Sun Java System Instant Messaging 6 2004Q2 Online Help |

Contents Index

> # Main Window—Contact List and Conference Tabs

> This section contains the following information:

> - Main Window Overview
> - To Search for and Add Contacts to a Contact Group
> - To Delete a Contact from a Contact Group
> - To Create a New Contact Group
> - To Rename a Contact Group
> - To Delete a Contact Group
> - To Move a Contact to Another Group
> - To Send an Instant Message (To Invite Someone to Chat)
> - To Send an Alert
> - To Conduct a Poll
> - To Change User Settings
> - To View News Channels
> - To Enter a Conference Room
> - To Create a Conference Room
> - Subscribing and Unsubscribing to Conference Rooms
> - To Moderate a Conference Room
> - To Change Your Status
> - To Set an Alert for Change in a User’s Status (To Watch a User)
> - To Clear a User’s Status Watch
> - To Exit the Instant Messenger User Interface

> ## Main Window Overview

> The Instant Messenger user interface Main window is where you perform most messaging functions. The Main window has two tabs - the Contact List Tab and the Conference Tab. Icons appear on the left-hand side of the window and at the bottom of the window. Depending on which tab you select, and what privileges you have, the icons change.

> Whether you have selected the Contact List Tab or the Conference Tab, you can Exit from the File menu option to quit the user interface, or click the Help button to view the online help.

> ### Your Own Status

> The Status area can be viewed either at the top or at the bottom of the Main window. To set the location of the Status area in Main window select “status bar above contact list” from the View menu. The Main window displays your current status as one of the following, with an icon and text at the top of the Main window:

> - Online (green ball icon). You are available to receive messages and give feedback.

> - Away (suitcase icon). This icon represents multiple away statuses, for example: Busy, Be Right Back, On Phone, Out to Lunch, Gone Home. The suitcase icon indicates that you are currently not available but can still receive messages.

> - Idle (ellipsis icon). You have remained inactive for the time specified in your User Settings window. See User Settings Window Overview for more information.

> Note | When using the Instant Messenger service in the Sun Java System Portal Server environment, your administrator can configure you to run in secure or non-secure mode. Secure mode means that the Sun ONE Instant Messenger service uses the Portal Server Netlet to set up an encrypted session between your computer and the Sun ONE Portal Server system. A lock icon appears in the Instant Messenger service’s Status area when you are running in secure mode. In non-secure mode, the Instant Messenger service does not use an encrypted session.

> You can customize the message for both Online and Away statuses. Sun ONE Instant Messenger displays this message in its Status area, and for your user ID as a tooltip, when you or another user places the cursor over your user ID. A custom message can be a helpful indicator of your current status, for example, “Going to lunch now.” The Instant Messenger service stores a maximum of five customized status messages.

> When you are not running the Instant Messenger user interface program, and cannot receive any type of message, your status is displayed to other users as “Offline.” You can change your status only when you are running the Instant Messenger user interface program.

> ### User Status

> Only users added to one of your contact groups show their current status. Icons indicate a user’s status as one of the following:

> - The user has just logged on to the Instant Messenger user interface.

> - The user is running the Instant Messenger user interface program and is available.

> - The user has just logged off the Instant Messenger user interface, and is becoming unavailable.

> - The user is away (not readily available).

> - The user is idle, that is, has remained inactive for the time limit specified in the user settings.

> - The user is offline and cannot send or receive instant messages.

> - The user is offline, but an alert can be forwarded to user’s email and pager depending upon user’s configuration.

> [!] - You are watching the user’s status. The Instant Messenger service sends you an alert message when the user’s status changes.

> Note | The Instant Messenger user interface does not show the status of the users within an LDAP group. Instead, you see only a group icon.

> Changes in users’ status, such as from online to away, also appear briefly in the Main window’s title bar above the Status icon.

> When you place your cursor over a user ID, a tooltip message appears, displaying the user’s status. If the user is on a server different than yours, the tooltip displays the user ID in the form user ID@domain.

> Note | Contact your administrator for more information on the type of message displayed in the tooltip.

