text), though that will only have limited effects. See - an example .gktrc-2.0 at http://gaim.sf.net/gtkrc-2.0. - -2.11 Why does Gaim use the same WM_CLASS for every window? It makes it - impossible to control window size and placement for the buddy list - separately from the conversations. - Both strings in the WM_CLASS property are supposed to be the same for all windows in the same instance of an application. ICCCM states that one is meant to be the same for all instances of the application, the other is meant @@ -414,61 +475,55 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats Gtk+ sets these WM_CLASS values for us so that they are unique for Gaim instances, and the documentation for the gtk_window_set_wmclass function says - explicitly not to use it for anything else. Before we released Gaim 0.60, we - replaced all calls to this function with calls to gtk_window_set_role(), - which sets the WM_WINDOW_ROLE hint instead. If your window manager is having - problems differentiating between Gaim windows, please ensure that your window - managers uses the WM_WINDOW_ROLE hint per the ICCCM. - -2.12 Why is the toggle to disable tabs not working? - - Because your conversation placement setting is incorrect. Go to Preferences-> - Conversation->Placement and set this to "New Window." Bada bing. Although, I - don't know why anyone would not want to use tabs. + explicitly not to use it for anything else. Gaim uses the WM_WINDOW_ROLE hint + to differentiate windows. If your window manager is having problems + differentiating between Gaim windows, please ensure that it uses the + WM_WINDOW_ROLE hint per the ICCCM. + +2.10 What is a "Buddy Pounce"? -2.13 What is a "Buddy Pounce"? - Gaim introduced buddy pounces a few releases before AOL came out with "Buddy Alerts." Despite this though, you could think of a buddy pounce as an Alert and get an idea of the most minimal uses of a buddy pounce. In reality, a buddy pounce is much like a macro, or a recorded action. When you set a - pounce on someone, you choose from a number of events, such as signon or + pounce on someone, you choose from a number of events, such as sign on or someone going away, and then you choose from a number of actions. These actions include everything from playing a sound (like an Alert would do) to - sending a messsage to the person, to executing a command. This action will + sending a message to the person, to executing a command. This action will occur the next time gaim detects the event, ie the next time the person in your buddy list who you have pounced signs on. -2.14 Where does gaim store its logs? - - On unix, they are in ~/.gaim/logs, on win32 they are in the $drive/documents - and settings/user/application data/.gaim/logs directory. In either case, new - logs (new as of 0.73) are in subdirectories that correspond to protocol\ - yourscreenname\theirscreenname. +2.11 Where does gaim store its logs? + + On unix, they are in ~/.gaim/logs, on win32 they are in the $drive\Documents + and Settings\user\Application Data\.gaim\logs directory. In either case, new + logs (new as of 0.73) are in subdirectories that correspond to protocol/ + yourscreenname/theirscreenname. -2.15 Can I use Gaim for e-mail, blogging, an RSS feed, or something else that +2.12 Can I use Gaim for e-mail, blogging, an RSS feed, or something else that isn't IM-related? - - No, you can't. We get requests for this often, but Gaim is indeed an instant - messenger client. Aside from the capabilities each protocol may support, the + + No, you can't. We get requests for this often, but Gaim is indeed a + messenging client. Aside from the capabilities each protocol may support, the Gaim developers have no intention to turn Gaim into a multi-feature Internet client capable of doing everything under the sun. We also won't be helping to develop plugins to turn it into that. There are many Internet applications available for Linux, Windows, or whatever operating system you use that would - undoubtably do a better job. + undoubtedly do a better job. +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | 3. Features +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.1 Does Gaim support file transfer? - - Somewhat, yeah. Yahoo! supports sending and receiving files in Gaim 0.75 and - higher. As of 0.76 the following is supported: + + Somewhat, yeah. As of 0.79 the following is supported: * Sending and receiving files on AIM (although it might be a bit buggy) * Sending and receiving files on IRC * Sending and receiving files on Jabber + * Sending and receiving files on MSN + * Sending and receiving files on SILC * Sending and receiving files on Yahoo (sending is limited to 1Mb) Most of the protocols themselves support file transfer, but Gaim has not been @@ -478,7 +533,7 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats 3.2 Is there a Gaim tray icon, or docklet, or gnome applet, or panel icon, or something? - + Yeah, Gaim supports what is called a system tray icon that conforms to the standards at www.freedesktop.org. This tray icon is supported by Windows, KDE 3.1, Gnome 2.2, and Red Hat Gnome 2.0. All you have to do is load the "System @@ -490,20 +545,26 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats System Tray implementation that conforms to these standards, so feel free to write one for your window manager of choice. + Due to a flaw in these specs, KDE users may experience trouble with the + background color of the docklet. There is unfortunately nothing we can do + about this. + 3.3 What do those colors in the conversation tab mean? - - A red tab means a message is waiting for you; green means the buddy is - typing; yellow means the buddy began typing, and then stopped. Gray means - that there has been a join or a part in that chat, or the buddy has signed - off. + + * Red - A message is waiting for you + * Blue - Someone sent a message containing your name + * Green - The buddy is typing + * Yellow - The buddy began typing, and then stopped + * Gray - There has been a join or a part in that chat, or the buddy has + signed off 3.4 Will Gaim save my buddy list to the server? - - Yes, Gaim saves your buddy list to the server for AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo, TOC - and Jabber. + + Yes, Gaim saves your buddy list to the server for AIM, ICQ, Jabber, MSN, + Novell and Yahoo!. 