How to Use Mac OS X Leopard iChat

Mac OS X Leopard's version of iChat is as updated as all other Leopard applications. Users can chat through text, audio and video with multiple other users and can also present files and link through Screen Sharing. Here's how.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Start by accessing iChat and setting up your account. Enter your account's member name and password.

2. Begin a chat by going to "Choose iChat - File - New Chat With Person." Input the screen name of the person you wish to chat with and click "OK." If the person is not online, an error message will show.

3. Add a name to your buddy list by going to "Choose iChat - Buddies - Add a Buddy." On the list, a green circle means the buddy is active, yellow means idle and red means unavailable. Offline names are faded.

4. Chat with others with audio or video. Any name with a telephone icon has a microphone for audio chat, and a camera icon indicates video chat. Select the name and click the appropriate button at the window bottom.

5. Communicate with multiple people through iChat Conference. Select the people to participate (hold the Command key to choose more than one) and click "A" for a text conference, the phone for audio or the camera for video.

6. Host an iChat Theater presentation by going to "Share a File With iChat Theater" in the File menu. Select movies, slide shows or other files and they will appear in the video window with the appropriate controls for you.

Tips & Warnings

• You must have an account set up with Mac, ALM, Google Talk or Jabber to use iChat.
• To use all of iChat's features, you will need a microphone, Internet speed of at least 128 KBPS, an Intel Core Duo or faster processor and either an iSight or USB video-class camera.
• You can also use screen sharing through iChat with any of your friends on iChat. Enable Screen Sharing in the Video menu, select the person's name from the correct list and use the "Ask to Share (person's name)'s Screen" command.
• If you want to show an iPhoto album slide show in iChat Theater and you have the latest iPhoto version, select "Share iPhoto With iChat Theater" in the File menu.