> ### Contact List Tab

> The Contact List tab is your personalized list of contact groups, which contain contacts that you select. Contacts can be either individual users or LDAP groups. Contacts are users or groups to whom you frequently send instant messages or alerts.

> Note | In some cases, the Instant Messenger user interface uses the term “user” synonymously with the term “contact.”

> To add contacts to a contact group, see To Search for and Add Contacts to a Contact Group. You can add the same user or LDAP group to multiple contact groups. You can also create new contact groups. See To Create a New Contact Group.

> Note | Other instant messaging products refer to a contact list as a buddy list, and contacts that you chat with as buddies.

> When you log in for the first time, your Contact List tab contains only one contact group, named “My Contacts.” You can add contacts to this group or create new contact groups. You can also rename this contact group. See To Rename a Contact Group.

> Tip | Create contact groups for different categories of users you communicate with.

> Next to contact group names are folder icons. You must expand this icon to see the contacts in that contact group. Double-clicking the icon toggles between expanded and collapsed mode. You can only see which users are online when a contact group folder is expanded. When users are logged on and online, you can exchange messages with them.

> Note | The Instant Messenger user interface does not let you expand an LDAP group to see the users that it contains. However, when you start a chat session with an LDAP group, each user in that group is displayed in the Chat window’s Session Member list pane.

> With the Contact List tab selected, you can:

> - Add contacts to your contact groups
> - Manage contact groups and contacts (by using the Search and Add Contacts to Contact Groups, Create New Contact Group, and Delete contacts)
> - Drag and drop to move users between contact groups
> - Rename contact groups
> - Send instant messages and files
> - Send alerts
> - Send polls
> - Set your preferences
> - View news channels
> - Set your status

> ### Selecting Contacts and Contact Groups

> You can select contacts and contact groups in the following ways:

> - To select a contact or contact group: Click the contact or contact group.
> - To select a range of contacts: Hold down the SHIFT key, and click the first and last contact in a contact group, or click the first and last contact group.
> - To select multiple contacts: Hold down the CTRL key, and click individual contacts in a contact group.

> ### Contact List Right-Click Pop-Up Menu

> Select a contact or contact group from the Contact List and click the right mouse button to view a pop-up menu. Use this menu to manage your contacts and contact groups, and also start instant messaging sessions.

> Select a contact and click the right mouse button to view a pop-up menu with the following choices:

> - Alert if user status changes - Select this option to receive an alert whenever the user’s status changes.
> - Clear user’s status alerts - Clears the above setting.
> - Chat - Displays the Chat window.
> - Alert - Sends an alert to the selected users or groups.
> - Delete - Deletes the selected users.
> - Settings - Select this option to configure the Instant Messenger user interface’s display and startup parameters.

> Select a contact group and click the right mouse button to view a pop-up menu with the following choices:

> - Create a new contact group - Creates a new contact group.
> - Rename contact group - Renames this contact group.
> - Delete - Deletes this contact group.
> - Add users - Displays the Add New Contact to Contact Group window, where you can add users and LDAP groups to your contact groups.
> - Add User to contact group by ID - Add a user to this contact group by user ID.
> - Add Group to contact group by group ID - Add an LDAP group to this contact group by group ID.
> - Chat - Starts a chat session with the contacts in the selected contact group.
> - Alert - Sends an alert to the selected contact group.

> ### Conference Tab

> The Conference tab displays all conference rooms to which you have subscribed and been given access. You see only conference rooms that your administrator, or some other user with Room Creation privilege, has assigned to you.

> Note | Keep in mind that conference room conversations are not private. Anyone with access privileges can enter the room at anytime and observe and participate in the ongoing conversation.

