Trillian Basic (free) and Trillian Pro is available at:
http://www.ceruleanstudios.com

Step one:

Go here and download the Free Version of Trillian Basic .74 on
The Trillian Download Page
http://www.ceruleanstudios.com/downloads/

Download Trillian and install; then download the patch and install it too.


This tutorial was last updated on 30 Oct 2003

Trillian is the software, but now you need an AIM account if you do not already have one. AIM also has it's own software if you prefer it (works well for me here...but this tutorial is about Trillian and AIM).

So, after installing Trillian and the patch, open it and you will see a button to create a new AIM account :)

Create your AIM account and your screen name you wish to use. You may have to add numbers or letters to the end of a favorite to get the one you want ;)

You will need to use a real email address, because you will have to validate your acount to use it.

Please choose a secure password (a mix of letters and numbers). I recommend you use something that is 10 - 16 characters.

There are two screens to complete Registration, and you will then get a confirmation page showing your new Screen Name.

After being congratulated on your successful registration (showing your screen name), please press the *continue* button.

Now...go check your email that you registered with. You should have received a confirmation from the AIM Team and you will need to reply as directed in order to finally use your account. You have 48 hours to do this.

Now open Trillian and you will get the log on page.

1. Verify you have Aim/Icq in the first box

2. Enter your AIM screen name

3. Enter the password

4. Connect

First you want to set your Preferences for Privacy and Security. click on the green button on the bottom left which will pop up a menu and choose *Preferences*

(This same popup you will see the *Connection* too for when you are ready to connect)

In the Preferences screen, go to *AIM* and *Privacy*

A recommended setting for Privacy and who can contact you is to Allow only users on your Contact/Buddy list. If you allow all users instead you can expect to get unsolicted IMs from Porn Peddlers to messages from infected machines wanting to you click a link or accept a file and then infect you. :(

You can also create customer Allow/Block Lists with this screen if you prefer.

The other two options are really for you to decide how much privacy you need.

After entering your preferences don't forget to click on *apply* :)

Direct IM establishes a direct connection for file sharing from your PC and your buddy. There is really not a good reason to allow this setting for either your buddies or others, as you can set preferences in file sharing if you wish to send pictures or other files back and forth. The only advantage I have seen is that you can insert images directly into the conversation, and that you can see when the other person is typing a message. The best security setting is to NOT allow for either Buddies or others.

You can also choose the Display dialogue setting which will allow you to ask first, if you do wish to direct connect.

Display dialogue simply gives you a popup that tells you the username trying to Direct Connect in IM with you and you can accept or decline at that time.


Warning: If you use the display dialogue setting, be aware that those popups can surprise you even while you are in the middle of typing and you CAN accidently click on accept or decline without realizing it. Do be careful with that setting.

Chat settings are preferences only...no real recommended settings, there.

Miscellaneous allows you to choose some other preferences including *Secure IM* which is described in this screen shot.

Please be aware that using the Secure IM can cause "flakiness" in AIM ;)

Don't forget to click on *Apply* in the bottom left if you change the settings from the defaults. :)

Next Choose File Transfer in the main Trillian preferences list

Accepting or sending file transfers will direct connect your PC to your buddy, and you will need to give AIM server permission in your firewall. Therefore recommended settings for accepting files are:

1. For Contacts on your Contact/Buddy List: Always or Ask

2. For Contacts NOT on your Contact list: Choose Ask or Never

Ask setting gives you a popup to show you who is sending and what the file name is....the sender can also put a description in the popup note to help you further identify what exactly is being sent. You will need to accept or decline the file if you use this setting.

Here, in this screen, you can also configure your settings for your AV to scan all incoming files after download. :) Since I use both an AV and AT to scan with, I prefer to scan mine manually after download.

You are now ready to add buddies to your Contacts list.

If you have an existing account with AIM you can navigate to your AIM folder, find the buddy list and import it into Trillian.

If this is your first AIM account, you will need to now add your AIM buddies by username. This is probably the easiest way to add a name.

In the main Trillian Screen you will see the Group listed *Buddies* in bold. Right click on that group and choose *Add* from the popup menu. There you can type in the AIM username of the person you want to add to your buddy list.

The Aim buddy will now show up with an empty yellow circle next to the name (if they are offline or do not have you in their buddy list), OR they will have a solid yellow circle meaning they are online in AIM and have set preferences to accept an IM message or Chatroom invite from you.

Contacting Your Buddy:

Choose your buddy with the solid yellow circle next to their name and right click on it. A popup menu will enable you to choose: Send Message or Send Chat Invitation.

Send Message will establish a private IM session with the chosen buddy and others cannot be invited in. This will popup the Message Window.

The Message Window. You can now *chat* with your buddy via IM and your conversation will appear here :)

This is different from Chatrooms, where multiple parties can chat.

Trillian also automatically logs your conversations, and these can be found in your Trillian Folder under Programs.

Starting a Chatroom

If you choose *Send Chat Invitation* instead of *Send Message* you can invite multiple parties to one conversation.

Simply fill in the names of the online Buddies you wish to invite, separated by commas. You can also change the Chatroom Name and Invitation from the default that is set by Trillian when you open the Chat Invitation Window.

[Complain]This is considerably easier in the AIM software as you can invite an entire group with one click and no typing. I hope Trillian incorporates that feature into their software sometimes soon ;) [/complain]

Sample Chatroom Window. At the top you will see the Chatroom name assigned by the person who started the Chat. The users in the room are listed in the Upper right box and the conversation appears in the Chat Message area.

Hint :thumb: : Add yourself to your Buddies list. Then, when you enter a Chatroom, write down the Chatroom name. If you should get disconnected....you can simply click on your name to send a Chat Invitation, change the default Chatroom name to the one you were in and Invite yourself back. :lol:

For trillian Pro Users. Use Connection Manager. To change the settings that calamity Janie has shown you.

Then go here.

Then go here.

And finally here.