Communicating through Gaim

Using Gaim to communicate with other IM clients is a straightforward process. The following instructions show how to use Gaim to communicate with Gaim's default service, AIM (AOL Instant Messenger).


Sending messages
The following instructions use Gaim to contact and start communicating with others using AIM:

1. Open the Gaim application, if necessary, by choosing Internet --> Gaim Internet Messenger from the GNOME Applications menu.

The Gaim Buddy List window opens. Another Gaim dialog, showing a text box in which you type your IM account password, opens if you chose not to save your IM account password when configuring Gaim; the section "Registering with Instant Message services" describes the configuration process.

2. If necessary, type your password in the Enter Password text box, immediately below the Enter password for User heading, in the Gaim dialog.

Gaim logs in to your AIM account and displays a message in the bottom of the Buddy List window telling you that your account is available.

3. Click the Buddies menu and select the New Instant Message option. The New Instant Message dialog opens.

4. Type the name of the person (buddy) you want to contact and click the OK button.
The Gaim window opens.

5. You can start chatting:
a. Type a message in the lower subwindow.
b. Press the Send button in the lower-right corner of the Gaim window.

Testing, 1-2-3-4, testing. If you're new to IM and don't know anyone who uses it, you can simply talk to yourself. (Chatting with yourself might not be particularly interesting, but it does demonstrate how the system works.) Follow these steps:
a. Open a Gaim window and sign in as described in these instructions.
b. Select your own name in Step 4.
A second Gaim window opens. Whatever message you type in one window is displayed in the other window.


Adding buddies
You'll accumulate contacts as you use Gaim. Gaim provides a convenient method for saving contact information with AIM (the default Gaim service). Here's how to use it:

1. In the Buddy List window, click the Buddies menu and select the Add Buddy option.
The Add Buddy dialog opens.

2. Type the screen name and the alias for your contact.
The screen name is valid only for the IM service the person is registered for. The alias is the name Gaim knows the contact as; that is, Gaim uses the alias to locate the contact on your Ubuntu computer.

3. If you want to categorize your new Buddy, select your contact's category from the Group drop-down menu.
For instance, Friend is the default.

4. Select the IM service provider from the Account drop-down menu.

5. Click the Add button.

6. In the Buddies window, click the Buddies menu and select New Instant Message.
The New Instant Message dialog opens, and you can type the contact's alias in the Name text box to contact that person.

Source of information : For Dummies Ubuntu Linux For Dummies