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3. Getting started

3.1 Start eb-lite

Just type eb-lite in a terminal window somewhere (you can do this on a remote machine). You might want to type screen first, so you can later press Ctrl-A and then D to detach from it (and leave eb-lite running in the background). You can even log off. Type screen -r to re-attach later.

If you're doing this on a different machine or as a different user, keep the numbers eb-lite displays on startup, you'll need them to connect.

3.2 Start EbQt

EbQt doesn't install any shortcuts yet, you need to type ebqt in a terminal, though in most desktop environments you can make your own shortcut: the program name (or path, or command) is ebqt, or failing that /usr/local/bin/ebqt.

See also Problems starting EbQt.

3.3 Connect to eb-lite

You should see something like this. Enter the address of the machine running eb-lite (if it's the same one running EbQt you can leave it at "localhost"), and set the cookie numbers to the ones eb-lite gave when it started (reading from left to right from the top). If the two programs are on the same machine then they should already be set correctly, and you can press "Local cookie" to make sure. Then just click Connect. If you're successful, you will be taken to another tab, otherwise, the other tabs will remain disabled.

See also Problems connecting to eb-lite.

3.4 Add a local account

Click the accounts tab to see what accounts you have (if you have none, you'll already be there). Click the add button (just above the tabs) to add one, and you'll see this dialog:

The add dialog lets you add more than local accounts, for now you'll want to pick a service from the list and enter your handle (username, or for some services, your email address, or for IRC (or any other services where all servers aren't necessarily linked), your nickname and the server, in the form somenickname@irc.somewhere.net). Notice that services have colours, these are attached to accounts on the buddies tab as well.

Note that for services other than IRC, this must be an account that already exists. For some services you can create an account by going to a web page, for others you'll need to use that service's supplied software (just once).

You should then be able to click add, and you should see something like this:

Now you just need to set the preferences, and click Apply. MSN, for example, needs a password and a "friendly name".

3.5 Sign in

Once you have a local account, you can sign in. You can click the leftmost button of the toolbar to sign in all accounts, or on the accounts tab you can just change the status box to something other than Offline (there should be something like "Online" or "Available" in the choices).

You can then move on to the "Buddies" tab.

3.6 Add some contacts

If the service is one that keeps your contact list on the server (MSN, ICQ, AIM, and several others do), your contact list will be downloaded autmatically and you can skip this part. Otherwise, click the add button and this time enter something as a group for the contact. Notice how you're then allowed to enter a contact to add at the same time. If you entered an existing group, you can't click add until the contact is one that doesn't exist. The same rules apply to the account box, except that you must pick a valid local account to attach the account to as well. In short, the add button is enabled once there is something new to add.

3.7 Talk to someone

Once you have a contact list, double click a contact (or an account under them if you specifically want to use that account) to open a conversation window. Then, as with most messaging programs, type in the lower box and hit enter (or the Send button). You should see your message in the upper box. Hopefully, your contact should respond. You just started your first conversation with EbQt! :-)

If a contact is idle or away, their icon will be dimmed and their status shown next to them. The icon for the contact, as opposed to the account, indicates which service would be used to contact them if you simply double-clicked the contact. You can change this order by right-clicking an account and choosing "make preferred", though if some accounts are away, they automatically have a lower priority (offline is lower still).

3.8 Getting more help

If you're not sure what a button does, most of them have tooltips, which you'll see if you just hover on them for a couple of seconds with the pointer. I've tried to make most error messages descriptive enough to indicate what to do next. If in doubt, try the Troubleshooting section. If all else fails, see Contacting the authors.


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