3.5 Can I import or export my buddy list? - + Sorry, no. Old versions of Gaim supported this, but new versions do not. All the code for saving and loading buddy lists was rewritten, and support for importing and exporting buddy lists was never re-added. However, with all @@ -511,12 +572,12 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats useful today than in the past. 3.6 Does Gaim support animated smileys? - + Yes, as of version 0.70 Gaim supports animated smileys. 3.7 Can I make Gaim group screen names by the person that owns them? You know, like Trillian's Meta Contacts? - + Sure! Right click a buddy on your list and at the bottom of the menu click "Expand". Then just drag other screen names to the same person below it. When you're done, click on the arrow to collapse them. When the contact is @@ -524,13 +585,13 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats buddies in the contact, and their order. 3.8 How do I get the old logging back? - + The old logging was removed because it was deficient in many ways. There is - no way in gaim itself to revert to the old logging, but the new logging is so + no way in Gaim itself to revert to the old logging, but the new logging is so good you could implement something similar to the old logging as a plugin. 3.9 How can I convert my old logs to the new format? - + It's not possible to perfectly convert from the old format to the new format because the old format is missing some information necessary to do that (eg. which account the messages were sent from). @@ -541,28 +602,19 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats Peter Johnson has written a python script to do just this, it is available on his website (at the bottom). -3.10 Where has the system log gone? - - The system log had to be removed when the new logging was implented. It will - make a return someday, just be patient. Or if you're brave there is a patch - in the patch tracker on sourceforge that re-implements system logging. - - The system log has returned with 0.77. There are still some bugs in it of - course, please search the bug tracker before submitting new ones. - +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | 4. ICQ Protocol +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.1 How do I use ICQ? - + ICQ support is part of the OSCAR protocol, labeled AIM/ICQ in Gaim. To use - it, simply put your account number in the Screenname box and your password in - the Password box. Leave the server settings set to the default + it, simply put your account number in the "Screen Name" box and your password + in the "Password" box. Leave the server settings set to the default (login.oscar.aol.com and port 5190). 4.2 Can I send SMS messages? - + Kind of. See our answer to this for the AIM/ICQ Protocol. +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ @@ -570,21 +622,22 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5.1 What is the TOC protocol? - - It's an AIM protocol used by quickbuddy and aimexpress. It's recommended that - you don't use it. You should use Gaim's OSCAR (AIM/ICQ) protocol, instead. We - keep TOC around in case OSCAR ever stops working. + + It's an AIM protocol used by Quick Buddy and AIM Express. It's recommended + that you don't use it. You should use Gaim's OSCAR (AIM/ICQ) protocol + instead. We keep TOC around in case OSCAR ever stops working. However, we are + not actively supporting this code, and no longer distribute it in binaries. +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | 6. AIM/ICQ (OSCAR) Protocol +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6.1 Can I set my profile? - - Yes you can. Go to Tools->Protocol Actions + + Yes you can. Go to Tools->Account Actions 6.2 Can I set a buddy icon? - + Yes. Go to the Account Editor (Tools->Accounts from the buddy list), and click to "Modify" the AIM/ICQ account you wish to have an icon. Enter the full path to the image you wish to use in the box labeled "Buddy Icon File." @@ -593,28 +646,17 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats Windows understands, such as .bmp, .gif, and .jpg. 6.3 Some of my buddies are not showing up as online, why is that? - + AOL has set a limit for the maximum number of people you can have in your buddy list. This number is currently 200. If you don't think you are anywhere near that limit, it is possible that your server-stored buddy list is corrupt. - If you think this might be the case, you can try the following steps to - "clean" your list (be careful doing this, if you do something wrong you could - lose your buddy list!): - - 1. Exit Gaim - 2. mv ~/.gaim/blist.xml ~/ - 3. rm ~/.gaim/*.blist - 4. Start Gaim and sign on your AIM account - 5. Delete everyone from your buddy list then sign off - 6. Repeat the above two steps until you