> With the Conference tab selected, you can:

> - Enter conference rooms
> - Create, delete, and manage conference rooms (depending on privileges assigned to you)
> - Set your preferences
> - View news channels
> - Set your status

> ## To Search for and Add Contacts to a Contact Group

> Contacts are users or groups to whom you frequently send instant messages, alerts, and polls. Contacts can be either individual users or LDAP groups. Adding contacts to a contact group consists of using the Add New Contact to Contact Group window to:

> - Search for those contacts in the LDAP directory that you want to communicate with on a regular basis
> - Select those contacts that your search has matched
> - Add those selected contacts to your contact groups

> Follow these steps to search for and add contacts to a contact group:

> In the Main window, with the Contact List tab selected, you can add contacts to a group in the following ways:

> - Right-click on a contact group and select Add Users from the pop-up menu.
> - Click the Search and Add Contacts icon:

> - Select Add Users from the File menu.

> The Add New Contact to Contact Group window appears.

> Tip | Right-click on a contact group to display a pop-up menu. From here you can add and delete users, and work with contact groups.

> 1. Search for contacts you want to add to your contact groups.

> Use the “Search by” drop-down menu to choose the type of search, either User ID or Name, then type the user ID or name in the text box.

> When you search by Name, use the Search Options drop-down menu to choose Contains, Starts With, or Ends With. For example, if you know the contact’s last name, choose “Ends With” and type the last name in the text box.

> See Add New Contact to Contact Group Window Overview for more information.

> 2. After entering your search criteria, click Search. The result is displayed in the “List of contacts to Add”, or if your search finds more than one match, the Select Contact window is displayed.

> If the Select Contact window is displayed, select the contacts that you want to add to a contact group and click OK. You can use multiple selection in this window. See Selecting Contacts and Contact Groups for more information.

> The Add New Contact to Contact Group window is updated with the contacts and the Select Contact window is closed.

> 3. To remove a contact from the list, select the contact in the “List of contacts to Add” and click Remove.
> 4. Use the “Add contact(s) to group” drop-down menu to select a contact group, and click Add Contact(s).

> The Sun ONE Instant Messenger program updates your contact group with the contacts.

> ### See Also:

> Searching for Contacts

> ## To Delete a Contact from a Contact Group

> 1. In the Main window, with the Contact List tab selected, click the contact to be deleted.

> Use the Shift or Control keys for multiple selection. See Selecting Contacts and Contact Groups for more information.

> 2. Click the Delete icon:

> The selection is deleted.

> Tip | You can also delete a contact group in the following ways: Drag contacts to the Delete icon Click the Delete key Select Delete from the File menu Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+D.

> ## To Create a New Contact Group

> In the Main window, with the Contact List tab selected, you can create contact groups for different categories of users you want to communicate with and add contacts to them.

> 1. You can create a new contact group in the following ways:
> - Click the Create a New Group icon:

> - Right-click on Contact Group and select “Create a new contact group” from the pop-up menu.
> - Select New Contact Group from the File menu.

> The “Enter new contact group name” pop-up window appears.

> 2. Type the contact group name and click OK.

> The new contact group is displayed in the Contact List tab.

> ## To Rename a Contact Group

> 1. In the Main window, with the Contact List tab selected, right-click the contact group to be renamed.

> A pop-up menu is displayed.

> 2. Select “Rename contact group”.

> Tip | You can also select Rename Contact Group from the File menu.

> A “Rename contact group” pop-up window appears.

> 3. Type the new name of the contact group and click OK.

> The contact group is updated with the new name.

> ## To Delete a Contact Group

> 1. In the Main window, with the Contact List tab selected, click the contact group to be deleted.
> 2. Click the Delete icon:

> A Confirm Delete pop-up window appears.

> 3. Click Yes.

> The contact group is deleted from the Contact List tab.

> Tip | You can also delete a contact group in the following ways: Drag contacts to the Delete icon Click the Delete key Select Delete from the File menu Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+D.

> ## To Move a Contact to Another Group

> 1. In the Main window, with the Contact List tab selected, select the contacts that you want to move.

> Use the Shift or Control keys for multiple selection. See Selecting Contacts and Contact Groups for more information.

> 2. Drag the contacts to the new contact group.

> The new contact group shows the contacts.

> Tip | You can create a copy of a contact and move it at the same time. To copy, select the Control key while you drag the user to the new contact group.

> ## To Send an Instant Message (To Invite Someone to Chat)

> Chat is the Sun Java System Instant Messenger software’s version of instant messaging. Chat is a two-way communication between two or more users that takes place in a virtual “room.” A chat takes place only by invitation.

