Introduction

Paltalk is a realtime text and voice chat program.  You should have at least two people on your list by the time you open the program, the person who mailed you the program and the Helpline.  Feel free to call the Helpline, Paltalk's online help facility, to get answers to all of your questions.


How to talk

When you open the program, online users will appear in bold type.  To audio call a user, double click on their name.  Once they answer, click the talk button on the bottom right to speak and unclick (i.e., click again) the talk button to listen.


How to hang up

There are several ways to hang up a connection:

A.  Double-click on an existing connection.

B.  Use the right click menu item.

C.  Click the middle button which shows a phone off the hook.


How to text chat

Single-click a highlighted user and then click on the text button, the button in the lower left part of the application.  You can also activate a text session with the right-click menu.  Double click offline pals as well and leave them a text message for the next time they login.


How to add users

Click the "Add" application tab, fill out the blank fields, and click "search".  You need not put in full names or fill in all the fields.  Even a single letter will do.


The right click menu

Most functions are also accessible with a right click menu which may be seen by right-clicking on a user (whether online or offline).


Voice Activation

Voice activation can be selected by clicking on the "Menu Tab" and then

clicking "Voice Activation".  This feature will allow you to leave the

"talk" button persistently down.  That is, you will no longer need to click

"talk" and "listen" after each transmission.

Once voice activation is selected, a red meter will be displayed with an up

and down arrow visible to the right.  When you speak, the meter will move

upward and should meet or exceed the black threshold line.  If it does not,

lower the threshold by clicking on the down arrow.  If the red meter far

exceeds the threshold, raise the level by clicking the up arrow.

It is equally important to watch the level of the meter when audio is

received.  The level should remain below the threshold otherwise the other

user will experience excessive echo and feedback.  Once this level is set,

it no longer needs adjustment.

N.B.  An ideal solution for users who can not find a suitable setting would

be to use headphones.  This would insure no feedback and allow for easy,

hands free conversation.


Send Paltalk

You may send Paltalk to your friends by clicking on the Menu Tab and selecting "Send Paltalk".  A dialog box will then appear for you to type in your pal's email address.  Send the program to as many pals as you like since the more pals you send it to, the more people you will have to talk to!


Audio Test

If you are not able to hear your pals or your pals are not able to hear you, select Audio Test from the Menu to see that your settings are correctly configured.  You should be able to hear a sample audio file being played and to record and playback your own recording.


Logon New User

If multiple people would like to use Paltalk on the same computer, you can select "Logon New User" from the menu that will give you a dialog box for you to put in another valid Paltalk user and password.  This will switch users so that your personal pal list will replace the default users.


Create New User

When you open paltalk, you will be give the choice of creating a new user.  All you have to do is click "new user" and then fill in the user information dialogs.  Once created, the new user will have their personal PalList and password.  Users may switch while online by clicking "Menu" and "Switch User".  You will then be prompted to input the user's email address and password.


Password Reset

You may change your password at any time by clicking "Menu" and "Change Password".  You will then be prompted to input the new password and confirm it.


Always On Top

You have the option of  keeping Paltalk always visible by clicking "Menu" and "Always On Top".  If you choose to uncheck "Always On Top", then your active window will display with Paltalk in the background.

Please note that your choice will be saved for future Paltalk sessions as well so that you do not have to reinput your choice each time.  This is also true for your choice of "Voice Activation".


Text Messaging

While text chatting with other users, you can cut, paste or save any of the text sent to you by using the Menu options available within the Realtime Text Message window.  Also, by clicking "View", you can timestamp your text messages so that your messages contain the current date and time.


FAQ

    Questions:

    1. What do I need to use Paltalk?

    2. Will Paltalk 0.x work with firewalls?

    3. What are the best audio settings for Paltalk?

    4. Why won't Paltalk start?

    5. Can I use Paltalk in hands-free mode?

    6. How can I tell other people about Paltalk?

    7. How can two people use Paltalk on the same computer?

    8. Sometimes the audio is jerky.  What is wrong?

    Answers:

    1. A PC running windows 95, 98, or NT, a soundcard, microphone, speakers and an internet connection

    2. Yes and No- depending on your firewall software and configuration the paltalk client may or may not work. At worst (firewall blocks tcp and udp), you will not be able to use Paltalk at all.  Slightly better, (firewall blocks udp) you will be able to connect to the Paltalk server, but will only be able to send and receive audio with other Paltalk users within your firewall. Drop us a line if you need more information to configure your firewall to work properly with Paltalk.

    3.  In the playback volume control (open volume controls), don't mute wave or master out. For recording (click on options, then properties, then recording) microphone should not be muted. if you are having problems with feedback, try muting everything else.

    4. If you're using AOL, Paltalk requires at least AOL 3.0 for Windows 95. Otherwise, make sure your network connection is active and that you can reach a website. You can try typing 'ping www.paltalk.com' at a dos prompt- if ping reports 'request timed out', more likely than not there is some problem with your network configuration.

    5. Paltalk has a voice-activated, or handsfree mode. click on the Paltalk taskbar icon, then check 'voice activated'. The next time you audio chat with someone, you will see a small audio level indicator to the right of the talk/listen buttons. Adjust the arrow to be slightly higher than where the red level is when you are NOT speaking- this will set the audio threshold. now when you talk or make noise which exceeds the threshold it will be transmitted automatically.

    6. Use the 'send Paltalk' feature in the client, either by clicking on the green 'send' button on the front screen, or by selecting 'send Paltalk' from the taskbar menu. enter a friend's email address, and a customized letter, including your name and the program itself will be sent out. When they sign on using the email address you sent the invitation to them at, you will be on their pal list already, and vice versa. If they do not respond within a week or so, you will receive another reminder letter which you can customize and forward to your friend by hitting 'reply' in your e-mailer.

    7. Use the 'switch user' feature on the taskbar menu to switch back and forth between users, or create another user.

    8. Most likely, this is a network problem. Unfortunately, Paltalk is susceptible to network disruptions, routing problems and bandwidth limitation problems. If the problem occurs when speaking to some people, but not others, then you mayhave service-provider specific problems.