This page contains a list of frequently asked questions related to KMess, for example those that we often get through Like Back. Please check this list first if you have any questions! If you still have a question, you can ask on IRC or send us an e-mail, or send in your question through Like Back. Thanks!

Why can't I play winks in KMess?

To play winks, you need to have the Adobe Flash Player (if You Tube works in Konqueror, you have it!) and also the CabExtract program installed.

The packages of these applications can be installed opt-in later after KMess is installed.

Be sure to verify whether you can play flash files in Konqueror; try YouTube or the Adobe site to check. When flash can be played in Konqueror it works in KMess as well.
Use the Plugin Settings in the Konqueror settings dialog to detect new plugins, if it is not found initially but Flash is working in Firefox.

Do I need a Live Mail or Hotmail account to chat with KMess or Windows Live Messenger?

No, you can register any e-mail address at the Passport website.

Why doesn't MSN plus coloring work?

First of all: Check if it's enabled in the KMess settings. There are two places where MSN+ coloring is supported: in the contact list and in the chat window. Both places can be enabled and disabled freely in the KMess settings: in your Account Settings (under Actions), you can find the contact list option under "Contact List" and the chat window option under "Chatting", then "Text".

If both options are enabled and it still doesn't work for you, you may be using the "old way" of MSN+ coloring, or you may be using the new one incorrectly. Since KMess 1.5, the supported way of MSN+ coloring is by BBcode-alike "format tags", like [b] and [c]. For example, the correct way to make text italic is to enclose the text with italic tags:

[i]This text is italic[/i]

When will you guys implement webcam and audio conferencing?

Short answer: When we're done with it! ;-)

Long answer: We already have been experimenting successfully on this side (on video), but what we've done is not ready - as a matter of fact, our webcam transfers don't even work outside of a local network at the moment[[br]] We are currently working on the central part of KMess, the one which allows your files, voice and pictures to flow through the Internet at the highest possible speed. Major improvements are expected, and they will make receiving webcam finally possible.
Due to the mixed nature of the current Linux state however, at the moment adding support for sending webcam streams is only being brainstormed about. Either way, we think we won't release the next version of KMess, 2.1, without completely supporting both receiving and sending :)

My file transfers are so slow!

This is a known problem, we are working on it for the next 2.1 release!

When a fast direct connection can't be established the only alternative is sending the file via the Messenger servers, and it is slow because the chat server enforces a very low speed limit. Some other third party clients don't support direct connections yet. File transfers with these clients will always be slow.

If you want to speed up your transfers right now, try checking your KMess settings (Configure KMess...) and looking for the file transfer ports (last tab of Settings in the main settings screen). Forward a set of ports on your router (http://portforward.com/) and set the range in that screen to the set of ports you forwarded. Save KMess and your routers' settings and there is a chance your transfers will be faster.

Note: the KMess team provides no support on this. It is just a hint that may or may not help you.

Why don't you support Live games?

We really want to implement this, but at the moment it's hard to do. The Live games are written in ActiveX, a Microsoft technology, and it's currently impossible for us to display them. We are thinking about integrating with Wine to display those applets, but it's a lot of work and may add dependencies nobody wants. If you want to take on this job, any patch is welcome! For more information, see bug #253.

I'm using trunk and KMess just crashed / didn't work / whatever! What do I do now?

Don't use trunk! See http://bit.ly/FVtmo for more information on switching. If you are using binary packages, switch to 2.0 packages instead of 2.1 (nightlies). Trunk will be guaranteed not to work until we release at least the first alpha. See also the next question.

I'm using the 2.0 stable branch and KMess just crashed / didn't work / whatever! What do I do now?

Report it! You can choose whatever is handiest for you: report on the boards, send us an e-mail at bugs --at-- kmess --dot-- org or send it in using Like Back. Whatever you do, please make sure we can contact you back! There is nothing more annoying than hearing there's a crash in kmess, but not being able to solve it simply because we can't contact you.

When I click connect, I get a message that the connection dropped; but connecting works with other clients including Kopete!

While we don't know exactly what causes this bug, it's been reported it can be fixed by changing KDE proxy settings to "Autodetect". Please let us know if you know more.