AOL.ca - AIM 6.0

The Away message appears on your screen. If you don’t want messages that your buddies send you to display while you are away, click Hide IM windows while I’m away. To turn off instant message sounds while you are away, click Disable sounds while I’m Away. To disable pop-up notifications from appearing while you are away, click Disable pop-up notifications while I’m Away.

If you want to add a new Away message, refer to Defining a New Away Message.

If IM Forwarding has been configured and is enabled, you can choose to have no away message sent to users who send you an IM when you are away, and instead receive IMs on your mobile device. To do this, choose Forward to Mobile… from the Away message list.

How can I set my preferences?

Windows: Select My AIM -> Edit Options -> Edit Preferences to display preferences that you can set.

If I have a screen name with both AIM and AOL or CS2000, can I be signed on to both at once?

Yes, however, you will receive your instant messages through AOL or CompuServe. Also, the "Away message" won't work unless you sign off of AOL or Compuserve.

Why can't I send an instant message to an AOL user who is displayed in my Buddy List? When I try to do this, I receive a message that the person is not online.

AOL users have a feature that let them block all incoming instant messages but still be seen in Buddy Lists. It is possible that the AOL user has blocked all instant messages or blocked all instant messages from you.

Why do I get my instant messages in AOL instead of AIM when I'm online with both AOL and AIM?

This feature is intentional. If you want to receive your instant messages only in AIM, you can use a different screen name for AIM than the one you are using with AOL.

Alternatively, you can choose to block all users on AOL, so that Instant Messages will be sent to AIM instead of AOL. Go to Keyword: BUDDY on AOL, and click on Privacy Preferences. Then choose the "Block all AOL members and AOL Instant Messenger users" option, and the "Apply Preferences to... Buddy List and Instant Message" option. Then click on Save. (Note that if you do this, your AIM Away message may not show up correctly to other users.)

What features of AIM work with AOL and CompuServe2000 members?

AIM users can see AOL and CS2000 users in their Buddy Lists and can send and receive instant messages to and from them. However, AIM User Profiles, chat rooms, and a few other features are "AIM-only."

Conversely, AIM users cannot enter AOL chat rooms or view AOL or CS2000 Member Profiles. AOL and CS2000 members who want to join AIM chat rooms should install AIM and sign on using their screen or member name.

How do I use my current AOL screen names with AIM?

As an AOL member, your screen name is reserved for you if you want to use it with AIM; however, you must still register the screen name with the AIM service before using it. To register your AOL screen name for an AIM account, go to the registration page for AOL or CS2000

Once you receive registration confirmation for your AIM account, you can create and register additional AIM screen names. (Note that these can be new and different from your AOL or CompuServe screen names.)

How do I include spaces in an "aim" URL?

Use the plus character (+) for each space. For example, "aim:GoChat?RoomName=My+Room".

When I send an URL that contains commas, why does the URL break at the commas? (Windows only)

To fix this problem, download the latest version of AIM.

Can I access my e-mail through AIM?

Yes, you can by downloading the latest release of AIM! If your AIM screen name is the same as your AOL screen name, then AIM will automatically notify you when there is mail in your mailbox. From the notification window, you can access your mail on AOL.CA

On the Windows version, you can also check the status of any POP3 mailboxes that you own. Just configure the mailboxes in the Mail tab within AIM preferences.

Why can't I update my e-mail address?

Reply to the confirmation e-mail that is sent to your new address. You must do this within 72 hours after choosing Update E-mail Address in AIM. Make sure to follow the directions in the e-mail exactly. You must put only the word "OK" in the body of your reply, and you must not modify the Subject line.

Do not reply to the e-mail that is sent to your old address. This piece of e-mail is only there to allow you to cancel the update. If you reply to this e-mail within 72 hours after choosing Update E-mail Address in AIM, your update won't take effect.

In all cases, the e-mail address update does not take effect for at least 72 hours after you choose Update E-mail Address in AIM. Even if you immediately respond to the confirmation e-mail that is sent to your new address, you must still wait 72 hours for the update to occur. The reason for this is that you still have 72 hours to cancel the update by replying to the e-mail that is sent to your old address

If I have multiple AIM screen names linked to the same e-mail address, can I change the e-mail address for just one of those screen names without affecting the other screen names?