are sure your list is empty - 7. Exit Gaim - 8. cp ~/blist.xml ~/.gaim/ - 9. Start Gaim and sign on your AIM account + If you think this might be the case, you can try signing on with an official + AIM program from AOL. This will usually correct any problems with the list. 6.4 Can I use AIM URI's such as "aim:goim?screenname=robflynn"? - + Yes, with Gaim 0.60 and higher, but it can be difficult to set up. You need to pass the entire URI to the gaim-remote program (included with gaim). To do this with Gnome 2, run gnome-file-types-properties or "File Types and @@ -628,32 +670,38 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats If you use wingaim, this will not work as gaim-remote has not yet been ported over. -6.5 Does Gaim support DirectIM and IM Image? - +6.5 I just changed my buddy icon, and I can't see the new one. + + First, try IMing yourself a few times. Buddy icons are checked when you IM + people, so depending on the protocol, that may work. If it still doesn't + update, check the file size (buddy icons must be smaller than 4kb) and the + image size (it should be 48x48 or 50x50 in most cases). Also, check the file + type. GIF or JPEG images are best supported; most other formats do not work + at all. If all of that checks out and it still doesn't work, and you're sure + the protocol supports it, try restarting Gaim. + +6.6 Does Gaim support DirectIM and IM Image? + Yeah, kind of. This tends to be one of the buggier areas of Gaim. If it's not - working for you make sure that the person requesting the DirectIM is not - behind a firewall. + working for you, make sure that at least one person is not behind a firewall. - IM Image is currently very broken, we are hoping to get it working again - soon, but we'll see. +6.7 Can I send SMS messages? -6.6 Can I send SMS messages? - Yep, just send an IM to the person's phone number. For example, if the phone - number is (919) 555-1234, you would IM the screenname +19195551234 We think - this should work for contries with a country code of 1 (the United States and - Canada). + number is (919) 555-1234, you would IM the screen name +19195551234 We think + this should work for countries with a country code of 1 (the United States + and Canada). Sending SMS messages using "the ICQ method" is not yet supported. -6.7 Can I add SMS numbers to my buddy list? - +6.8 Can I add SMS numbers to my buddy list? + Not currently. This functionality has been broken since around September 2003. There is no ETA for when it will be fixed. -6.8 I heard AOL is combining ICQ and AIM, does that mean I can send a message +6.9 I heard AOL is combining ICQ and AIM, does that mean I can send a message from an AIM account to an ICQ account and vice-versa? - + Yes, AOL is slowly letting the two messaging networks interoperate with each other. Messaging between the two protocols works as long as the receiver of the message supports it. Gaim 0.60 supports sending and receiving messages @@ -672,8 +720,8 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats then the ICQ user will also show up in your AIM buddy list. So an AIM user using Windows AIM version 5.2.3139 will show up in an ICQ buddy list. -6.9 Why can't I connect via either Oscar or TOC? - +6.10 Why can't I connect via either Oscar or TOC? + If you are using Linux, your kernel may be using a network option called "ECN". It seems that the AOL servers are currently dropping packets marked as "ECN-capable". In order to turn this off, run the command "echo 0 > /proc/sys @@ -684,22 +732,16 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats | 7. IRC Protocol +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -7.1 Why am I getting disconnected when I try to connect to IRC? - - You will be disconnected if the nickname you chose is already in use on that - IRC server. Try again with a different nickname. In 0.60 or later, Gaim will - prompt you to change your screenname in this situation. +7.1 How do I join a channel with the IRC plugin? -7.2 How do I join a channel with the IRC plugin? - First create the account, then sign on. After you have signed on, you can use File->Join A Chat on the buddy list to join a channel. In any window, either a conversation or a chat, in which your IRC user is the sender, you can also use /join to connect to a new channel. -7.3 Is there a way to make Gaim automatically identify me and/or join IRC +7.2 Is there a way to make Gaim automatically identify me and/or join IRC chats on login? - + Yes. Add NickServ to your buddy list and place buddy pounces on him/her/it. In version 0.64 or higher, you can add a chat to your buddy list, right click @@ -710,19 +752,19 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8.1 How do I choose which Jabber server to use? - + The Jabber server name is part of your Jabber I.D., such as somebody@server.name. So when entering your Jabber "screen name", the server is specified as part of your JID. 8.2 How do I change my Jabber resource to be other than the default of "/ Gaim"? - + When you create your account in Gaim, simply append the desired resource identifier to your Jabber I.D. For example: somebody@server.name/resource 8.3 How do I register a new Jabber account? - + As of version 0.52 and up: 1. Click "Tools->Accounts->Add" @@ -737,7 +779,7 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats type in what you thought you did, you're hosed. 