doc/pidgin.1.in

.\" Copyright (c) 2000, Dennis Ristuccia <dennis@dennisr.net>
.\"
.\" This is free documentation; 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.
.\"
.\" The GNU General Public License's references to "object code"
.\" and "executables" are to be interpreted as the output of any
.\" document formatting or typesetting system, including
.\" intermediate and printed output.
.\"
.\" This manual is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
.\" but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
.\" MERCHANTABILITY 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 manual; if not, write to the Free
.\" Software Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139,
.\" USA.
.TH pidgin 1
.SH NAME
Pidgin v@VERSION@ \- Instant Messaging client
.SH SYNOPSIS
.TP 5
\fBpidgin \fI[options]\fR

.SH DESCRIPTION
.PP
\fBpidgin\fR is a graphical modular messaging client based on libpurple
which is capable of connecting to AIM, MSN, Yahoo!, XMPP, ICQ, IRC, SILC,
Novell GroupWise, Lotus Sametime, Zephyr, Gadu-Gadu, and QQ all at once. It has
many common features found in other clients, as well as many unique features.
Finch is not endorsed by or affiliated with America Online, ICQ, Microsoft, or
Yahoo.

.SH OPTIONS
The following options are provided by Pidgin using the standard GNU
command line syntax:
.TP
.B \-c, \-\-config=\fIDIR\fB
Use \fIDIR\fR as the directory for config files instead of \fI~/.purple\fR.
.TP
.B \-d, \-\-debug
Print debugging messages to stdout.  These are the same debugging messages
that are displayed in the \fBDebug Window\fR.
.TP
.B \-h, \-\-help
Print a summary of command line options and exit.
.TP
.B \-n, \-\-nologin
Don't automatically login when Pidgin starts.  Sets the global status to
\fBOffline\fR.
.TP
.B \-l, \-\-login[=\fINAME\fR,\fINAME\fR,...]
Sign in the comma-separated list of accounts provided, in addition to the
accounts that would be logged in anyway.  If you do not specify such a
comma-separated list, your first account will be signed in.
.TP
.B \-v, \-\-version
Print the current version and exit.

.SH BUDDY LIST
The \fBBuddy List\fR window is Pidgin's main interface window.  Using
this window you can see which of your buddies is online, away, idle, etc.
You can also add and remove buddies from your buddy list.

The \fBBuddy List\fR window contains a list of your buddies who are online
and have allowed you to be notified of their presence.  The icon to the
left of each buddy indicates the buddy's current state and the protocol
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
discussed later.
.TP
.B View Log
Pidgin is capable of automatically log its activities.  These logs are
either plain text files (with a .txt extension) or html files (with a
\&.html extension) located under the \fI~/.purple/logs\fR directory.  This
menu command will display Pidgin's log viewer with logs loaded for that
buddy or chat.
.TP
.B 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 conversations.

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.
.LP
The remainder of the menu will consist of protocol specific commands.
These commands vary depending on the protocol.
.LP
At the bottom of the \fBBuddy List\fR are several buttons (if enabled in
\fBPreferences\fR):
.TP
.B IM
Opens a new \fBConversation\fR window to to the selected buddy, or brings
up the \fBNew Message\fR dialog box if no buddy is selected.
.TP
.B Info
Retrieves and display information about the selected buddy, or brings up
the \fBGet User Info\fR dialog box if no buddy is selected.
.TP
.B Chat
Brings up the \fBJoin Chat\fR dialog box, prompting the user to select
which username to use and what chat group to join.
.TP
.B Away
Brings up a menu of all available \fBAway Messages\fR.  If an item is
selected, all online accounts will use this item as their away message.

.SH ACCOUNT EDITOR
The account editor consists of a list of accounts and information about
them.  Clicking \fIDelete\fR will delete the currently selected account.
Clicking \fIAdd\fR or \fIModify\fR will invoke a \fBModify Account\fR
window.  Here, you can add or alter account information.  When creating a
new account, you will submit your screen name and password.  You will also
choose your protocol.

If \fIRemember Password\fR is chosen, the password will be saved in
Pidgin's configuration file.

If \fIAuto-Login\fR is chosen, this account will automatically login upon
starting Pidgin.

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

.SH PREFERENCES

All options take effect immediately.

.SH Interface

\fIDisplay remote nicknames if no alias is set\fR: Toggles whether server
nickname data should be used if no local alias exists.

.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.

\fIShow buttons as\fR: Toggles between picture-only, text-only, picture and
text or no buttons view of the buttons on the \fBBuddy List\fR.

\fIRaise window on events\fR: Tells Pidgin to bring the \fBBuddy
List\fR window to the top when buddies sign in or out.

\fIShow numbers in groups\fR: The number of buddies from each group
currently logged in will be shown along with the total number of buddies in
the group.

\fIShow buddy icons\fR: Toggles the display of buddies' custom icons.

\fIShow warning levels\fR: Each buddy's warning level will be displayed
next to the screen name. As a buddy's warning level increases, outgoing
messages are more and more severely rate-limited.

