To make proper use of pulver.Communicator users must first create a Buddy List comprised of the contacts with whom they might want to establish communications.  This Buddy List can contain FWD contacts, as well as contacts from other SIP networks with which FWD has established partnering agreements.  It can also contain contacts from any of the four most popular Instant Messaging services (Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, AOL AIM, and ICQ), and those contacts who are using Skype.

Contacts can be added to the pulver.Communicator Buddy List one-by-one or they can be directly imported into pulver.Communicator from the other supported Instant Messaging services.  The one exception is Skype contacts, which directly populate at login once Communicator is configured for that network.

Configuring Networks
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pulver.Communicator interconnects with AOL AIM, ICQ, MSN Messenger, and Yahoo! Messenger -- the four most commonly IM networks -- and the configuration method is the same for each of these services.  As pulver.Communicator works directly with the Skype client application, though, setting up this service is significantly different.

Setting up IM Networks

At installation pulver.Communicator provides a IM Proxy Wizard which greatly simplifies the process of importing existing contacts from AOL AIM, ICQ, MSN Messenger, and Yahoo! Messenger.  And the IM Proxy Wizard is not only available at initial login, but at any time via pulver.Communicator's Tools menu (refer to Tools Menu for more detail).  Users who want to directly configure their IM Network accounts, though, can do so via the Account Settings dialog.

1. Invoke the File|Account Settings... command, or click the Account Settings button on the pulver.Communicator Toolbar.

The Account Settings dialog will display.

2. Click the IM Networks Proxies link in the left-hand section of the dialog.  The right-hand side of the dialog then displays the IM Network configurations grid.

3. In the IM Network configurations grid, click on the IM Network that contains the Buddy List you want to import to pulver.Communicator.  The selected IM Network will highlight.

4. Perform a right-click over the highlighted line to call the right-click command menu for the selected IM Network.

5. Click the Create/Edit Account... command from the right-click menu. 

An information input dialog for the selected IM Network will display.

6. Enter your User name and Password for the selected IM Network into the appropriate fields and click OK to return to the  IM Network configurations grid.

Following a short login delay, and assuming all input information is correct, an asterisk will display in both the Registered and Connected columns for the selected IM Network.  That IM Network is now configured to pulver.Communicator, and the application will automatically log into it at login.

Once pulver.Communicator is logged into the selected IM Network, the application will import your contacts for that IM Network into your Buddy List. 

Note:  When you log into MSN Messenger via pulver.Communicator you will automatically be logged off of that IM Network from any other IM client application to which it was logged in (native MSN Messenger, Trillian, GAIM, etc.).

Setting up Skype

User of pulver.Communicator can communicate with their Skype contacts via both Instant Messaging and Voice-over-IP.  To do so, however, pulver.Communicator users must have the Skype client application installed on their computer system and be registered for the service. 

By default, pulver.Communicator will start Skype for users meet the requirements and load their Skype contacts into a Buddy List Group called Skype Buddies.

To turn off the automatic start-up of Skype tick the Do not launch Skype at start-up toggle control, located in the IM Network Proxies section of the Account Setting dialog.

Logging out of and into IM Networks
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Once you have configured an IM Network account to pulver.Communicator the application will automatically log into that IM account at startup.  You can log out of your IM accounts from pulver.Communicator as needed, though, and -- of course -- log back in.

1. At the bottom of the pulver.Communicator window, place the cursor over the icon for the IM Network that is to be disconnected and right-click it.

2. Select Disconnect to log off of the selected IM Network.

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 to log back into an IM Network from which you logged off, clicking Connect on the right-click menu.

Note:  You can also disconnect and reconnect IM Networks from the IM Network configuration grid.  To do so, invoke the File|Account Settings... command to display the Account Setting dialog.  Next, click the IM Networks Proxies link in the left-hand section of the dialog to call the IM Network configuration grid.  Then position the cursor over the configuration grid on the IM Network from which you want to log out and right-click it.  Finally, click Disconnect or Connect, as appropriate.

Adding a Contact to the Buddy List
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1. Invoke the Tools|Add Buddy command, click the Add Buddy button on the pulver.Communicator Toolbar, or invoke the Add Buddy right-click menu command (available when the cursor is placed over any Group name, for insertion of the new buddy to that specific group).

The Add Buddy dialog will display.

Note:  Skype contacts are directly populated at login for users who opt to configure pulver.Communicator for that network, and they cannot later be added piecemeal.  Users wishing to add a Skype contact to their Skype Buddies group must first add the contact using the Skype application, and then re-login to Communicator.

2. If the Buddy to be added is using a non-FWD Instant Messaging service or a SIP network other than Free World Dialup (FWD), indicate the appropriate service using the provided Select buddy type drop-list.

Note:  FWD is the default buddy type setting.

3. Assign the new contact to an established group using the provided Group drop-list.

   -- or --

   Place the new contact in a new Group in the Buddy List.

