gaim(1) 						      General Commands Manual							   gaim(1)

NAME

       Gaim v0.59.8 - Instant Messaging client

SYNOPSIS

       gaim [options]

DESCRIPTION

       gaim  is  a  GTK-based Instant Messaging (IM) client designed primarily for use with AOL Instant Messager (AIM).  However, it supports most
       other popular IM protocols including ICQ, MSN Messager, Jabber, Yahoo!, IRC, Napster, Zephyr, and Gadu-Gadu.

OPTIONS

       The following options are provided by gaim using the standard GNU command line syntax.

       -a, --acct
	      Launch the account editor rather than the login window on start.

       -d, --debug
	      Print debugging messages to stdout.  These are the same debugging messages that are displayed in the debug window.

       -f, --file=FILE
	      Use FILE as the configuration file instead of ~/.gaimrc.

       -h, --help
	      Print this help and exit.

       -l, --login[=NAME]
	      Automatically login on start using the default account or the account specified by the NAME parameter.

       -u, --user=NAME
	      Use account NAME as default.

       -v, --version
	      Display the version information window.

       -w, --away[=MESG]
	      Automatically go away on signon.	You may optionally use the MESG parameter to set the away message.

BUDDY LIST

       The Buddy List Window is gaim's main interface window.  The focus of this window is the Buddy List itself.  This is a list of your contacts
       whose presence you have been notified of.

       The  list  of buddies is organized into groups.	Gaim supports multiple connections, but all online buddies are organized on the same buddy
       list.  Buddy List organization is handled in the Edit Buddies tab.

       Buddy Lists can be imported and exported to disk using the appropriate commands in the file menu.

       The icon to the left of each buddy indicates the buddy's current state.	Double clicking a buddy  will  open  a	new  conversation  window.
       Right clicking will open a menu:

       IM     Opens a new conversation window to the selected buddy.

       Alias  Create  an alias for this buddy.	This will open up a new dialog in which one can give this buddy an alternate name to appear on the
	      buddy list and in conversataions.

	      For example, if a buddy's name screen name was jsmith1281xx and his real name was 'John Q. Smith,' one could create an alias  as	to
	      identify the buddy by his common name.

       Add Buddy Pounce
	      A  Buddy	Pounce is a configurable automated action to be performed when the buddy's state changes.  This will open the Buddy Pounce
	      dialog to be discussed later.

       View Log
	      gaim is capable of automatically log its activities.  These logs are html files (with a .log extenstion) located in the ~/.gaim/logs
	      directory.  This menu command will attempt to view this file with gaim's internal log viewer.

       The  remainder  of  the menu will consist of protocol specific commands.  If logged on with multiple connections, these will appear in sub-
       menus named with each screen name logged on.  These commands vary depending on the protocol; below are the commands  available  when  using
       OSCAR, the more popular and developer-recommended AIM protocol:

       Get Info
	      Retrieves and displays information about the buddy.  This information is also known as a Profile.

       Get Away Msg
	      If this buddy is in an Away state, this will retrieve and display the buddy's Away Message.

       Direct IM
	      This  will  send	a request to the buddy for a Direct IM.  If accepted, a direct connection will be made between the two clients, no
	      longer relying on the server.  This will reveal your IP address to your buddy, which may constitute a security risk.

The Conversation Window
       When starting a new conversation, the user is presented with the conversation window.  The conversation appears in the upper text  box  and
       the user types his message in the lower.  Between the two is a row of setting, represented by icons.  From left to right:

       Bold   adds <b></b> to your message

       Italics
	      adds <i></i> to your message

       Underline
	      adds <u></u> to your message

       Strikethrough
	      adds <s></s> to your message

       Decrease font size
	      adds <font size="1"></font> to your message

       Default font size
	      adds <font size="3"></font> to your message

       Increase font size
	      adds <font size="5"></font> to your message

       Select font face
	      adds an appropriate font tag to your message.

       Select a foreground color
	      adds an appropriate font tag to your message.

       Select a background color
	      adds an appropriate body tag to your message.

       Add hyperlink
	      adds an appropriate a href tag to your message.

       Add smiley
	      adds an ASCII smiley to your message.  This will become a graphic smiley in the upper textbox if the option for graphical smileys is
	      set.

       Enable logging
	      As the conversation continues, everything will get logged to a log file in ~/.gaim/logs

       Save Conversation
	      Saves the current conversation to a log file of your choice.

       Enable Sounds
	      Choose whether events in this conversation will trigger sounds.

	      Beneath the lower textbox is a row of buttons that execute commands:

       Send   This sends what's currently in the lower textbox

       Get Info
	      This gets information (a profile) about the other person in the conversation.

       Warn   This issues a warning to the other person in the conversation.

       Block  This adds the other person to your deny list.