8.4 How do I use invisibility? - + Jabber invisibility support is available in Gaim version 0.60 and later. There are two ways to use Jabber invisibility: on a per-buddy and on a @@ -767,32 +809,22 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats 8.5 I've a buddy that I keep removing from my buddy list but the entry keeps coming back every time I log in again! How can I stop this? - - As of Gaim version 0.59 and later: Select the Edit Buddies tab, right-click - on the offending entry, and select "Remove From Roster". - If you're Gaim 0.60 or later, it might be continuing to import the old buddy + With Gaim 0.60 or later, it might be continuing to import the old buddy lists. Remove ~/.gaim/*.blist - these are no longer used, the buddy list is now stored in ~/.gaim/blist.xml 8.6 Can I remove a buddy from my Jabber roster entirely? - - As of Gaim version 0.59 and later: yes. In the Edit Buddies tab, right-click - on a buddy and Select "Remove From Roster. - - The buddy will disappear from your buddy list and also will no longer receive - presence notifications from you. - - In 0.60, the deletion code will do this. Gaim currently does not retain - invisibility settings between logins, just as it doesn't currently retain - "away" status. + + With Gaim 0.60 or later, the deletion code will do this. Gaim currently does + not retain invisibility settings between logins, just as it doesn't currently + retain "away" status. 8.7 What does "Cancel Presence Notification" do? - + This selection, available in Gaim version 0.60 and later, and found by - right-clicking on a buddy entry in the Edit Buddies tab, prevents that Jabber - I.D. from receiving future presence notifications when you log on to the - server. + right-clicking on a buddy entry in the buddy list, prevents that Jabber I.D. + from receiving future presence notifications when you log on to the server. After you do this, that buddy will have to re-request a subscription to your presence (and you will have to approve it) for them to again see you on-line. @@ -802,64 +834,53 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9.1 I cannot connect to yahoo! - - Make sure you have at least 0.76. + + Make sure you have at least 0.79. +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | 10. MSN Protocol +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 10.1 I'm getting lots of "Already in Opposite list" errors on msn, why? - - The reason this happens is because you have a screenname in both your permit + + The reason this happens is because you have a screen name in both your permit list and your deny list. There are two ways to fix this: the correct way and the quick way. The correct way is to go to tools->preferences (tools->privacy in 0.60 or later), and manually scan the list and remove the duplicate entries. The quick way is to remove the msn .blist file from the ~/.gaim - directory. This will have a side effect: the msn server stores the - screennames of your contacts, but does not store what group they are in, so - you will have to re-sort your msn contacts into the appropriate groups. The - buddy list is ~/.gaim/blist.xml in 0.60 and later, but be aware that this - contains your buddy list for all accounts, and also stores the "Contact" - grouping of Buddies. - -10.2 I'm getting an "Invalid User" popup whenever I sign on. How can I make - this go away? - - Delete your buddy list. On unix, this will be at ~/.gaim/blist.xml (or ~ - /.gaim/USERNAME.0.blist pre-v0.60). Note that you will lose buddy groups and - aliases when you do this. Alternatively, since this will delete ALL buddy - lists, not just the msn one, you can hand edit the ~/.gaimrc to remove the - msn account. Start gaim up, which will remove the entries from the account - that no longer exists, and re-add your account. For most users, this will be - the better temporary solution. + directory. This will have a side effect: the msn server stores the screen + names of your contacts, but does not store what group they are in, so you + will have to re-sort your msn contacts into the appropriate groups. The buddy + list is ~/.gaim/blist.xml in 0.60 and later, but be aware that this contains + your buddy list for all accounts, and also stores the "Contact" grouping of + Buddies. + +10.2 Is there a way to invite more than one person to an MSN chat? -10.3 Is there a way to invite more than one person to an MSN chat? - Not at this time. When the conversation framework gets another rewrite, it is possible that it will be worked on. Until that time, sorry. :) -10.4 Is MSNP9 (MSN6) going to be supported? - +10.3 Is MSNP9 (MSN6) going to be supported? + MSNP9 support has existed in Gaim since 0.69. However, at this point, features such as custom smileys and buddy icons aren't yet implemented. -10.5 Will I be able to use Gaim for MSN after October 15th 2003? (The day +10.4 Will I be able to use Gaim for MSN after October 15th 2003? (The day they're preventing third party clients from connecting) - + Yes. We use MSNP9, which is available in 0.69 and up, and MSNP9 is supported after October 15th 2003. -10.6 I just upgraded Gaim and the MSN plugin will not load. Why? - +10.5 I just upgraded Gaim and the MSN plugin will not load. Why? + You did not compile with SSL support, or the SSL plugin failed to load. As of protocol version 9, the MSN protocol requires the use of SSL, which gaim provides by either GnuTLS or the combination of NSS and NSPR from the Mozilla project. Install one or both of these and recompile Gaim, and see the next question. -10.7 The MSN plugin won't load, but I have Mozilla NSS! - +10.6 The MSN plugin won't load, but I have Mozilla NSS! + Some distributions, including Slackware, install Mozilla NSS to a non-standard directory. The fix