> Once established, the Chat Room window contains a message pane where all the interactive messages are displayed. It also contains a message pane that displays what you are currently typing prior to sending it to the room. Another pane indicates the current status of the members in the room.

> A chat room is temporarily created when you issue a chat invitation. Only the users that initiate the chat or have been invited to the room can see the chat room. This differs from a conference room that can be entered by anyone assigned to the room by the administrator, or by a user who has access rights to that room.

> Once in an established chat room, you or other members can invite other users to the room.

> The Sun ONE Instant Messenger software enables you to exchange:

> - Text messages
> - URLs (which can be clicked to launch a browser session, with that URL)
> - Files

> Follow these steps to send an instant message:

> 1. With the Contact List tab selected, select the contacts you want to chat with.

> You can start an instant message session with one or multiple contacts. Use the Shift or Control keys for multiple selection. See Selecting Contacts and Contact Groups for more information.

> 2. You can initiate a Chat session with the selected contacts in the following ways:
> - Click the Chat icon:
> - Right-click on a contact name and select Chat from the pop-up menu.
> - Select Chat from the Tools menu.

> The Chat window appears.

> Tip | You can double-click a contact (or contacts) to launch the Chat window.

> Note | Double-clicking a contact group does not launch the Chat window.

> 3. Type your message in the input area. When done, click Send.

> You can configure the settings to send messages when the enter key is selected.

> To configure the settings:

> 1. Select the Settings option from the Tools menu. The User Settings window appears.
> 2. Select “Send message on enter key” option within the Chat tab window.

> The message is sent to the users displayed and appears in your upper display area. As users respond, their messages also appear here.

> Tip | Use the tool bar to change the message’s text size or color, or to emphasize with bold, italic, or underline.

> 4. To invite other users to participate, click Invite Others.

> Use the Invite Others window to search for other contacts that you want to add to this chat session. See Edit Recipients/Invite Other Users Window Overview for more information.

> ### See Also:

> - Chat Window Overview
> - To Respond to a Chat Invitation
> - To Send a File to a Contact

> ## To Send an Alert

> Use alerts, rather than chat, to send notifications. The alerts are displayed as pop-up messages on the recipients desktop.

> Note | You need Alert privileges to be able to send alerts. Contact your administrator for more information.

> 1. With the Contact List tab selected, select the contacts to whom you want to send the alert.

> You can send an alert to one or multiple contacts. Use the Shift or Control keys for multiple selection. See Selecting Contacts and Contact Groups for more information.

> Note | You can click the Alert icon without selecting any contacts then add them later. See Step 3.

> 2. You can send an Alert message to the selected contacts in the following ways:
> - Click the Alert icon:
> - Right-click on the selected contacts and select Alert from the pop-up menu.
> - Select Alert from the Tools menu.

> The “Send alert message” window appears. Recipients of the alert (if any) appear in a scrollable list box. If you do not need to add or delete recipients, skip to Step 4.

> 3. To Edit or delete recipients, click Edit Recipients to display the Edit Recipients window.

> The Edit Recipients window enables you to create a recipient list from your personal contact list, or to search the LDAP directory for additional recipients. When done with adding or deleting recipients, click OK.

> See Edit Recipients/Invite Other Users Window Overview for more information.

> 4. In the “Send alert message” window, type the alert message subject in the Subject text box. Type the text of the message. Use the text formatting tool bar options to format and edit your message.
> 5. Select the Show message status check box if you want to display a pop-up Status window on your desktop showing the status of each recipient.
> 6. When done, click Send.

> The alert appears on the recipients’ desktops, and in the Alerts tab in their News Channels window (if the recipients have subscribed to that channel). If you selected the “Show message status” check box, a Status pop-up appears on your desktop.

> Note | You can chat with the sender of an alert. In the “Alert received” window, select “Chat with sender” from the Tools menu.

