aMSN Help Files

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This is the English readme for aMSN 0.95


Readme
aMSN 0.95

System requirements:
Mac OS 10.3.9 (Panther)

Official forum
If you have any question / comments / suggestions / for aMSN, go to the new aMSN forum.
http://forums.cocoaforge.com/viewforum.php?f=14

Description:
aMSN is a freeware chat-client, one could qualify it as an MSN Messenger clone, ported to Mac OS X by Jérôme Gagnon-Voyer. It is written in TCL-TK and was initially developed for Linux, which is why the interface is slightly different to what we are used to under Mac OS X.
aMSN’s website is : http://amsn.sourceforge.net/

aMSN is entirely an open-source project. You can therefore contribute to its improvement and consult the source code. aMSN has been around on Linux and Windows for a while, but this is the first proper Mac OS X port.

Known bugs and unable to fix for the time being (any help is always appreciated):
-Occasionally when you attempt to click on a contact in your contact list, the cursor will be off target by a few lines. Move the contact list’s window and the problem will be solved. Generally, if you encounter problems with windows, simply move them, this often solves the problem.
-Text selection in the chat window is not perfect.
-The window warning of a contact logging on does not appear above other applications. (Use Growl and the aMSN Growl plugin found at http://www.growl.info for more information)
-aMSN have some problems to display some unicode characters, that will be corrected in the future (it's a problem with TCl-TK Aqua)
-The application may completely freeze as it is about to display a smiley (to avoid this problem, you can disable display smileys in the preferences)
-If you place a conversation window in the dock, you will be unable to type anything in that window once it leaves the dock. Click on any other window, then return to the initial window and you will be able to type.


FAQ

I frequently have problems establishing a webcam connexion with my contacts
Make sure you map the 6891 and 6899 ports on your router towards your computer. Also make sure your firewall is not blocking one of these ports.

Do video chats also contain audio?
Not yet.

Which webcams are supported for video chats?
Any Firewire, iSight and USB cam supported by Quicktime should work. If you get the following error code "Apple error code -9405" when taking a picture or initiating a video chat it means your webcam is either not connected or not supported by Quicktime (in this latter case, your webcam will not work with aMSN).
If your USB cam is not supported by Quicktime, take a look at these two addresses, it may help:
iOXexperts ($$)
http://www.ioxperts.com/products/webcamx.html
Macam (Free)
http://webcam-osx.sourceforge.net/
UsbVision($$)
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/14209

Where are files received with aMSN stored ?
In the "amsn received files" folder on your desktop.
You can change the location in the preferences, under Others, and then « Received Files Folder ».

Where are the preferences, history, bug reports and all other files specific to the aMSN user stored ? Go to Home. Open Library. Open Application Support. Open the aMSN Folder. There you are. If you encounter serious problems, it can be useful to take a look inside this folder.

The small window warning me of contact logins appears below my dock, how can I change this?
This can be changed in the aMSN preferences, Advanced tab.

Is it possible to add a skin or a plugin found on the aMSN webpage?
First of all, some skins and plugins are bundled with aMSN, try these first. To select them, go in the Tools menu, then choose " Select Plugin" (for plugins) or "Change Appearance" (for skins).
You can download other skins here http://amsn.sourceforge.net/modules.php?name=Skins and new plugins here http://amsn.sourceforge.net/modules.php?name=Plugins
To add these, use the aMSN-installer for plugins/skins found on aMSN the disk image (.dmg file). Then browse to the menus mentioned above to add them.

How to delete/change a personalized emoticon (smiley)?
Display the emoticon (smiley) menu within a conversation window and right-click (or control-click if you have a one button mouse) on the emoticon you want to delete/change.

How to configure aMSN to use my mail software to send emails?
If you do not use hotmail, or wish to send emails with Mail or Entourage (or other) when you choose the "Send mail" option. Go to preferences, Others. Then under Mailer, write: open mailto:$recipient

Occasionally, some things in aMSN are not translated into my language, but remain in English.
Everything has not been translated yet (for instance, the latest features added to aMSN. You can help with translation of aMSN by registering to the amsn-lang mailing list.
http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/amsn-lang
More information is available at this address :
http://amsn.sourceforge.net/modules.php?name=Translation

I cannot find aMSN in the terminal when I type « TOP » to see the list of open applications.
AMSN is called "Wish Shell" in certain places. This is due to the fact aMSN is written in TCL-TK, its code is therefore interpreted by an interpreter, which is called Wish Shell.

I can't send files, what's happening?
Check your network and routeur configurations. Try to do a "port mapping" of the 6891 to 6899 port to the computer aMSN is installed on.

If I want to uninstall aMSN and everything else it installed, what should I do?
First, delete the aMSN application (which is where you decided to locate it, generally the Applications folder). Then, you will find a aMSN folder in Home/Library/Application Support/aMSN. If you have installed Imagemagick, the support forum for this installer is http://www.entropy.ch/phpbb2/viewforum.php?f=6 (I am not Imagemagick's the developer)

Quebec Macintosh User Group
http://www.cmq.qc.ca