is simple. Edit /etc/ld.so.conf and add /usr/ lib/mozilla-1.4 (or whatever version you're using, but it's usually 1.4) to @@ -872,9 +893,9 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats See http://gaim.sf.net/faq-ssl.php on getting SSL to work with gaim. -10.8 What does "MSN: S: 911 3" in the debug window mean when I cannot connect +10.7 What does "MSN: S: 911 3" in the debug window mean when I cannot connect to msn? - + See http://gaim.sf.net/911.txt. +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ @@ -882,16 +903,24 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 11.1 What is Gadu-Gadu? - + Gadu-Gadu is an IM protocol popular in Poland. You can find more about it at www.gadu-gadu.pl (website in Polish). +11.2 Why doesn't it work right? + + We have not had a Gadu-Gadu maintainer in some time and are currently + struggling to keep this protocol functional. If you have any problems, you + will need to submit a patch for them, as we are unlikely to have much luck + fixing it. If things get too bad, we will be forced to remove this protocol + from the default builds. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | 12. Zephyr Protocol +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 12.1 What is Zephyr? - + Zephyr is an IM protocol developed at MIT for use with Project Athena. Its features include Kerberos IV authentication, multi-level chats (aka "subscriptions"). You're probably using this because your college/employer/ @@ -900,7 +929,7 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats 12.2 Other Zephyr clients (zwgc,owl,tzc) work, but gaim dies with "Couldn't initialize zephyr". - + Your site might require the use of Kerberos 4 for authentication, though few (if any) prepackaged gaim binaries compile it with Kerberos support. The solution is to compile gaim with the --with-krb4 flag to point to the @@ -909,14 +938,14 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats 12.3 Gaim isn't working, but I never got any other zephyr client working on this machine. - + You need to have zhm (which comes with the standard zephyr distribution) installed, and running, and pointed at your zephyr servers. e.g. zhm z1.example.com z2.example.com z3.example.com - Alternately, there might be a firewall or a NAT between you and the zephyr - servers Zephyr doesn't work in an environment where incoming connections + Alternatively, there might be a firewall or a NAT between you and the zephyr + servers. Zephyr doesn't work in an environment where incoming connections cannot be made to arbitrary UDP ports. +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ @@ -924,53 +953,76 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 13.1 I heard Trepia was going to be in 0.65. Where is it? - + Support for the Trepia protocol was removed right before 0.65's release. It may make it into a future version, but we're not sure yet. 13.2 Trepia is showing people in Japan, England, etc. on my buddy list. I thought this was supposed to show people in my area? - + We believe this to be the fault of protocol, not Gaim. As Trepia continues to update and refine their protocol, it will become more accurate. If we find out otherwise, we will attempt to incorporate the changes necessary to act like the official client. +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -| 14. Scripts and Plugins +| 14. SILC Protocol ++------------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +14.1 What is SILC? + + SILC is an open protocol designed from the ground up with security in mind. + It is, or should be, the protocol of choice for the paranoid. See http:// + www.silcnet.org for more details. + ++------------------------------------------------------------------------------ +| 15. Novell Protocol +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -14.1 How do I use perl scripts with Gaim? - +15.1 Are there any public servers for Novell? + + Not really. This protocol is designed to connect to a Novell GroupWise server + running on a corporate LAN. + +15.2 I can't seem to get it to work. + + Novell tells us that this protocol plugin will only work with either the + GroupWise Messenger for Linux server or the GroupWise Messenger SP2 (or + higher) server for NetWare and Windows. In addition, the server must be + secure (SSL enabled). If you have any trouble, see the FAQ question about + submitting bugs, and they will be forwarded to Novell, who have been kind + enough to continue active maintenance to the protocol plugin code they + provided us. + ++------------------------------------------------------------------------------ +| 16. Scripts and Plugins ++------------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +16.1 How do I use perl scripts with Gaim? + Save the perl script to ~/.gaim/plugins/ or $prefix/lib/gaim/, restart Gaim, and load the perl script by checking the check box next to its name on the Plugins page in preferences. -14.2 How do I compile a plugin for Gaim? - +16.2 How do I compile a plugin for Gaim? + To compile a plugin for Gaim, you must have Gaim's source code. To download Gaim's source code, get the most recent tarball from http:// gaim.sourceforge.net/downloads.php (http://gaim.sf.net/downloads.php) and untar it with the command: - tar zxvf filename - where filename is the file you downloaded. After you have a Gaim source code tree: 1. Change to the resulting directory and run the command: - ./configure - This will create the necessary make files. 2. Move the plugin you wish to compile into the plugins/ directory in the Gaim source code tree. 3. Change to the plugins/ directory. 