   1. Highlight the Group droplist field by clicking on it one time.

   2. Type the name of the new Group directly into the Group droplist field.

4. Enter the network moniker for the new contact into the Username field of the Add Buddy dialog.  The name of the field will change according to the selected buddy type (i.e., ICQ Username).

5. Enter a name for the new contact -- as it is to be displayed on your pulver.Communicator Buddy List -- in the Display name field.

6. Click OK to add the contact to your pulver.Communicator Buddy List.

Adjusting Buddy Alerts
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Alerts for a number of Buddy List contact-related events can be custom-configured in pulver.Communicator.  For example, users of Communicator can configure the application to play a .wav sound file when a specific contact goes offline, or to send a custom message to a specific contact when they return from 'Away' status, or to simply open a message window to a specific contact when that contact comes online.

1. Highlight the Buddy List contact for whom you want to create a custom alert.

2. Invoke the View Buddy Alerts right-click menu command.

The Edit Buddy Alerts dialog, specific to the selected contact, will display.

3. Select the event for the alert from those offered in Common Events and associated Alerts section:  Sign on, Sign off, Away, Return from "away".

4. Next, select the action for the alert.  The available actions are described below.

Display an alert window	The selected event trigger the display of an alert message.
Show a message window	When the selected event occurs an Instant Messaging window to the Buddy List contact will open, at which point you can quickly send an IM to that contact.
Send a message	The selected event will cause a pre-configured Instant Message to be sent to the contact.  When this action is chosen its accompanying field will activate.  Type the text for the IM that is to be sent into the field.
Play a sound	When the chosen event takes place a pre-configured .wav sound file will play. When this action is chosen its accompanying field will activate.   Navigate to the desired .wav sound file by first clicking the button to the right of the accompanying field.
Execute this	When the selected event occurs a pre-configured action will take place.  Such action can be the launch of any application, or the revelation of a graphics file, etc. When this action is chosen its accompanying field will activate.   Navigate to the desired  file by first clicking the button to the right of the accompanying field.

5. The Edit Buddy Alerts dialog offers a means for directing pulver.Communicator to automatically close any buddy window that is open to the selected contact once they sign off.  You can also configure a length of time that must elapse prior to this automatic closing.

6. Once all alerts are configured, click OK.

Adding a Group to the Buddy List
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1. Invoke the Tools|Add Group command, or invoke the Add Group right-click menu command (available when the cursor is placed over any Group name).

The Add Group dialog will display.

2. Enter the name of the new group into the Group field and click OK.  The new Group will display at the bottom of your Buddy List. 

New contacts can be added to existing groups at addition to your Buddy List (refer to Adding a Contact to the Buddy List).  For instruction on populating Buddy List Groups with existing contacts, refer to Moving Buddies Between Groups.

Importing IM Network Buddy Lists
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1. Invoke the File|Account Settings... command, or click the Account Settings button on the pulver.Communicator Toolbar.

The Account Settings dialog will display.

2. Click the IM Networks Proxies link in the left-hand section of the dialog.  The right-hand side of the dialog then displays the IM Network configurations grid.

Note:  Skype contacts are directly populated at login for users who opt to configure pulver.Communicator for that network.

3. Click the IM Network that contains the Buddy List you want to import to pulver.Communicator to highlight it.

4. Perform a right-click over the highlighted line to call the right-click command menu for the selected IM Network.

5. Click the Import Buddy List... command from the right-click menu. 

The Import nnn Buddylist dialog will display.

6. Click the appropriate radio button in the Import nnn Buddylist dialog to set the grouping scheme for the Buddy List that is to be imported to pulver.Communicator, and click OK. 

Within moments the buddies that comprise the Buddy List for the selected IM Network will display in your pulver.Communicator Buddy List.

7. Click OK to exit the Account Settings dialog.

Importing Shared Buddy Lists
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Pulver.Communicator has been developed to encourage and to promote the networking of people through its shared buddy lists feature.  Via Communicator you can import the Buddy List of any pulver.Communicator user configured to your Buddy List, provided that user has set up the application for Buddy List sharing (refer to Managing Your Buddy List: Sharing Your Buddy List).  Of course, individuals can easily set pulver.Communicator to disallow the sharing of their contact information if it is not their preference.

1. On your pulver.Communicator Buddy List, click once on the contact whose Buddy List you want to import.

2. Invoke the Tools|Get shared contacts command or the Get shared contacts command from the right-click menu.

         

The Import dialog will display.  This dialog presents the full list of contacts for the selected Buddy (with the exception of any who have disallowed the sharing of their contact information), broken out by group.

3. Review the presented list and select the contacts/groups you want to import to your own Buddy List.

4. Click OK once contact selection is complete.  The selected contacts will load onto your Buddy List, nested under their Group name from the source Buddy List.