Difference between revisions of "Usage Messages"

Revision as of 02:29, 7 December 2005

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Description

The Messages window allows you to talk with other ed2k and Kad netowork users. It also provide an easy way to keep a list of friends on the network to easily contact and share files.

The messages window looks like this:

http://www.amule.org/dev-up/window_messages1.jpg

Usage

We must understand that the Messages window has two different purposes:

• Keeping a list of friends
• Contacting other clients

Friends list

The Friends list is located to the left of the window:

http://www.amule.org/dev-up/window_messages2.jpg

It is a place where you can keep a list of friends. Once a client is in your friend list it will never be removed unless you explicitely ask to do so. This allows to easily locate your friends (since they are always on your friends list, even if they are not known to be online) without having to scroll through all the known clients list in the Transfers window.

Each item listed in the list is a friend client.

http://www.amule.org/dev-up/window_messages6.jpg

The following operations can be perfomed from the friends list:

Add a friend

You may want to add a friend to the friends list. If so, right click on the list and select Add a friend.

http://www.amule.org/dev-up/window_messages8.jpg

This will open a new window.

http://www.amule.org/dev-up/window_messages24.jpg

Here you must fill the first two fields (IP and port) with the IP and port (the main TCP port) of the client you want to add as a friend.

Additionally you may want to enter the cleint's username. This will be useful while the client isn't conntacted since it will be displayed in the list with that username instead of the IP address. Once the client is reached, hte displayed name will be replaced with the username the client is really using.

Also additionally, you can provide the client's userhash. This makes it harder for another client to be mistaken with your friend. Let me explain: when you provide the IP address and the port, many clients use dynamic IPs, so if your friend changed the IP, maybe another client is using it. Since most clients use the same port, chances are that it is possible (allthough hard to happen) that sometimes you think you are contacting a friend which actually isn't the client you thought it would be. By providing your friend's userhash it is almost impossible for this to happen, since every client in the network has a unique userhash.

Remove friend

If you select a friend, right-click over it and select the Remove Friend item you will remove that client from your friends list.

http://www.amule.org/dev-up/window_messages19.jpg

You can also remove a friend by selecting it and pressing the SUPR key on the keyboard.

Send message

There are two ways to send a message.

First, you can right click over the friend you want to send a message to and select the item Send Message.

http://www.amule.org/dev-up/window_messages20.jpg

The alternate, more straight-forward, way is by double clicking on the friend.

Both methods will open a new chat tab to begin a conversation.

Show details

If you select a friend, right-click over it and select the Show Details you will be able to see the client details of that client.

http://www.amule.org/dev-up/window_messages21.jpg

This option might be disabled if the friend is not confirmed to be online.

View files

By selecting a friend, right-clicking over it and selecting View Files you can request that client (friend) to give a list of the files it is sharing.

http://www.amule.org/dev-up/window_messages22.jpg

If the request succeedes, the list of files will be available in the Searches window. The tab name will be the username of the friend.

Usually, however, this requst will fail, since by default, for security issues, sharing the shared files list is denied. You will notice if the request failed because it will be reported in the log and, therefore, in the status bar:

http://www.amule.org/dev-up/window_messages17.jpg

Establish a friend slot

You have a very powerfull option which only friends are able to be given: establishing an upload slot (friend slot).

Have in mind that only one friend at a time can be given the friend slot.

To give a friend the upload slot, select the friend from the friends list, right-click over it and select the Establish Friend Slot.

http://www.amule.org/dev-up/window_messages23.jpg

This option might be disabled if the friend is not confirmed to be online.

Messaging

If you have sent a message or started a chat dialog with a client or friend you will want to look at the messaging dialog.

http://www.amule.org/dev-up/window_messages3.jpg

Chatting

Once a chat has began, a chat tab will appear:

http://www.amule.org/dev-up/window_messages15.jpg

On the chat tab you will see all the messages you have sent/recieved to the other user, that is, the whole conversation.

http://www.amule.org/dev-up/window_messages14.jpg

Each message is preceded with the time it was sent/received and the username of the client who sent the message (so that you know which messages are yours and which aren't). Your username is displayed in green while the other client's name is displayed in blue. This coulred display helps keeping a syncronized conversation.

You will also see control messages such as connection and disconnection messages, control data scuh as the IP and pot of the other user and other information which might be useful.

To send a message, make sure you are on the tab of the user you want to send the message to. Then enter the message in the message box.

http://www.amule.org/dev-up/window_messages12.jpg

To send it, either type the ENTER key on the keyboard or click on the Send button.

http://www.amule.org/dev-up/window_messages13.jpg

Close a conversation

To stop an active search just click on the Close button (or close the active tab as explained later in this article):

http://www.amule.org/dev-up/window_messages7.jpg

Tabs

Main descriptions and usage

Whenever you start a chat a tab is displayed:

http://www.amule.org/dev-up/window_messages15.jpg

If you now start another chat, a new tab will appear and the other chat tab(s) will go to background leaving the new tab in forground:

http://www.amule.org/dev-up/window_messages16.jpg

Each tab shows a text which corresponds to the username of the client you are talking to on that tab.

http://www.amule.org/dev-up/window_messages18.jpg

If you click on any of the tabs, you will switch to the chat you are/were having with the client who's username is in the tab title. This allows you to have multple chats simultaneously.

Close a tab

When passing the mouse over the friend icon in the tab, the icon will become an 'X' button, which allows you to close the tab by clicking it.

http://www.amule.org/dev-up/window_messages9.jpg

Also, as explained before, you can just click the Close.

Scroll tabs

When there are enough openned tabs not to fit in the window you will be able to scroll through the tabs by using the two arrows displayed to the right and left of the tabs.

http://www.amule.org/dev-up/window_messages10.jpg

Tabs extended options (right-click) menu

By right clicking on a tab you get a menu like this:

http://www.amule.org/dev-up/window_messages11.jpg

Selecting Close tab option will close the selected tab.

Selecting Close all tabs will close all tabs.

Selecting Close other tabs will close all tabs except for the one selected.

Detecting incoming messages

If you are not expecting a message or you are not viewing the Messages window, you may still notice when new messages arrive. You have two ways to notice:

When a message arrives and you are not in the Messages window, the Messages icon in the Toolbar will blink blue and red.

http://www.amule.org/dev-up/window_messages4.jpg

Also, whenever a message arrives, the log text in the Status bar will say so.

http://www.amule.org/dev-up/window_messages5.jpg

Miscellaneous

Even if you are only connected to the ed2k network and hte other client is only connected to the Kad network, you will still be able to talk. An viceversa. Even if you aren't connected to any network at all!

The only requisite is that both you and the other client are online with your *Mule client and know each other.

Overview

http://www.amule.org/dev-up/window_messages25.jpg