4. Type: - make name.so - where the name of the file you wish to compile is name.c. Note well the difference in the extensions. If you type make name.c @@ -981,17 +1033,17 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats compiling it yourself, $prefix is /usr/local by default. Otherwise, $prefix is /usr. -14.3 I have a plugin or perl script for Gaim that does not work with 0.60 or +16.3 I have a plugin or perl script for Gaim that does not work with 0.60 or higher. - + The plugin and perl script API has changed in 0.60, which means plugins and perl scripts must be modified in order to work. The plugin or perl script must be located in $prefix/lib/gaim/ or in ~/.gaim/plugins/, and must implement the new API, as documented in the HOWTO file in the plugins - directory. Plugins and perl scripts are now controled from preferences. + directory. Plugins and perl scripts are now controlled from preferences. + +16.4 Where can I find documentation on writing plugins and Perl scripts? -14.4 Where can I find documentation on writing plugins and Perl scripts? - If you look in the plugins/ directory in the Gaim source, you should see a HOWTO file with some details for C plugins. Also be sure to check out our online documentation (http://gaim.sf.net/api/index.html). Be especially sure @@ -1002,64 +1054,66 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats make docs. You will need doxygen and graphviz dot installed for this to work. +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -| 15. Development +| 17. Development +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -15.1 Can I help? - - But of course. Just find something that's bugging you and fix it. There is a - slew of a bug reports in Gaim's bug report tracker, you could pick one and +17.1 Can I help? + + But of course. Just find something that's bugging you and fix it. There are a + slew of a bug reports in Gaim's bug report tracker - you could pick one and try to tackle it and submit a patch. You could also help with general bug triage by going through the bug reports and leaving comments such as "this has been fixed" or "this is a duplicate of bug #12345." As always, make sure you follow the same coding style used in Gaim, and make sure you don't break the core/UI split. -15.2 Gaim never leaves a core file. - +17.2 Gaim never leaves a core file. + On most installs core files are limited in size to 0 bytes, and are therefore not created. To rectify this situation, add ulimit -c unlimited to your startup scripts (~/.bash_profile is a good place) or run it manually in a terminal before starting gaim from that terminal. You can also run Gaim directly in gdb with gdb gaim. -15.3 Where should I report bugs? - - http://gaim.sf.net/bug.php. - -15.4 Where should I submit patches? - - http://gaim.sf.net/patches.php. +17.3 Where should I report bugs? + + http://gaim.sf.net/". + +17.4 Where should I submit patches? + + http://gaim.sf.net/". + +17.5 Did you guys reverse engineer it? -15.5 Did you guys reverse engineer it? - TOC, Jabber, MSN, Napster, and IRC are published protocols, so we didn't have to reverse engineer those. Oscar, ICQ, and Yahoo are not published, and were - reverse engineered by other people. + reverse engineered by other people. Novell was provided by Novell, and SILC + was written by one of the protocol's developers. +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -| 16. Misc. Questions +| 18. Misc. Questions +------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -16.1 Can I IM you guys? - +18.1 Can I IM you guys? + Sure! Look at the Contact Information (http://gaim.sf.net/contactinfo.php) page! -16.2 Hello? - +18.2 Hello? + We don't know how to answer this question. Stop asking it. -16.3 Can I give you money/hardware/other expensive things that can be hocked +18.3 Can I give you money/hardware/other expensive things that can be hocked for cash what with you all being students/full-time-workers and helping to produce this wonderful software instead of studying/sleeping? - + No. We're completely fool-hardy and won't accept any gratuities with no strings attached for just being good guys. That and we'd have to share with everyone who has submitted patches. ;-) -16.4 Does Gaim support secure instant messaging (encrypted IMs)? - +18.4 Does Gaim support secure instant messaging (encrypted IMs)? + + Short answer: Yes, use the SILC protocol. Long Answer(for other protocols): Not natively. Doing secure instant messaging right is a big deal and requires, among other things, an authentication scheme. Simply encrypting your data stream without verifying the party with whom you are chatting is @@ -1073,21 +1127,21 @@ Gaim: The Pimpin' Penguin IM Clone Thats read the documentation on the "web of trust" model available at www.gnupg.org and try out one of these. -16.5 Why are the passwords in accounts.xml not encrypted? - +18.5 Why are the passwords in accounts.xml not encrypted? + This is a case of a really long answer to a short question. Read our explanation at http://gaim.sf.net/plaintextpasswords.txt. -16.6 What is gaim-remote? - +18.6 What is gaim-remote? + gaim-remote is a second executable included with Gaim starting with 0.60. It allows you to perform some actions to control/manipulate an existing Gaim process from the command line. Run gaim-remote --help to get an idea of what we currently envision it doing. -16.7 When will the next version of Gaim be released? - - The schedule for releases is every other Thursday. However, a new version +18.7 When will the next