Project: Linux Reviews

Licq: A solution for your Linux ICQ needs

By Shiv Chadha <shiv@columnist.com>
Posted: ( 2001-06-25 06:53:27 EST by )
The Internet has always been a great communications network and has truly made the world a smaller place. With the passage of time, several utilities have come up which enhance the Internet making it a more productive communication medium. One such, relatively recent, utility is instant messaging. There are many instant messaging programs available. Today we will look at an ICQ client for Linux called Licq.

Instant Messaging makes staying in touch with friends via the Internet, a much faster and easier process. No longer do you have to patiently read and write e-mails or try and co-ordinate rendezvous timings at chat servers. All you and your friends have to do is to get an instant messaging program. Add your friends to your 'contact list' and whenever one of them logs onto the Internet you can send them messages, files or even play multi-player games. Several Instant Messaging programs exist, with ICQ and AOL Instant Messenger being among the more popular ones. Some of these do not have native versions for Linux (not counting Java versions). However there are several clone clients available for Linux, which do the job very well.

Licq is one of the most popular and complete ICQ clients available for Linux and includes most of the features of the Windows version, including my favorite -- Floating Users. Licq is a completely modular client, with the engine and interface independent from one another. The default download includes a console interface and a QT interface. It can be downloaded from www.licq.org. If however you are a Gnome user and you would prefer a GTK interface (like me) you could always download the GTK interface from gtk.licq.org

Both sites will include versions appropriate for your distribution (or you can download a source tarball). Install it and you will soon be on your way. For the purpose of this article we will be working with the GTK version. Although the basic functions remain the same across all interfaces, there may be variations in the menu layouts and options available.

To launch the client, type licq -p gnome_gui. The first time you run it, a sleek wizard will guide you through the process of creating a new account or filling in the details of an existing account. It will also help you with searching for users and adding them to your contact list. (See image below)

If you are migrating from an existing ICQ client, read on, you might be able to save yourself the tedious process of adding everyone, all over again. Once the wizard is done, the program will pop up with your contact list, which (unless you added some people) would be blank. On your minimized applications task bar, you will find a little computer icon. This works similar to the little green lotus you may be familiar with if you've used the original Windows ICQ client. Double clicking it will bring up the contact list or read an incoming event. (See image below)

Now that you have Licq up and running and are familiar with the basic layout of the program lets proceed with working with Licq.

Working with Licq

All the major functions are grouped under the System Icon, akin to the ICQ button found in the Windows Version. From here you can select all sorts of options, right from adding/searching for users to configuration options. Licq works just a bit differently when it comes to adding new users. If you choose the add user function, you will have to be ready with the contact number of the user you wish to add. If, however, you wish to search for people based on their e-mail addresses or names and then add them, you need to use the search for user option.

Licq allows you to categorize all your contacts into different groups so you can divide your contacts into appropriate categories like work, family, friends etc. If you are migrating from Windows or even another Linux ICQ client, you don't need to painstakingly add all your contacts all over again, Licq comes with scripts to help you import your contacts from several popular Windows and ICQ clients. The location of these scripts will vary depending on how your Licq is set up, but their names are usually like licq.winconvert99a (converts from Windows ICQ version 99a). Try keying in the above in a terminal or search around till you can find them.

Licq supports a number of events you can send people on your contact list. Double clicking will bring up the standard send message dialog. (See image below)

If you wish to initiate a chat request or send a file, right click on the name and you will get a whole bunch of options. The options for sending events are grouped under the `Send' heading and from here you can select a wide range of events. The above mentioned menu also features a hoard of other options including modifying the group, the user or activating the user as a floating user (a little icon for the user will appear on your screen and will remain always on top, which allows you to send/receive events from the user without having to open the main Licq app).

Licq is a client that offers you a fair amount of configuration options to help you fine-tune the client to your specifications. To access the configuration options, click on the system menu and choose `Options'. Here, you will be able to configure a variety of things, right from network settings to contact list settings, fonts and colors. Besides the configuration options, you can modify Licq further by downloading plugins (and manipulating them from the plugins manager listed under System) or icon sets. The Licq homepage is a good place to start for this.(See image below)

Conclusion

Since the GTK version of Licq comes with an extensive help system, accessed from the `Help' section under the System menu, any queries you may have on using this client are taken care of. On the whole Licq is an excellent solution for ICQ needs, it incorporates all the major features and has a very intuitive and an easy-to-understand way of functioning.

AOL Instant Messenger fans stay tuned, next week we will look at a Linux client for you. Till then, Happy messaging!

Other articles by Shiv Chadha

Current Rating: [ 6.34 / 10 ] Number of Times Rated: [ 74 ]

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