No. When you register multiple AIM screen names using the same e-mail address for all of them, all of those screen names are considered to be on the same account. Changing the e-mail address for one of those screen names also changes the e-mail address for all of the other screen names on that account.

When I try to get files from a Mac AIM user, I get an error message that the other user is not accepting file transfer requests.

Make sure that the Mac user has enabled AIM file sharing, via the Start Sharing or File Sharing item in the Window menu, during his or her current AIM session. Also, make sure that in the other user's File Transfer preferences, the Access setting is not configured to block you from getting files.

I am not able to transfer files with one or more other users.

This may be due to the use of a firewall on your network. A firewall is a security device on your network to prevent potentially harmful data from coming in, and to prevent certain other data from going out. Depending on how a firewall is configured, it may prevent AIM file transfer from working. There is nothing AIM can do to get around this, as it is just the feature of the firewall working as it should. However, you may be able to get around the problem by entering a certain port number in AIM's File Transfer preferences. You will need to ask your network administrator if there is such a port that will allow AIM file transfer to work (there may not be). Also, make sure that you both have the latest version of AIM.

What is News Ticker?

Get up-to-the-minute news with the News Ticker. The News Ticker displays the top five news headlines for Top News, Business, Entertainment, and Sports topics.

AIM displays all news topics in the News Ticker window by default. If you do not want all news topics to display, you can set AIM to display only those that interest you. If you do not want to display any news, you can turn off the ticker entirely.

You can also perform these functions:

Display your news headlines in bold.
Change the speed at which the news headlines scroll across the News Ticker window.
Expand the News Ticker window to display a list of news headlines, instead of letting them scroll across the window.
You can move the News Ticker window to any location you want on your screen.

The item that is scrolling off the left side of the news or stock ticker dips down before disappearing.

This is caused by a problem with your display driver. Please check with your graphics card manufacturer or system manufacturer for the latest driver.

Can I use AIM with WebTV?

No, this feature is not available at this time.

When I use AIM for several hours, why do all my buttons turn black? (Windows only)

This is usually due to low random access memory (RAM) in your computer. Close all applications and restart AIM. If that doesn't restore your correct button colors, restart your PC.

What should I do when one of my AIM windows always opens off the screen? (Windows only)

When the window opens off the screen, do the following:

Press Alt+Spacebar once to open the Control menu at the top-left of the window.
Press the M key once to select Move.
Use your arrow keys to move the window into the middle of the screen. You see only the outline being moved.
When the outline is in the location you want, press Enter.
Download the latest version of AIM.

There is a problem with the size of one of my AIM windows. I can't fix it, and installing the very latest AIM client doesn't help. (Windows only)

You must modify a registry key using the Windows Registry Editor program. WARNING: You can cause Windows to stop functioning if you make a mistake in the Registry Editor program. If you need assistance, find someone who is familiar with the program to help you. AOL cannot be responsible for any damage you do to your computer. To modify the registry key, follow these steps:

Exit AIM.
From the Start menu, launch regedit from the Run dialog box.
Browse to the following registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\America Online\AOL Instant Messenger (TM)\CurrentVersion\Users\Your Screen Name\WindowPos
Right-click on WindowPos.
Click Delete.
Choose Yes on the confirmation dialog that appears.

You're done. Now when you restart AIM, all of the window sizes and positions will be restored to their default values.

Why do I get strange error messages when I try to install AIM?

Your copy of the AIM Installer probably was not transferred completely when you downloaded it. Try downloading the AIM Installer again

Is there a keyboard shortcut to exit AIM completely? (Windows only)

Yes. When the Buddy List or Sign On window is the active window, press Ctrl+Shift+F4. You can also choose Exit from the AIM system tray menu.

Why does AIM crash with Windows 98 when I'm using a dual-monitor machine? (Windows only)

Download the latest display drivers for both of your video cards.