version of Gaim be released? + + The schedule for releases is every third Thursday. However, a new version will only be released if it meets a certain standard of quality (i.e., it will not be released if it still has a large number of serious bugs). Therefore, some releases will take longer than others. Major rewrites means Index: doc/gaim.1.in =================================================================== RCS file: /cvsroot/gaim/gaim/doc/gaim.1.in,v retrieving revision 1.8 diff -u -p -r1.8 gaim.1.in --- doc/gaim.1.in 26 May 2004 20:23:07 -0000 1.8 +++ doc/gaim.1.in 31 Jul 2004 15:23:24 -0000 @@ -81,9 +81,17 @@ left of each buddy indicates the buddy's they are using. Double clicking a buddy will open a new \fBConversation\fR window. Right clicking will pop up a menu: .TP +.B Get Info +Retrieves and displays information about the buddy. This information is +also known as a Profile. +.TP .B IM Opens a new \fBConversation\fR window to the selected buddy. .TP +.B Send File +Sends a file to the selected buddy (only available on protocols that support +file transfer). +.TP .B Add Buddy Pounce A Buddy Pounce is a configurable automated action to be performed when the buddy's state changes. This will open the \fBBuddy Pounce\fR dialog to be @@ -106,17 +114,7 @@ name was 'John Q. Smith,' one could crea buddy by his common name. .LP The remainder of the menu will consist of protocol specific commands. -These commands vary depending on the protocol; below are the commands -available when using OSCAR, the more popular and developer-recommended AIM -protocol: -.TP -.B Get Info -Retrieves and displays information about the buddy. This information is -also known as a Profile. -.TP -.B Get Away Msg -If this buddy is in an Away state, this will retrieve and display the -buddy's \fBAway Message\fR. +These commands vary depending on the protocol. .LP At the bottom of the \fBBuddy List\fR are several buttons (if enabled in \fBPreferences\fR): @@ -152,7 +150,7 @@ If \fIAuto-Login\fR is chosen, this acco starting \fBgaim\fR. Each protocol has it's own specific options that can be found in the -protocol-specific tab on the modify screen. +modify screen. .SH PREFERENCES @@ -163,30 +161,7 @@ All options take effect immediately. \fIDisplay remote nicknames if no alias is set\fR: Toggles whether server nickname data should be used if no local alias exists. -.TP -.B Smiley Themes -Allows the user to choose between different smiley themes. The "none" theme -will disable graphical emoticons - they will be displayed as text instead. -.TP -.B Message Text -\fIShow timestamp on messages\fR: Toggles the timestamp behavior for -conversations. Per-conversation behavior can be changed by pressing -\fIF2\fR in the \fBConversation\fR window. - -\fIHighlight misspelled words\fR: Toggles highlighting of misspelled words -as you type. - -\fIIgnore colors/font faces/font sizes\fR: Tells \fBgaim\fR to disregard -buddies' color/font/size information in displaying IMs or Chats. - -\fIDefault Formatting\fR: Allows specifying the default formatting to apply -to all outgoing messages (only applicable to protocols that support -formatting in messages). -.TP -.B Shortcuts -Allows the user to determine which keyboard shortcuts are available. -.TP -.B Buddy List +.SH Buddy List \fISorting\fR: Toggles the order in which buddies are shown in your \fBBuddy List\fR between none, alphabetical, by status and by log size. @@ -219,9 +194,13 @@ over the contact for a short period. .SH Conversations -\fIPlacement...\fR: Determines where new conversations will be placed (Last -created window / New window / windows grouped by group or account / maximum -number of conversations per window). +\fIShow buttons as...\fR: The selected item will determine whether +picture-only, text-only, combined picture/text, or no buttons will be used +for \fBConversation\fR windows. + +\fIEnable "slash" commands\fR: Determines whether messages starting with +"slash" (eg. /help) will be interpreted as commands by \fBgaim\fR, or if they +will just be sent as messages. \fIShow formatting toolbar\fR: Display the formatting toolbar between the upper and lower text boxes in conversations. @@ -229,54 +208,103 @@ upper and lower text boxes in conversati \fIShow aliases in tabs/titles\fR: Displays buddy alias instead of screen name in window tabs and titles. +\fIShow buddy icons\fR: For protocols that support it, buddy icons allow +buddies to send small pictures to be displayed during the course of a +conversation. Turning this option off hides those pictures. + +\fIEnable buddy icon animation\fR: If these pictures happen to be animated, +this option will enable the animation, otherwise only the first frame will +be displayed. + +\fINotify buddies that you are typing to them\fR: Some protocols allow +clients to tell their buddies when they are typing. This option enables +this feature for protocols that supports it. + +\fIRaise IM windows on events\fR: If enabled, IM \fBConversation\fR windows +will be brought to the top when new messages are received. + +\fIRaise Chat windows on events\fR: If enabled, chat \fBConversation\fR windows +will be brought to the top when new messages are received. + +\fIUse multi-colored screen names in chats\fR: Color code the screen names of +users in chat rooms. + +.TP +.B Tab Options \fIShow IMs and chats in tabbed windows\fR: Tabbed chatting allows one to have multiple conversations without multiple windows. -\fIShow IMs and chats in same tabbed window\fR: Uses the same window for -both IMs and chats. - \fIShow close buttons on tabs\fR: Adds a close button to each tab. \fITab Placement...