> ### See Also:

> - Creating Alert and News Channel Messages
> - Receiving Alerts
> - Viewing Alert and Poll Status

> ## To Conduct a Poll

> The polling function enables you to poll users for their response to a question. You send a question and possible answers to selected users and they respond with their answer.

> Follow these steps to conduct a poll:

> 1. With the Contact List tab selected, select the contacts you want to poll.

> You can send a poll to one or multiple contacts. Use the Shift or Control keys for multiple selection. See Selecting Contacts and Contact Groups for more information.

> Note | You can click the Poll icon without selecting any contacts then add them later. See Step 3.

> 2. In the Main window, select the Poll option in the following ways:
> - Click the Poll icon:
> - Select Polls from the Tools menu.

> The Poll Users window appears. Recipients of the poll (if any) appear in a scrollable list box. If you do not need to add or delete recipients, skip to Step 4.

> 3. To Edit or delete recipients, click Edit Recipients to display the Edit Recipients window.

> The Edit Recipients window enables you to create a recipient list from your personal contact list, or to search the LDAP for additional recipients. When done with adding or deleting recipients, click OK.

> See Edit Recipients/Invite Other Users Window Overview for more information.

> 4. In the Poll Users window, type your question in the “Poll users with this question” text box.
> 5. Click “Add Answer to display the Input” pop-up window. Type another possible answer and click OK.

> The answer is displayed in the list of Available answers.

> 6. If you want to remove an answer from the list, select the answer and click Remove Answer.
> 7. If you want users to be able to create their own answer to the question, select the “Allow recipients to customize answers” check box.
> 8. When you have filled in the question and answers, click OK to send the poll to the selected recipients.

> When a user responds to the poll, the response is displayed in a Status pane on your desktop, with the question in the title bar. Each respondent’s name is listed, along with the selected response. A summary of responses for each poll can be viewed in the Status pane.

> Note | Keep the Poll Status pane open until all users have responded. Once you close the pane, you cannot redisplay it.

> ### See Also:

> - To Respond to a Poll Question

> ## To Change User Settings

> 1. In the Main window, select Settings from the File menu or click the Settings icon:

> The User Settings window appears.

> 2. Make your changes to the various tabs.

> Click Apply to save the changes in a tab without exiting the User Settings window, and then move to another tab.

> 3. When you have finished making the changes, click Close to make the changes effective and exit the User Settings window.

> The changes become effective immediately. See User Settings Window Overview for more information.

> ## To Customize the Appearance of the Instant Messenger User Interface

> 1. In the Main window, select View option.

> Use the pop-up menu:

> - To Hide the Icons
> - To Move Status Bar
> - To Display On Line Users Only

> ### To Hide the Icons

> 1. Select Tool Bar from the View menu.
> 2. The tool icons namely Chat, Alert, Poll, Settings, “Search and add contacts to contact groups”, “Delete selected items” and “Create a new contact group” icons are displayed on the left- hand side and at the bottom of the Main window.

> ### To Move Status Bar

> Select Status Bar from the View menu to display the status Icon on top of the Main window. Unselect it to display the status icon at the bottom of the Main window.

> Use the status icon to select a status option from the list displayed when the status icon is clicked. See To Change Your Status for more information.

> ### To Display On Line Users Only

> Select Show Only Online Contacts from the View menu to view all non-offline and non-offline forwarded contact names in the Main window.

> ## To View News Channels

> News channels are available for viewing on a subscription basis. There are two ways in which you can be subscribed to a news channel:

> - Your administrator has assigned you to news channels.
> - You can subscribe (and unsubscribe) yourself from selected news channels if you have been granted at least Read access by the channel’s creator.

> Once you are subscribed, a tab for each news channel appears in your News Channels window. See Subscribing and Unsubscribing to News Channels for information about the subscription process.

> Follow these steps to view news channel messages:

> 1. In the Main window, select News from the Tools menu or click the News icon:

> The News Channels window appears.

> 2. Select the tab for the desired news channel.

> The first message for that channel appears in the message pane. See To Subscribe to and Unsubscribe from News Channels, to customize your News Channels window.

> 3. Click View Next Message and View Previous Message buttons to see the other messages posted to this channel.