       Add to buddy list
	      This adds this user to your buddy list.  If he already is on your list, it will remove him from it.

       Close  Closes this window.

Edit Buddies
       Clicking this tab on the Buddy List Window will invoke the main interface to edit and organize buddy lists.  Buddy's already in your  buddy
       list  can  be  moved to different groups or reordered in the same group by clicking and dragging with the mouse.  One can also add, rename,
       alias, or delete buddies here, as well as some of the functions available in the Buddy List Dialog.

       In the Edit Buddies dialog, the list is arranged by connection.	If two or more connections have a group of the same, the Buddy	List  will
       only show one group with that name.  Available buddies from both connections will be shown in this group.  If both connections have a buddy
       with the same screen name in a group of the same name, the buddy will appear only once.

Buddy Chat
       For protocols that allow it, Buddy Chats can be entered through the file menu, the keyboard shortcut CTRL+C, or the right  most	button	on
       the bottom of the uddy List Dialog.

       Additional commands available in chat, depending on the protocol are:

       Whisper
	      The text will appear in the chat conversation, but it will only be visible to the sender and the receiver.

       Invite Invite other people to join the chat room.

       Ignore Ignore anything said by the chosen person

       Set Topic
	      Set  the	topic  of  the	chat room.  This is usually a brief sentence describing the nature of the chat--an explanation of the chat
	      room's name.

AWAY MESSAGES

       Most protocols allow for away messages.	When a user is away, he can leave a message indicating why for others to see.  The away submenu of
       the Tools menu is used to add and remove away message, as well as to set a user's away state.

       New Away Message provides space for one to enter an away message and a title for that message.  If Save of Save & Use are chosen, this mes-
       sage will be saved.  It can later be referred to by the title given to it.

       Remove Away Message is a submenu containing the titles of saved away messages.  Clicking on one of these titles will remove the	away  mes-
       sage associated with it.

       The  rest  of the away menu provides the user with a way to assign different away messages to different connections.  Choosing Set All Away
       will set away all the connections capable of the away state.

BUDDY POUNCE

       A Buddy Pounce is an automated trigger that occurs when a buddy returns to a normal state from an away state.  A pounce can be set to occur
       on  any	combination of the events listed, and any combination of actions can result.  If Save this pounce after activation is checked, the
       trigger will remain until it is removed from the Remove buddy pounce menu.

ACCOUNT EDITOR

       The account editor consists of a list of accounts and information about them.  Clicking Add or Modify will invoke a Modify Account  window.
       Here,  you can alter information about your account.  When creating a new account, you will submit your screen name and password.  You will
       also choose your protocol; The two AIM protocols, TOC and OSCAR are always loaded, but  other  protocols  can  be  dynamically  loaded  and
       unloaded using Protocols Plugins (PRPLS).

       If Remember Password is chosen, the password will be saved in gaim's configuration file.

       If Auto-Login is chosen, this account will automatically login upon starting gaim.

       Each protocol has it's own specific options that can be found in the protocol-specific tab on the modify screen.

PERL

       Gaim  allows  for  perl	scripting.  This submenu provides for the loading of individual perl scripts and for the unloading of all of them.
       See PERL-HOWTO for more information about perl scripting.

PLUGINS

       Gaim allows for dynamic loading of plugins.  The plugin window shows the paths to loaded plugins on the left, and the name and  description
       of the plugin on the right.

       You may load and unload plugins using the appropriate buttons.

PREFERENCES

General
       Use Borderless Buttons
	      Change the appearence of the GUI's buttons.

       Show Buddy Ticker
	      This opens the Buddy Ticker, a small window in which the contents of your buddy list scroll to keep you up to date on their status.

       Show Debug Window
	      This opens a debug window into which gaim sends more verbose information about what it's doing.

       Report Idle Times
	      For protocol's that require the client to report idle times, this option sets the method of determining idle times.  If None is cho-
	      sen, idleness will not be reported.  If Gaim Use is chosen, it will send idle times relative to the last time gaim was used.   If  X
	      Use is chosen, idle times will be reported based on the last time the mouse or keyboard was used.

       Logging
	      Log all conversations will automatically log conversations into ~/.gaim/logs/.  Unless Strip HTML from logs is checked, they will be
	      saved as an HTML file with a .log extension.  The preferences window provides options to specify exactly what to log.

       Browser
	      Choose the Web Browser to use when a hyperlink is clicked.

Buddy List
       Hide IM/Info/Chat buttons
	      This option will remove the three buttons beneath the Buddy List in the Buddy List Window.

       Show pictures on buttons
	      If checked, the buttons will feature an icon, otherwise, the buttons will be text.

       Hide groups with no online buddies
	      This feature will only display a folder representing a group if there is at least one online buddy in it.

       Show numbers in groups
	      This feature displays the number of buddies in each group and the number of these online in the Buddy List.

