AIM 6.x Q&A Volume VII
I have seen a number of questions come up in searches to my blog. Here are a few answers. Unless noted, these apply to AIM 6.x, including AIM Triton.
Q: How do I get the black theme to work in the AIM 6.5 Beta?
A: We have integrated the black them and you no longer have to modify any files to get it. Just click on the beach ball icon at the right of the menu bar in the Buddy List and select it.
Q: How can I transfer (or export or copy or move or send) my buddy list from one screen name to another?
A: You need to install the AIM Buddy Options plugin. See the posts on this subject at the AIM Buddy Blog and on tek. You can get the Buddy List Options plugin here. This plug works on all versions of AIM Triton, AIM 6.0, 6.1 and 6.5. [Update: I covered this before in my previous AIM 6.0 Q&A Volume VI post but this post has the latest links.]
Q: Why do my AIM buddies disappear when they go away?
A: Go to the View menu of the Buddy List. This menu is all about what and how you “see” things. Make sure the “Away/Idle Buddies” option is checked.
Q: Why is my buddy list alphabetical?
A: Go to the View menu of the Buddy List. Open the “Sort Buddy List By” Submenu and make the appropriate selection in there.
Q: How to go invisible before you sign on?
A: See my IM Tweaks plugin. It has several features on this.
Q: How to make yourself idle on AIM?
A: See my RX-plugin. Checkout the Idle Lock feature.
Q: Why does AIM not go idle?
A: Go to the Settings window in AIM (Press F7 from the Buddy List.) Select the Privacy Tab. Make sure the “I am idle” is checked in the “Allow other to see:” Section at the bottom.
August 29th, 2007 at 4:14 pm
I guess my only real question with 6.5.3.12 is why does the BL and IM window move “down” on my screen at random?
September 3rd, 2007 at 9:49 pm
(from a previous post)
I have been an avid AIM user for a very long time and I have upgraded to the new AIM (although I have gone back to 5.5 with the AIMutation plugin).
My question is this: will there be a plugin soon that will allow a buddy list to be updated on a linked screen name? I constantly have linked sns but it’s getting to be a real hassle to either clone AIM or sign off and back on just to update a buddy list thats not on the main screen name.
I feel like AIM has been seriously lacking though, and I’ve tried other IM clients. None of them have it. I know for a fact that it would be greatly accepted into the AIM community.
Thanks!
September 21st, 2007 at 11:29 pm
Someone asked earlier about the “Hide Buddy List Window When Minimized” feature, which used to exist in earlier versions but has mysteriously disappeared in AIM 6. I noticed you can hit Ctrl+W to do so, but not only does this seem to hide my away message window (with no clear way to restore it), it’s also a very bad combination for Firefox users - Ctrl+W closes tabs in this program. If I have my buddy list within view as well as Firefox, I end up accidentally closing tabs rather than hiding the stupid AIM window. Why was this feature removed/modified in such a way, and can we expect it to go back?
October 24th, 2007 at 10:47 am
Laurie,
I think AIM now does this by default when you click the “X” to close the buddy list; it minimizes it to the system tray. There is an option to change this behavior though: Settings > Sign In/Sign Out > Sign me out and exit AIM when I close my Buddy List window. If this is checked I think it’ll do what it says when you close the buddy list window, rather than minimizing it to the system tray. I hope that helps.
What I’d like to see is an option to remove the away messages from the buddy list in 6.5.5.2 and above. Taking up two lines for each buddy takes up too much space, especially with so many other things above and below the buddy list. There just isn’t enough screen real-estate for this “feature”
November 4th, 2007 at 4:38 pm
I’m not really sure where to leave this, but I’ve been using aim for a while and I have linked screen names. About 2 months ago my linked screen names randomly signs off. I’ve tried unlinking and relinking but it doesn’t work. The linked screen name only stays signed on for approx. 10 minutes.
I don’t know why it’s doing this, I’ve tried the newest version and the older one. Can you help?
December 26th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
I just downloaded the new AIM for a mac computer and every time i go idle it signs me off. and when i sign back on none of my setting were saved, how do i fix this?