Managing Your Accounts
Accounts window allows you to add, delete, or modify accounts you use for instant messaging and chat. You can also use it to connect (sign on) or disconnect (sign off) using one of these accounts.
To open Accounts window, click on Accounts button in login window or choose Tools->Accounts in Buddy List Window.
Signing on and off
The Online column of the accounts window shows you which of your accounts are currently signed on. To sign on one of your accounts, check the checkbox in the Online column. To sign off, uncheck the checkbox.
Adding an Account
 | NOTE |
|---|---|
As described in the Section called Protocols and Registration, for most protocols you must get an account by filling a form on the appropriate web site using your web browser. Only after getting an account name and password on the web site you can add this account in Gaim. Notable exceptions are IRC protocol which requires no previous registration and Jabber protocol, for which you can use Gaim to create an account. |
To add an account in Gaim, click on Add button in Accounts window. This will open Add Account dialog.
In Add Account dialog, you should first select the protocol used by this account (see the Section called Protocols and Registration for discussion of available protocols) and then enter account information. The following fields are common for all protocols.
- Screenname
Screen name, also called account name, or user name. This is the name you were assigned when creating the account. For IRC, you can choose any name you like; if someone already uses the same name in the IRC channel you are trying to join, Gaim will ask you to select a different name.
- Password
This is the password you were assigned when creating the account. For IRC, leave this field blank unless you know that the server you will be connecting to is password-protected.
- Alias
This is the name Gaim will use to show your messages in the conversation window. If you leave this field blank, Gaim will use your screen name.
Setting an alias will not change the name under which you have registered your account. It will not affect how your messages show on other people's computers, just how your messages are shown to you.
- Remember password
If this option is selected, Gaim will remember the password for this account so you do not need to retype it every time you log in.
WARNING The remembered passwords are stored in unencrypted form in a file on your computer. Do not use this option if you do not trust the security of your own computer (for example, if you share your computer account with other people).
- Auto-login
If this option is selected, Gaim will automatically sign on to this account when you start Gaim. You can also sign on and sign off an account manually at any time as described in the Section called Signing on and off.
- New mail notifications
This option is available for AIM/ICQ, MSN, and Yahoo! protocols. If this option is selected, Gaim will inform you when a new email message is received by the corresponding email account.
In addition to the common options above, for some protocols there are additional options available.
- AIM/ICQ
Buddy Icon File. This option allows you to select an icon to be used to show you in other people's buddy lists and conversation windows. The icon should be in one of the standard graphics formats (jpeg, png, gif) and be small in size (not more than 48 by 48 pixels). You can use animated gifs.
- IRC
Server. This is the name of IRC server you will be connecting to, for example irc.freenode.net. You will need a separate account for each IRC server.
- Jabber
Server. This is the name of Jabber server you will be connecting to, for example ????.
Resource. See Jabber web page for explanation of this.
- Zephyr
Zephyr protocol uses your user name (which you used to log in to the computer) as your screen name, so there is no need to enter your sceen name and password in account creation dialog. If you do enter them, they will be ignored.
Editing an Existing Account
To modify an existing account, select it in the Accounts window and click on Modify. This will open the Modify Account window in which you can change varius options for this account. See the Section called Adding an Account for description of these options.
Note that if you want to change your screen name or password for any account other than IRC, you should follow instructions provided on the corresponding web page (see the Section called Protocols and Registration; only after this you should use Modify Account dialog to make the changes in Gaim. If you cahnge the screen name or password in Modify Account dialog without first making the change with the service provider, you will be unable to sign on.
Deleting an Account
To delete an account, select it in the Accounts window and click on Delete.
Deleting an account just removes it from the list of accounts used by Gaim. Your screenname and password remain valid and can be used with another IM client, or you can use them again should you decide to add this account back in Gaim.