       Show buddy type icons
	      This icon is a quick reference as to what protocol a buddy is using, and what away state, if any, he is in.

       Show Idle times
	      This shows how long a buddy has been idle next to his name.  Show warning levels This shows the warning level of a buddy next to his
	      name.

Conversations
       Keyboard Options
	      These options set certain keybindings.

       Show graphical smileys
	      This will convert emoticons such as :) and >:-O to small icons representing them.

       Show timestamp on messages
	      When selected, this option shows in the conversation window, the time each message was received or sent.

       Show URLs as links
	      This will convert URLs such as http://gaim.sourceforge.net to a hyperlink pointing to that site.

       Highlight misspelled words
	      While  typing a message, if a user misspells a word, it will immediately turn red.  Right-clicking on the word will invoke a menu of
	      possible corrections.

       Sending messages removes away status
	      If this option is selected, a user will come back from away if he sends a message to someone.

       Queue new messages when away
	      This option will cause new conversation windows not to be created until a user returns from away.  Instead, a  record  of  how  many
	      messages received and from whom they were received is shown in the away message window.

       Ignore colors/font faces/ font sizes
	      These options ignore font settings that can be set in HTML tags.

       Ignore TiK Automated Messages
	      AOL's open source TiK client gets a user's away message by sending him an automated message.  This option ignores those messages.

       Ignore new conversations when away
	      If checked, new conversations will be ignored entirely when away.  Unlike the Queue new messages when away option, no record will be
	      kept of these.

Windows
       Show buttons as:
	      This option selects the look of the buttons.

       Show all conversations in one tabbed window
	      Instead of seperate windows for each conversation, they are all shown in one window with tabs at the top to select the conversation.
	      A name on a tab will become red if a new message hasn't yet been read.

       Raise windows on events
	      When an event happens to a conversation, the conversation window will be raised above all other windows on the desktop.

       Show logins in window
	      This will show when buddies log in and out in the conversation window, if one is open for that buddy.

       Window size
	      Select the default size for new conversation windows.

Font Options
	These set the font preferences that are sent with all messages over a protocol that supports HTML.

Chat Rooms
       This is a list of available chat rooms and chat rooms that you are subscribed to.

Sounds
       No sounds when you log in
	      This will prevent sounds from playing when gaim is first notified of your buddy's presence because you just signed on.

       Sounds while away
	      This option will continue to play sounds on events if you are away.

       Beep instead of playing sound
	      This will cause a terminal beep instead of a sound upon events.

       Command to play sound files
	      If  you need a special command executed to play a sound, enter it in the given box with %s representing the filename.  If you prefer
	      gaim to play the sound, leave it blank.

       Events Choose sounds to play when each event occurs.

Away Messages
       Don't send auto-response
	      If someone sends the user a message while away, gaim will not respond with the away message if this is checked.

       Auto Away
	      If this is selected gaim will automatically go away if it's been idle for the specified length of time.

Privacy
       Here, the user can configure his permit/deny lists.

FILES

       ~/.gaimrc - Gaim Config File
       ~/.gaim/logs/SCREENNAME.log - a log of all conversation with SCREENNAME.
       /usr/local/lib/gaim/ - Gaim Plugin Files
       ~/.gaim/SCREENAME.PROTOCOL.blist - the buddy list for SCREENAME using protocol number PROTOCOL

BUGS

       Known bugs are at http://sourceforge.net/bugs/?group_id=235

BUG REPORTS

       If you find a bug in gaim, please submit a bug form at http://sourceforge.net/bugs/?group_id=235

       Before sending a bug report, please verify that you have the latest version of gaim.  Many  bugs  (major  and  minor)  are  fixed  at  each
       release, and if yours is out of date, the problem may already have been solved.

SEE ALSO

       http://gaim.sourceforge.net/ http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/gaim/

LICENSE

       This  program  is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
       the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

       This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY	WARRANTY;  without  even  the  implied	warranty  of  MER-
       CHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License for more details.

       You  should  have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
       Inc., 59 Temple PLace, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA

AUTHORS

       The authors of gaim are:

	Rob Flynn <rob@marko.net> - AIM: RobFlynn
	Sean Egan <bj91704@binghamton.edu> - AIM: SeanEgn
	Syd Logan

       The retired authors of gaim are:

	Jim Duchek <jim@linuxpimps.com> - AIM: Zilding
	Eric Warmenhoven <eric@warmenhoven.org>
	Mark Spencer <markster@marko.net> - AIM: Markster97

       This manpage was originally written by Dennis Ristuccia <dennis@dennisr.net> AIM: D3nnisR.  It has been updated and  largely  rewritten	by
       Sean Egan <bj91704@binghamton.edu> AIM: SeanEgn

																	   gaim(1)