> The News Channels window can also be configured to scroll through all messages and news channels. See News Tab for information about configuring the scrolling properties.

> ## To Enter a Conference Room

> 1. In the Main window, select the Conference tab.

> The conference rooms to which you have access are displayed.

> 2. Select the desired conference room and click the Enter icon:

> The Chat window is displayed with the name of the conference room in the title bar.

> Tip | You can double-click a room to launch the Chat window.

> 3. To invite other users to participate, click Invite Others.

> Use the Invite Others window to search for other contacts that you want to add to this chat session. See Edit Recipients/Invite Other Users Window Overview for more information.

> 4. Once the Chat window is open, you and the other participants type your messages and click Send. Each entry is displayed in the upper message pane of the window.

> Tip | You can configure the settings to send messages when the enter key is selected. To configure the settings; Click the Settings icon and select “Send messages on enter key option” in the Chat tab.

> Depending on the privileges assigned to you by your administrator, you might have other capabilities with regard to conference rooms. See Administering Rooms and News Channels for details.

> ## To Change Your Status

> 1. In the Main window, click the Status icon (represented here as online status) in the status area of the Main window:

> A drop-down list appears with the following options:

> - Away - Select this option to change your status to “Away” to inform users you are not available to chat. This does not prevent users from actually starting a chat session with you. However, when starting a chat with an Away user, the Chat window displays the message, “user is currently Away.”

> Use Away status for those times when you need to step away from your computer but do not want to log off. For example: Busy, Be Right Back, On Phone, Out to Lunch, Gone Home. This way you let other users know you are temporarily unavailable.

> - Online - Select this option to change your status to “Online” to inform users you are available to chat.
> - Add Customize status - Select this option to display the “Change user status” pop-up window where you can change your personal status. You can also customize the status message displayed in the Contact List pane in this pop-up window.

> You can add a maximum of 5 customized statuses.

> - Invisible - Select this option if you do not want to appear online to others when you login to Messenger.
> 2. Click OK.

> Your status change is reflected in the Main window.

> Tip | You can also change your status from the File menu.

> Note | When using the Instant Messenger service in the Sun ONE Portal Server environment, your administrator can configure you to run in secure or non-secure mode. Secure mode means that the Instant Messenger service uses the Sun ONE Portal Server Netlet to set up an encrypted session between your computer and the Sun ONE Portal Server machine. A lock icon appears in Instant Messenger service’s Status area when you are running in secure mode. In non-secure mode, the Instant Messenger service does not use an encrypted session.

> ## To Set an Alert for Change in a User’s Status (To Watch a User)

> You can configure the Instant Messenger user interface to alert you, if any contact in the Contact List changes. The Instant Messenger user interface refers to this as “watching” a user.

> Note | You cannot set a watch on an LDAP group.

> 1. With the Contact List tab selected, right-click the contact you want to watch.

> You might need to first expand your contact groups to see the contacts they contain.

> 2. From the pop-up menu that appears, select Alert if user status changes.

> The Instant Messenger user interface program appends an exclamation mark [!] to the contact’s name, indicating that you are watching the user’s status. The Instant Messenger program will now send you an alert message if the user’s status changes.

> Tip | You can also set the status change alert from the Tools menu.

> ## To Clear a User’s Status Watch

> 1. With the Contact List tab selected, right-click the user with the alert status [!] set.

> You might need to expand the size of the Main window to see the alert status if the user’s name is not fully visible.

> 2. From the pop-up menu that appears, select “Clear user’s status alerts.”

> The Instant Messenger user interface removes the exclamation mark [!] from the user’s name, indicating that you have cleared the alert status watch.

> Tip | You can clear a user’s alert status watch from the Tools menu.

> ## To Exit the Instant Messenger User Interface

> 1. To exit, select Exit from the File menu on the Main window.
> 2. Click Yes at the Exit pop-up window.

> Note | If the Instant Messenger user interface is configured to display the customized away status, a “Customize away status” pop-up window appears. Enter the customized away status message, and click OK. Click Cancel to exit the pop-up window without entering a customized away status message.

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