\fIShow idle times\fR: The amount of time each buddy has been idle will be
displayed next to the screen name (if the buddy has opted to have their
client report this information).

\fIDim idle buddies\fR: If enabled, idle buddies will be displayed in grey
text instead of black text.

\fIAutomatically expand contacts\fR: If enabled, contacts will
automatically expand to show the associated buddies when the mouse is held
over the contact for a short period.

.SH Conversations

\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.

\fIShow formatting toolbar\fR: Display the formatting toolbar between the
upper and lower text boxes in conversations.

\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 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 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 Pidgin 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 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).

.TP
.B Sound Events
Lets the user choose when and what sounds are to be played.

.SH Network

.TP
.B IP Address
\fIAutodetect IP Address\fR: Pidgin will attempt to automatically determine
your IP address for use in file transfers and Direct IMs.

\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 Pidgin to operate through a proxy
server.  Pidgin currently supports SOCKS 4/5 and HTTP proxies.

.SH Browser

Allows the user to select Pidgin'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
browser use a new window instead of using the current window (or spawning a
new tab).

.SH Logging

\fIMessage Logs\fR lets the user choose whether \fBConversations\fR and/or
\fBBuddy Chats\fR will be logged as well as whether logs will be in HTML or
plain text format.  \fISystem Logs\fR describes the types of events to be
logged.

.SH Away / Idle

\fIQueue new messages when away\fR: Messages received since going Away will
not be shown until away status is removed.

\fISend auto-response\fR: If someone messages you while away, your
auto-response will be sent.

\fIOnly send auto-response when idle\fR: If someone messages you while
away, your auto-response will only be sent if Pidgin decides that the
connection is idle.

\fIIdle time reporting\fR: If \fINone\fR is selected, account idle time
will not be reported.  \fIPidgin usage\fR infers your idle time from your
usage of Pidgin.  \fIX usage\fR infers your idle time from \fBX\fR
(this option may not be universally available).

\fIAuto-away\fR: Determines if and under what conditions Pidgin will
automatically turn on the Away status.

.TP
.B Away Messages
Lets the user add/edit/remove available \fBAway Messages\fR.

.SH Plugins

Allows the user to enable add-on plugins for Pidgin.  Several of these
come with Pidgin, while others must be downloaded separately.  The
\fIDescription\fR field gives the plugin author's description of the
plugin, while the \fIDetails\fR field gives the plugin's authorship, URL,
and file name/location information.

Some plugins can be configured.  If you load such a plugin, its
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
and the user types his/her message in the lower text box.  Between the two
is a row of settings, represented by icons.  Some or all buttons may not be
active if the protocol does not support the specific formatting. From left
to right:
.TP
.B Bold
Turns on/off bold.
.TP
.B Italics
Turns on/off italics.
.TP
.B Underline
Turns on/off underline.
.TP
.B Decrease font size
Increases the size of the message text.
.TP
.B Increase font size
Decreases the size of the message text.
.TP
.B Select a foreground color
Changes the foreground color of the message text.
.TP
.B Select a background color
Changes the background color of the message text.
.TP
.B Add image
Inserts an in-line image in the message.
.TP
.B Add hyperlink
Adds a clickable link to the message.
.TP
.B Add smiley
Adds an emoticon (smiley) to your message.

Beneath the lower text box is a row of buttons that execute commands:
.TP
.B Warn
This issues a warning to the other person in the conversation (not
available in all protocols).
.TP
.B Block
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
Pidgin 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.
.TP
.B Remove
This removes this user from your buddy list.  This option is not available
if the user is not on your list.
.TP
.B Info
This gets information (a profile) about the other person in the
conversation (not available in all protocols).
.TP
.B Send
This sends what's currently in the lower text box

.SH BUDDY CHATS
For protocols that allow it, \fBBuddy Chats\fR can be entered through the
\fIFile\fR menu or the \fIChat\fR button at the bottom of the \fBBuddy
List\fR's \fBOnline\fR tab.

Additional commands available in chat, depending on the protocol are:
.TP
.B Whisper
The text will appear in the chat conversation, but it will only be visible
to the sender and the receiver.
.TP
.B Invite
Invite other people to join the chat room.
.TP
.B Ignore
Ignore anything said by the chosen person
.TP
.B 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.

.SH AWAY MESSAGES
Most protocols allow for away messages.  When a user is \fIAway\fR, he can
leave an informative message for others to see.  The \fBAway\fR submenu of
the \fBTools\fR menu is used to add and remove away messages.

\fINew Away Message\fR provides space for one to enter an away message and
a title for that message.  If \fISave\fR or \fISave & Use\fR are chosen,
this message will be saved.  It can later be referred to by the title given
to it.

\fIRemove Away Message\fR is a submenu containing the titles of saved away
messages.  Clicking on one of these titles will remove the away message
associated with it.