\fR: Specifies where tabs are shown in the conversation window. +\fI New conversation placement...\fR: Determines where new conversations will +be placed (Last created window / New window / windows grouped by group or +account / separate windows for IMs and Chats). + .TP -.B IM Window -\fIShow buttons as...\fR: The selected item will determine whether -picture-only, text-only, combined picture/text, or no buttons will be used -for \fBConversation\fR windows. +.B Message Text +\fIShow timestamp on messages\fR: Toggles the timestamp behavior for +conversations. Per-conversation behavior can be changed by pressing +\fIF2\fR in the \fBConversation\fR window. -\fIRaise windows on events\fR: If enabled, \fBConversation\fR windows will -be brought to the top when new messages are received. +\fIHighlight misspelled words\fR: Toggles highlighting of misspelled words +as you type. -\fIShow buddy icons\fR: For protocols that support it, buddy icons allow -buddies to send small pictures to be displayed during the course of a -conversation. Turning this option off hides those pictures. +\fIIgnore colors/font faces/font sizes\fR: Tells \fBgaim\fR to disregard +buddies' color/font/size information in displaying IMs or Chats. -\fIEnable buddy icon animation\fR: If these pictures happen to be animated, -this option will enable the animation, otherwise only the first frame will -be displayed. +\fIDefault Formatting\fR: Allows specifying the default formatting to apply +to all outgoing messages (only applicable to protocols that support +formatting in messages). + +.TP +.B Shortcuts +Allows the user to determine which keyboard shortcuts are available. + +.TP +.B Smiley Themes +Allows the user to choose between different smiley themes. The "none" theme +will disable graphical emoticons - they will be displayed as text instead. + +.SH Sounds + +\fISounds while away\fR: Determines whether sounds are played when an away +message is up. + +\fISound Method\fR lets the user choose between different playback methods. +The user can also manually enter a command to be executed when a sound is +to be played (\fI%s\fR expands to the full path to the file name). -\fINotify buddies that you are typing to them\fR: Some protocols allow -clients to tell their buddies when they are typing. This option enables -this feature for protocols that supports it. .TP -.B Chat Window -\fIWindow\fR: The options in this section behave identically to the options -of the same name in the \fBIM Window\fR preferences. +.B Sound Events +Lets the user choose when and what sounds are to be played. + +.SH Network -\fIColorize screennames\fR: Color code the screen names of users in chat rooms. .TP +.B IP Address +\fIAutodetect IP Address\fR: \fBGaim\fR will attempt to automatically determine +your IP address for use in file transfers and Direct IMs. -.SH Proxy +\fIPublic IP\fR: What IP address to use for file transfer and Direct IMs. This +is mainly useful for users with multiple network interfaces or behind NAT. + +.TP +.B Ports +\fIManually specify range of ports to listen on\fR: Specify specific ports to +listen on, overriding any defaults. +.TP +.B Proxy Server The configuration section to enable \fBgaim\fR to operate through a proxy server. \fBgaim\fR currently supports SOCKS 4/5 and HTTP proxies. .SH Browser -Allows the user to select \fBgaim\fR's default web browser. Galeon, -Konqueror, Mozilla, Netscape, and Opera are supported natively. The user +Allows the user to select \fBgaim\fR's default web browser. Firefox, Galeon, +Konqueror, Mozilla, Netscape and Opera are supported natively. The user can also manually enter a command to be executed when a link is clicked (\fI%s\fR expands to the URL). For example, \fIxterm -e lynx "%s"\fR will open the link with lynx. \fIOpen new window by default\fR makes the @@ -290,19 +318,6 @@ new tab). plain text format. \fISystem Logs\fR describes the types of events to be logged. -.SH Sounds - -\fISounds while away\fR: Determines whether sounds are played when an away -message is up. - -\fISound Method\fR lets the user choose between different playback methods. -The user can also manually enter a command to be executed when a sound is -to be played (\fI%s\fR expands to the full path to the file name). - -.TP -.B Sound Events -Lets the user choose when and what sounds are to be played. - .SH Away / Idle \fIQueue new messages when away\fR: Messages received since going Away will @@ -327,10 +342,6 @@ automatically turn on the Away status. .B Away Messages Lets the user add/edit/remove available \fBAway Messages\fR. -.SH Protocols - -Protocols provide protocol specific preferences here. - .SH Plugins Allows the user to enable add-on plugins for \fBgaim\fR. Several of these @@ -343,6 +354,10 @@ Some plugins can be configured. If you configuration preferences will appear as a submenu to \fBPlugins\fR, with the submenu title determined by the plugin's name. +.SH Protocols + +Protocols provide protocol specific preferences here. + .SH CONVERSATIONS When starting a new conversation, the user is presented with the \fBConversation\fR window. The conversation appears in the upper text box @@ -391,6 +406,10 @@ available in all protocols). This adds the other person to your deny list (not available in all protocols). .TP +.B Send File +Send a file to this user. This option is only available on protocols where +\fBGaim\fR supports file transfer. +.TP .B Add This adds this user to your buddy list. This option is not available if the user is already on your list.