Using Gtk+Licq

This section will explain how to use Gtk+Licq based on the default settings. You can make Gtk+Licq behave differently, if you so desire, but this covers the basics(more about that in the Customization section).

If this your first time using Licq then you must register an icq-user. This is done with the registration wizard which should appear on the screen automatically. Once it is finished, you simply add your friends to your contact list.

Basic usage

Main window

The main window allows you to send or receive messages from specific users on your contact list. Left-clicking on a name in the contact list will produce a drop-down menu which allows you to perform tasks related to that user. The most common of these is to send or receive a basic message, or receive a message that has been sent to you. To send a message you select the kind of message you like to send via the 'Send' submenu. To read a incoming message you simply select the 'View Event' menu item. You can also send or receive messages by double-clicking on that user. Which window appears will depend on whether or not there are incoming unread messages from that user. If you have a unread message from that user, the view window will appear.

Incoming messages are indicated by a message, url, file, chat or contact list icon. The message statusbar will also tell you how many new messages you have, and will inform you about system messages. A shortcut to read incoming messages is to double-click on the message statusbar icon.

For the users that don't like to use the mouse to select users, there is a quick search feature. Simply type the beginning of the alias and that user will be selected. When you press Return or Enter the send or view window for that user will popup (once again, depending on whether there are queued messages). To see what user is selected I suggest you enable the 'Select active user' in the Contactlist options. If you make a typo, you can press Escape to cancel what you have typed and start over.

Another important thing you do in the main window is set your status. This is done by left-clicking on the statusbar (that shows your current status) and selecting the desired status. Various choices will bring up an autoresponse window where you can set a message that is automatically sent out to users who send you messages while you are away. This window has a few default messages, all of which may be altered to in the Status options. A shortcut here is to double-click on the statusbar, this will automatically set you in your previous status.

User management

This section briefly covers the management of users in your contact list.

Send

The send window allows you to send different messages to people on your contact list. There are several types of messages, but the most commonly used is the plaintext message. Also frequently used is the Netscape message, which can be used to send a web URL to someone.

Receive

When you open the receive dialog, you get a split window consisting of new messages in the top window and message contents in the lower window. When the window opens the first unread message is selected and shown. To read another message you simply click on its header in the top window.

Random chat

Information

You can find information about users in your contact list by left-clicking on a user and selecting the information category from the Info submenu. You can also edit/view your own information by selecting one of the info menu entries in the