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

.SH BUDDY POUNCE
A Buddy Pounce is an automated trigger that occurs when a buddy returns to
a normal state from an away state.  The \fBNew Buddy Pounce\fR dialog box
can be activated by selecting the \fIBuddy Pounce\fR submenu from the
\fBTools\fR menu. A pounce can be set to occur on any combination of the
events listed, and any combination of actions can result.  If \fISave this
pounce after activation\fR is checked, the trigger will remain until it is
removed from the \fIRemove Buddy Pounce\fR menu.

.SH PLUGINS
Pidgin allows for dynamic loading of plugins to add extra functionality
to Pidgin.  Plugins can be enabled and configured from the
\fBPreferences\fR window.  See \fIplugins/HOWTO\fR for more information on
writing plugins.

.SH PERL
Pidgin allows for perl scripting.  See \fIPerl Scripting HOWTO\fR in
the Pidgin documentation for more information about perl scripting.

.SH TCL
Pidgin allows for Tcl scripting. See \fIplugins/tcl/TCL-HOWTO\fR for
more information about Tcl scripting.

.SH FILES
\fI@prefix@/bin/pidgin\fR: Pidgin's location.
.br
\fI@prefix@/lib/pidgin/\fR: Pidgin's plugins directory.
.br
\fI~/.purple/prefs.xml\fR: Pidgin's configuration file.
.br
\fI~/.purple/accounts.xml\fR: information about your accounts.
.br
\fI~/.purple/status.xml\fR: stores your away messages.
.br
\fI~/.purple/pounces.xml\fR: stores your buddy pounces.
.br
\fI~/.purple/logs/PROTOCOL/ACCOUNT/SCREENNAME/DATE.{html,txt}\fR: conversation logs.
.br
\fI~/.purple/blist.xml\fR: the buddy list.
.br
\fI~/.purple/plugins/\fR: users local plugins

.SH BUGS
The bug tracker can be reached by visiting:
.br
\fIhttp://developer.pidgin.im/report\fR

.SH PATCHES
If you fix a bug in Pidgin (or otherwise enhance it), please submit a
patch (using \fImtn diff > my.diff\fR against the latest version from the
Monotone repository) at
.br
\fIhttp://developer.pidgin.im/newticket\fR

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

.SH SEE ALSO
\fIhttp://pidgin.im/\fR

.SH 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
\fBWITHOUT ANY WARRANTY\fR; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY 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., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA  02111-1301  USA

.SH AUTHORS
Pidgin's active developers are:

 Sean Egan (lead developer) <\fIseanegan@gmail.com\fR>
.br
 Daniel 'datallah' Atallah (developer)
.br
 Ethan 'Paco-Paco' Blanton (developer)
.br
 Thomas Butter (developer)
.br
 Ka-Hing Cheung (developer)
.br
 Sadrul Habib Chowdhury (developer)
.br
 Mark 'KingAnt' Doliner (developer) <\fIthekingant@users.sourceforge.net\fR>
.br
 Christian 'ChipX86' Hammond (developer & webmaster) <\fIchipx86@chipx86.com\fR>
.br
 Gary 'grim' Kramlich (developer)
.br
 Richard 'rlaager' Laager (developer) <\fIrlaager@pidgin.im\fR>
.br
 Richard 'wabz' Nelson (developer)
.br
 Christopher 'siege' O'Brien (developer)
.br
 Bartosz Oler (developer)
.br
 Etan 'deryni' Reisner (developer)
.br
 Tim 'marv' Ringenbach (developer) <\fImarv_sf@users.sf.net\fR>
.br
 Luke 'LSchiere' Schierer (support)
.br
 Megan 'Cae' Schneider (support/QA)
.br
 Evan Schoenberg (developer)
.br
 Stu 'nosnilmot' Tomlinson (developer)
.br
 Nathan 'faceprint' Walp (developer)
.br


Our crazy patch writers include:

John 'rekkanoryo' Bailey
.br
Felipe 'shx' Contreras
.br
Decklin Foster
.br
Casey Harkins
.br
Peter 'Bleeter' Lawler
.br
Robert 'Robot101' McQueen
.br
Benjamin Miller
.br
Kevin 'SimGuy' Stange
.br


The retired developers of \fBgaim\fR are:

 Herman Bloggs (win32 port) <\fIherman@bluedigits.com\fR>
.br
 Jim Duchek <\fIjim@linuxpimps.com\fR> (maintainer)
.br
 Rob Flynn <\fIgaim@robflynn.com\fR> (maintainer)
.br
 Adam Fritzler (libfaim maintainer)
.br
 Syd Logan (hacker and designated driver [lazy bum])
.br
 Jim Seymour (Jabber developer)
.br
 Mark Spencer (original author) <\fImarkster@marko.net\fR>
.br
 Eric Warmenhoven (former lead developer) <\fIeric@warmenhoven.org\fR>
.br

This manpage was originally written by Dennis Ristuccia <\fIdennis@dennisr.net\fR>.  It has been updated and largely rewritten by Sean Egan <\fIseanegan@gmail.com\fR> and Ben Tegarden <\fItegarden@uclink.berkeley.edu\fR>.