Setting up Gajim

When first run, Gajim will ask if you want to make a new account, or use an existing one. If you have an account with a service that already uses Jabber (also known as XMPP) then you can use that account.

Jabber-enabled services include Google Mail (Gmail), Live Journal, and others.

From now on I will use my Gmail account, so I select “I already have an account I want to use”.

Entering your account details is straightforward…

To add a contact to your contact list (called your 'roster' in Jabber-speak), click “Actions”→“Add contact…”

Enter your contact's Jabber ID (JID, it's their email address if they use Gmail). You can also enter a nickname, which Gajim will call this person.

You will be notified if they accept your request, with this message:

Well, it's what Jabber is for..! Just double-click on any contact in your list:

You may want to let your friends know what you are doing, how you are feeling… just click “Available” at the bottom of your contact list. You can select from different statuses, and with each one you can write a status message.

The statuses are generally taken to mean the following:

Available: Online, just normal
Away: You stepped away for a moment (Gajim will set this automatically if you leave your PC for a while)
Not Available: You are away, but have been, or will be, away for a while (if you have gone out, for example)
Busy: Don't disturb me!
Invisible: Don't show any status to your contacts

You can write a message which your contacts will see: