Copyright: GCN Help File


Registering a Screen Name

To register a Screen Name, you must sign on using the Screen Name 'Register Name', which is included among the names in the drop down list. To Sign On with the name, choose the name from the list, and hit the 'Sign On' button.

Once you are connected, you will be prompted to choose a Screen Name. The Screen Name can be anything composed of letters and or numbers, which starts with a letter, and is no more than ten characters long. Additionally the screen name can not already be registered.

Then you must choose a Password. It must be at least five characters long and no longer than ten. It can only be made up of letters and numbers. Be advised that passwords are case sensitive. You need to enter the password twice to confirm its accuracy.

Once registered, you must use the name at least once every 60 days to keep the registration active. If you do not and the registration is dropped, you may register it again, assuming that it has not been taken by anyone else.


Signing on to GCN

Once you have already registered a Screen Name, you will be able to connect to GCN. To sign on, simply select the Screen Name from the Sign On window. Then enter in the appropriate password for that Screen Name. Then you can either press 'Enter' or click the 'Sign On' button.

If you get a message saying that your Screen Name is not registered, you must register one.  For help on doing so see the Registering a Screen Name section.  If you are sure you have registered it in the past, but have not used it recently, your Screen Name may have expired.  To prevent this from occuring you must use your screen name at least once every 60 days.

If you use a computer other than the one you registered you Screen Name from, you can type it in manually, rather than selecting it from the list.  Note however, that any settings changes will not be saved.  If you wish for them to be saved, use the Edit Screen Name List tool to add your Screen Name to the list.


Reading Your E-mail

With GCN you may send other Members messages whether or not they are online, and at a later time, they will be able to read these messages.  When you sign on and see that there is mail in the Read Mail Icon on the Toolbar, then that means that you have Mail.  Also, at the top left part of the Read icon you will see a number denoting the number of e-mail messages in your Mail Box.  In order to access your mail, either click the Read Mail Icon, or Press Ctrl+R.

Once you've done that, your mail box will load, displaying your recieved E-mail messages.  To access a message, first select it, and then either may hit enter, or click on the read button.  You can also access a message by double-clicking it.

When you no longer require an E-mail message you should delete it, as your Mail Box may only hold up to 50 pieces of mail at any one time, and only up to 5 from any one Member.


Composing E-Mail
Sending E-mail

When you wish to tell someone something, who is not online at the same time you are, you can leave that person a Message using the E-mail feature.  By sending an E-mail you will be leaving a message for that person to see the next time he or she signs on.

To send an E-mail, simply click on the Write Icon on the Toolbar, or you can press Ctrl+P.  Then the Mail Form will appear and you will be ready to write a letter.  To do this, first enter the Screen Name of the recipient in the first field.  Then write your message below in the larger text field.  When you are ready to send the message, click on the 'Send' button.

If the E-mail does go through, you will get a confirming message, and that person will be able to read the message the next time that person checks his or her E-mail.

Please note that you can not use GCN to send E-mail to an address outside of the network, nor can anyone outside of GCN E-mail you.  GCN's e-mail is only internal, between other GCN Members.


Private Messages

The Private Message feature is an easy and simple way to communicate with another Member in real time.  Messages you send will instantly appear on the other person's screen, and from there you will be able to communicate back and forth.

To begin a Private Message session, click on the Message Icon on the Toolbar or hit Ctrl+M, you will then be prompted to enter the Screen Name of the person you wish to communicate with.  After entering the name a window will appear with the Member's Screen Name as the caption.

To send a Message, simply type it into the bottom text field of the new window and press 'Enter'.  The Message will then appear on the other person's screen, and you can begin to communicate.  If someone sends you a Private Message you will hear a notifying sound and a new window will appear automatically if it is not already open.


Obtaining Additional Help

If this help file was not able to help, you can obtain additional help online. You could join the Help Room, and/or post to the Help Message Board. By joining the Help Room you can ask the other members and staff there for help. If no one there can help you, you may want to try posting to the Help Message Board. Here others will see your question and will be able to post a reply to it.

To go to the Help Message Boards you must first sign on. After signing on you may select Help Message Board from the Help menu on the menu bar, or you may press F2.

To join the Help Room, you also must sign on. Once online you may select Help Chat Room from the Help menu on the menu bar, or you may press F3.


Setting Preferences


Editing Your Bookamrks


Editing the Online List


Chat Rooms

Chat Rooms allow you to communicate with many people at one time.  Everything you say in a Chat Room can be seen by anyone else who is in that Chat Room.  There are three main components to a Chat Room, there is the main screen, where everyone's words can be seen.  There is the input box where you enter what you want to say, and there is the member list, which shows you who is in that room.

There are many features under the Chat Room icon on the tool bar.  All the features under the icon are releated to chat rooms.  The features include: Join Lobby, Join Member Room, Join Private Room, Search Rooms, Invite, and Who is in.

The Join Lobby feature will quickly get you in a room with people so you can begin chatting.  All lobbies are public chat rooms and are prefixed with the word Lobby and suffixed with a number.

When you join a Member Room, you are asked to enter the name of the room.  It can be a Lobby or a Chat Room with any name you want.  Because Member Rooms and Lobbies are public, members can use the who is in feature on that room, will be able to locate you, and it will show up in the Search Rooms feature.

If you do not want members to be able to locate you, you can Join a Private Room.  Private Rooms are different from Member Rooms and Lobbies in that members will not be able to locate you, and the room will not show up in the Search Chat Rooms feature.  Members will only be able to join that room if they know the name of it or if they are invited.

If you are searching for a Chat Room of a paticular topic, then you should use the Search Chat Rooms feature.  You can search rooms based on a number of different criteria and then easily join those rooms that show up.

If you are in a chat room and you want another member to join you, you can request that person to join.  Using the invite feature, another member will get a request to join whatever room you are in.  If he or shee accepts, they will then join that room.

To see who is in a room without entering it, you can use the Who is in feature.  It only works on Public chat rooms.  When you use it, enter in the name of the room, and hit enter or click on ok.  then a list will come up showing the people currently in that chat room.

When you see a list of names such as in a chat room, on your online list, or the who is in list, you can select that name and right click on it for a list of options.


Locating Members

To see if someone is online, or if you would like to know what Chat Room he or she is in, you can find out using the Locate feature.  To locate someone, you simply click on the Locate icon on the Toolbar, or you can press Ctrl+L.  You will then be prompted to enter the Screen Name of that Member.  After doing so, you will get a message box stating whether or not he or she is online, and if so what Chat Room he or she is in.  Bear in mind that the Locate feature will not tell you if the person is in a Private Room.


Log Events
Logging

If you wish to record what you do, and what happens to you while using GCN, you can use the Logging feature.  The Logging feature will save a record of actions taken by you and others to a file, which you can access at a later time.

When you create a log it is saved in the Logs folder, which you may access by clicking on the File menu, Folders and then Logs.  Log files are saved in the format of ScreenName.MMDDYY.log.  If when you attempt to open a log file, you are asked what program to open it with, choose your favorite text editor and you will then be able to view the contents of the log file.

Logs are a good way to keep track of what you do online, for instance, if you wanted to record a conversation you were having in a Chat Room, you should use the Logging feature.  Among the events which the logging feature records include, Private Mesaages, File Transfer Requests, Chat Rooms, Voice Chat requests, New E-mail notifications, and Chat Room Invitations.


Browsing the Internet

If you wish to visit a certain webpage while using GCN, you need not load another program.  You can browse the Internet with GCN's Web Browser.  To load GCN's Web Browser, simply click on the Browser icon located on the Tool Bar, or you can press Ctrl+B.

When you first see the Browser window, it will appear blank.  To navigate to a page from there, simply enter the URL of the desired webpage and press 'Enter'.  GCN's Web Browser also contains basic navigation buttons at the top.  The buttons include: Stop, Refresh, Back, Foward, Bookmark, and Home.

To cancel the loading of a Webpage you can hit the 'Stop' button.  If you wish to reload the current webpage, then hit the 'Refresh' button.  To go back to the previously visited webpage hit 'Back', to go foward hit 'Foward'.  If you come across a Webpage which you would like to be able to quickly access in the future, then you can click the 'Bookmark' button.  It will save the current site's address and put it's caption under the Bookmarks Icon on the Tool Bar.  To quickly load your preset Home Page click on the 'Home' icon.  To change your Home Page, click 'Options' on the Menu Bar and then click 'Modify Browser Settings'.


Using Bookmarks

Whenever you add a site to your Bookmarks list from GCN's Web Browser it is saved under the Bookmarks icon on the Tool Bar.  We have also included a list of Preprogrammed links to useful sites for you to use.  After you have added sites to your Bookmarks list, you may wish to edit them later.  If you use the Edit Bookmarks feature under the Bookmarks icon, you can Remove, Edit or manually Add Bookmarks to your list.

When you click on the Bookmarks Icon, you will see a list of websites that you have saved.  To quickly jump to any one of these pages, simply click on the respective caption.  The Web Browser will then open the Browser if it is not already, and will then navigate to that page.


Uploading Files

If you wish to send a file to another person, you can send the file easily and directly using the File Transfer feature.  To initiate a file transfer you can Click on the Send File icon on the Tool Bar or press Ctrl+U.  Doing that will load the File Transfer window.

Before you may send the file, you must enter the Screen Name of the person.  In addition that person must be online at the same time you are.  Then you must enter the path and name of the File.  If you would like to browse through files contained on your computer click on the '...' button.

After entering that information you may click the 'Send Button'.  After doing so, the recieveing Member will be asked if he or she wishes to accept the File Transfer.  If he or she accepts, then the transfer will begin.  If not, you will get a message saying that the request was denied.


Profiles

When you register your Screen Name, you are given a profile, which is accessible to other Members.  To change your Profile from the blank default, you must click on the Profiles icon on the Tool Bar, or press Ctrl+F, and then select 'Edit my Profile'.  You can enter any information you want into your Profile, such as your interests, favorite quotes, E-mail address, real name, town or city of residence, or anything else that you wish to share with others.  We also allow you the option of entering the address of your website if you have one.  All you have to do is enter the URL of your website, such as http://www.myisp.com/member001/index.html, and anyone can then click a button to visit it.

You can get any Member's profile by Clicking on the Profiles Icon and then on View a Profile.  Then simply enter the Screen Name of that Member and Press 'Enter'.  If you see the words 'GCN Staff' in red letters in a Member's profile, then that means that that person is Staff on GCN, and volunteers his or her time to helping other Members.

If you are looking for other Members which might have something in common with you, you can search the Member Profiles to find matches for ceratin keywords.  For example, if you are looking for people who live in your town, you may want to search for your town name.  After you do a search the first 30 Screen Names which match your search criteria will be shown.  You can then click on the 'Get Profile' button to get more information about that person.


Message Boards

Message Boards can best be described as public Mail Boxes, where anyone can List, Read, or Post messages.  To access a Message Board you must Click on the Boards Icon on the Tool Bar, or press Ctrl+A.  Doing that will show you the Message Board window.  To access a Message Board simply enter the name of the message board and press 'Enter' or click 'Show Posts'.

If the Message Boad is registered, and contains posts, they will be listed.  To read a Post, first select it with the mouse, and click 'Read Post'.  To reply privately and directly the author of a message, select the post and click 'Write to Author'.  This will open an E-mail for you to fill out and send to that member.  If you would like to post a message to the Board it self, click 'Write a Post'.

If you would like to post a message to a Board you are not currently at, simply open an E-mail message and in the name field enter an asterisks followed by the Message Board name.  Then you may fill out the rest of the E-mail field as you would normally.

If you try to access a Message Board which does not exist, you will be asked if you wish to register it.  If you do register it, it will be available for anyone to use, but will expire if not accessed for a period ten days.  Please note that you can register a maximum of ten Message Boards per Screen Name.  You also are limited to sending 5 posts to any one message board.  Posts expire five days from the time they were posted.

If you are a SOP or the Founder for the Chat Room of the message board you are accessing, you will have the ability to delete posts from the message board.  To do this simply select the item in the list, and click the delete button.


The Welcome Screen

When you sign on to GCN, the first thing that will appear is the Welcome Screen.  The Welcome Screen contains up to date news and information regarding GCN, as well as other pertinent topics.  You can later access this information by clicking on the Welcome Icon, or by pressing Ctrl+W.  Doing so will refresh the information contained on the Welcome Screen.


Online List

The Online List will automatically show you which Members are onlline out of all the names on your Online List.  To setup the Online List, click on the Online List icon, or press Ctrl+S.  When you see the Online List window, click on the 'Edit List' button.  You may now add and remove Screen Names to your list.  Remember that the Online List is limited to a maximum of 45 Screen Names.

When any of the Members on your Online List sign on, their Screen Name will be added to the topmost list.  When that member signs off, their Screen Name will then be removed from that list.  The Online List, like your Mailbox, is a good thing to check when you first sign on.  You may aslo set your Options to automatically show when you sign on.  For help on doing this see Show Online List.  If you happen to see a friend on the list, you can select and then right click on their name for a list of options.


Voice Chat

If you have speakers and a microphone, then you can use the Voice Chat feature.  The Voice Chat feature is a fun and hands free way to communicate with multiple members at once.  To initiate a Voice Chat, click on the Voice icon on the Toolbar or Press Ctrl+I.  Then enter the Screen Name of the person you wish to request to Voice Chat with and click the 'Call' button.

The receiving member will get a request to Voice Chat with you and if he or she accepts, you two will then be able to talk back and forth through your microphones, and the other Member's voice will be heard on your speakers.  To talk, either click and hold down the 'Talk' button, or select the button and hold down the Space Bar.

If you wish to talk with more than one other person, both you and the others you are already connected with, must call the new person.  To stop Voice Chatting with someone without closing the window altogether, simply select that member's Screen Name and click 'Hang Up'.  You may also right click on a selected member's name for a list of options.

If you are in a chat room and you wish to use Voice with other users in the room, simply close out of the private Voice Chat window if it is open, and then click the 'Room Voice' Icon in the lower right hand portion of the screen.  Doing that will integrate voice chat with others in the room, and allow you to speak with all otehrs who have also selected that option.


Video Conferencing

To actually see another member using a video capture device, you can use the Video Conferencing feature.  To initiate a Video Conference, click on the Video icon on the Toolbar, or press Ctrl+D.  Doing this will open the Video Conference window.

There are three sections to the Video Conference window.  There is the Incoming Video, the Outgoing Video, and the Settings.  The incoming Video displays the video captured by the other member's camera.  The outgoing video displays the video captured by your camera.  The third section contains the Video Settings.

To setup a Video Conference, click on Video Settings, and setup the Source and Format options for the camera you wish to use, using the Outgoing Video section to get the settings just right.  If you do not have a video capture device, you may still use the Video Conference feature, but the other member will not recieve any video from you.

Once you are ready to initiate a Video conference between you and another member, enter his or her Screen Name, into the Screen Name field in the Settings section, and click 'Request Video Conference'.  That member, if online, and if not already in a Video Conference, will recieve a request to enter a Video Conference with you.

To end a Video Conference, you can either click 'End Video Conference' in the Settings section or you can close the Video Conference window altogether.


Ignoring Members

You may want to ignore a member for one reason or another, and to do that, you can use the Ignore feature.  Aside from easily adding someone to your Ignore list using the options menu, you can manually add any Screen Name by accessing the Ignore feature, either by clicking on the Ignore icon on the Toolbar, or by pressing Ctrl+N.

You can either ignore a member or members for one or more paticular features, or you can ignore that member universally for all features.  To add somone to the ignore list manually, first select the feature for which you want to block access.  The features include Universal, Chat, Private Messages, File Transfers, Invitations, Games, Voice Chat and Video Conferences.  Then enter the Member's Screen Name into the text box and click 'Add'.

You can then select an option to either allow everyone, only ignore only selected members, allow only those members on the Online List, Ignore all but selected members, and block all.  Selecting 'Allow everyone' will disable the ignoring off all members on that list and it will also override those Ignored in the Universal section.  'Ignore only these people' is the default and will ignore everyone on that list for the selected feature.  'Only allow Online List' will block users who are not listed on your Online List. 'Ignore all but these people' will block everyone except for the people on that list, and 'Ignore everyone' will block all members from contacting you with that feature.


Editing the Screen Name List


Using the Ignore List


Changing Your Password


Chat Rooms

Chat Rooms allow you to communicate with multiple people at one time.  Everything you send to a Chat Room will be sent to everyone else who is in that Chat Room.  There are three main components to a Chat Room, there is the main screen, where everyone's words can be seen.  There is the input box where you enter what you want to say, and there is the member list, which shows you who is in that room.

There are many features under the Chat Room icon on the tool bar.  All the features under the icon are releated to chat rooms.  The features include: Enter Lobby, Join Chat Room, Join Private Room, Search Rooms, Invite, Administer, and Who is in.

The Enter Lobby feature will immediately get you in a room with people so you can begin chatting.  All lobbies are public chat rooms and are prefixed with the word Lobby and suffixed with a number.

When you join a Chat Room, you are asked to enter the name of the room.  It can be a Lobby or a Chat Room with any name you want.  Because Chat Rooms and Lobbies are public, members can use the who is in feature on that room, will be able to locate you, and it will show up in the Search Rooms feature.

If you do not want members to be able to locate you, you can Join a Private Room.  Private Rooms are different from Chat Rooms and Lobbies in that members will not be able to locate you, and the room will not show up in the Search Chat Rooms feature.  Members will only be able to join that room if they know the name of it or if they are invited.

If you are searching for a Chat Room of a particular topic, then you should use the Search Chat Rooms feature.  You can search rooms based on a number of different criteria and then easily join those rooms that show up.

The Favorite Rooms feature is like a bookmarks tool for Chat Rooms.  You can save your favorite rooms to this list to allow easy access to at a later time.  GCN also comes with a preprogrammed list of favorites rooms for you to join.

If you are in a chat room and you want another member to join you, you can request that that person join.  Using the Invite feature, another member will get a request to join whatever room you are in.  If he or she accepts, they will then join that room.

With GCN you can register up to ten rooms per screen name, that you will be able to control and moderate.  For added control we have provided a Room Administration feature.  To use this feature, click the 'Chat' icon on the Toolbar, and click 'Administer'.  Then enter the name of the room, and press the 'Enter' key.  This will bring up information pertaining to the room, and allow you to use the administration features.

To see who is in a room without having to enter it, you can use the Who is in feature.  It only works on Public chat rooms.  When you use it, enter in the name of the room, and hit enter or click on 'List Members'.  then a list will come up showing the people currently in that chat room.

Chat Room Commands:

There are several commands available for you to use while in a Chat Room.  They are entered by prefixing the command with a slash (/) followed by any parameters.

While in a chat room any member can use any of these commands:

/clear – Erases all content from your main chat screen.

/part – Closes and exits the chat room.

/me <action message> - Displays you doing an action described in your message.

/register <password> - Allows you to register the chat room under your screen name, making you the founder.  To do this, enter an unregistered chat room with the name that you desire.  Then, type "/register <password>" with the password being what you wish to set the chat rooms password as.  If the room is already registered, a message will be displayed and you will have to try a different chat room name.  Be sure to not tell anyone your password, because anyone with the password can access all of the founder tools for that chat room.

/help – Displays all of the chat commands and a brief description of each

If you are a room moderator, designated by an '@' besides your name, you are able to use the following commands in addition to the ones above.  To become a moderator, you must either be the founder of the chat room, be either a Super Op or an Auto Op appointed by the founder, or have gotten opped by someone else in the chat room.  Room moderators have a @ before their name in the list of members in the chat room.

/op <screen name> - If you are a room moderator and another member is not, you have the ability to designate them as a room moderator.  This is done by typing "/op <screen name>" with the screen name being the person you wish to make an operator.

/deop <screen name> - If you wish to deop, or take away a room moderator, you must type "/deop <screen name>" with the screen name being the person you wish to deop.

/kick <screen name> - If you wish to remove a user from a chat room, you must type "/kick <screen name>" with the screen name being the person you wish to remove.

/ban <screen name> - If you want to stop a user from re-entering your chat room, or prevent them from speaking in text, you must type "/ban <screen name>" with the screen name being the person that you wish to ban

/unban <screen name> - Removes the selected user from the ban list and allows them to re-enter the chat room.

/topic <new topic> - Sets a new topic for the room.  The topic is the message that is displayed when you first enter the chat room.  Operators cannot change the topic if the founder has locked it.

The founder of the chat room can designate others to help administer the room by setting them as Super Ops or Auto Ops.  Super Ops for a room have the pwoer to add ro remove Auto Ops and can delete Message Board posts on the Chat Room's Message Board.  Autop Ops have the same powers as a room oderator, but they are automatically given moderator priviledges upon entering the room.  They can also use the Room administration tool to set themselves or others as a moderator.  Rooms expire after 14 days without being visited by an Auto Op or above.


Backup Settings

To prevent the loss of all of your GCN settings, such as Screen Names on the Sign On screen and the Online List, as well as all of your Bookmarks and other preferences, it is a good idea to back up your settings from time to time.

To make a backup of your settings, simply insert a floppy disk into drive A:\ and then click Backup Settings under the File menu on the menu bar.  You will be asked if you wish to Backup your settings, select Yes.  Then you will be asked to insert a disk, when you are ready hit 'OK'.

Now save this disk in a safe spot, if you ever need to restore your settings, or if you would like to transfer your settings from one computer to another you can use this disk.  For information on restoring your settings see Restore Settings.


Restore Settings

In order to restore your settings from a previously made backup disk, use the Restore Settings feature.  To do this you must be signed off.  Then simply insert the backup disk into drive A:\ and click on Restore Settings under the File menue on the menu bar.

You will then be asked if you wish to Restore your settings, select Yes.  After selecting Yes you will be asked to insert the backup disk.  Once ready, hit 'OK'.  You may use this Restore feature to restore all of your old settings in the event of data loss, or if you wish to transfer settings from one computer to another.  You must first however create a backup disk, for information on doing this see Backup Settings.

Use caution when using the Restore Settings feature, as it will overwrite any existing settings.  Also remember to make updates frequently, to stay up to date with any modifications or additions you make to your settings.


Edit Screen Name List


Change Password

It is always a good practice to change your password from time to time.  To do this you must first click on 'Change Password' from the Options menu on the menu bar.  Then you need to enter your current password into the top text field.  After that, enter your desired password twice in the bottom two fields in order to confirm its correctness.  Once you are finished, click 'Set Password'.  You will then get a confirming message if successfully changed.


Modify Browser Settings
Browser Preferences

To modify your Browser preferences, such as your home page, security options, and other browser related settings, simply click on 'Browser Preferences' from the 'Options' menu on the Menu Bar.  This will allow you to directly access and modify the Internet Properties.


Open Folder

To quickly and easily access the Downloads, Logs, or My Documents folders, you can use the Open Folder feature under the File menu on the menu bar.  When someone sends you a file on GCN the default Download location is the Downloads folder.  If someone sent you a file and you are not sure where it was saved to, the Downloads folder is your best bet.

All log files are saved to the Logs folder.  You can easily access the Logs folder using the Open Folder feature.  All log files are saved by the Screen Name and the date they were recorded on.  If when you try to open a Log file you are prompted to select a program to open it with, simply select any text editor to open it.

Many other programs by default save to your My Documents folder.  Since the My Documents folder is the default location when choosing to send a file to someone, and because it is often so often used, you can also use the Open Folder feature to directly access the My Documents folder.


Edit Screen Name List

You can add or remove any Screen Name to the Sign On screen at any time using the Edit Screen Name List feature.  To add a Screen Name, simply type it into the text field and then click 'Add Name'.  To remove a Screen Name you must first select the name on the list, and then you may click 'Remove Name'.  Note that this feature can not be used while you are online.


Connecting to the Internet

In order to access the GCN service, you must have an Internet Connection. One of the nice things about GCN is that you can communicate with anyone, regardless of their Internet provider. If you were able to access GCN's web site and download GCN yourself, then you already have an Internet connection. However, if you are unable to connect to GCN while connected to the Internet, please check the following:

First be sure that your computer has a true Internet connection, computers which connect through proxy servers will be unable to connect to GCN.

Secondly, if you are running a firewall, port 7500 must be opened in order to connect, as this is the port the GCN server listens on. Please note that some of GCN's features still may not work properly through a firewall. Computers which share Internet Protocol addresses may experience similar problems.


The Ad Bar

Global Communications Network is a free service.  To provide the funds necessary to operate, we run banner advertisements on our service.  While you are online, these ads will periodically rotate.  Clicking on a banner will load GCN's Web Browser and navigate directly to the website of that sponsor.  Since advertising supports GCN and is what keeps it free, we would appreciate you clicking on banners which interest you.


Using This Help File

This help file is a detailed manual on how to use and get the most out of GCN and its many features. There are three main ways to find information in this file. You can browse the contents, look through the index, or search all words contained in this help file.

To browse through the individual help topics of this file, you may double click on the desired page directly to view it, or you may double click on the book icon to reveal the sub topics of that category.

To search through the index, click on the index tab and enter a search string into the text field, the index will then find the closest alphabetical match. To then get the help information for a given topic, double click on the title in the list.

To search the entire help file for any set of words you should use the find tab on the top of the window. This feature will allow you to find help topics based on the words contained in them.  If this help file is inadequate in helping you, please see the section on Obtaining Additional Help.


Preferred Fonts

If you have a preferred font, or if you have trouble seeing the font, you can use the Preferred Fonts option to set the desired font for your Private Messages, Chat Rooms, and E-mail.

Bear in mind that only you will see the font that you chose to use.  To access the Preferred Fonts option Click on the 'Options' menu on the Menu Bar, and then click on Preferred Fonts.


Show Online List at Sign On

The Show Online List at Sign On option will automatically show the Online List when you sign on.  To set this option just click on 'Show Online List at Sign On' under the 'Options' menu while you are online.  To turn it off simply click it once again.  For more information on the Online List see the Online List topic of this help file.


Text Only Toolbar

To free up some extra room, or if you just prefer to have a plain Toolbar, you can use the Text Only Toolbar option.  To access it, click on the 'Options' menu on the Menu Bar, and then click on 'Text Only Toolbar' to check it.  To uncheck this option, simply click it again.  Note that you must be signed on in order to make this change.


Disable Event Sounds

If you would prefer that GCN not play sounds, or if the sound is intefering with your Voice Chat, you can use the Disable Event Sounds option.  To access it, click on the 'Options' menu on the Menu Bar, and then click on 'Disable Event Sounds' to check it.  To uncheck this option, simply click it again.  Note that you must be signed on in order to make this change.


Playing Games

GCN has several fun features which you can use to play with other mebers over GCN.  GCN has a game called Connect Five.  In this game, you compete to be the first to conenct five circles of your color in a row.  Either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.  The player who initiates the game goes first, and is Green.  You then take turns until somone wins or draws.  Once the game is over, you will be presented with the option of replaying.  If you select yes, then the first player to move again is given the green Color

GCN can also be used to play Chess.  To initalte a Chess game, click the Games Icon on the Toolbar, and select Chess.  Then enter the Screen Name of the other member you wish to play with and press 'Enter', or click the 'OK' button.  Once the other member accepts the request, you will be able to begin the game.  To learn how to play chess, click the following link to visit an Online Chess Tutorial.


Set Voice Chat Hot Key

GCN allows you to depress a key while in a voice chat room and enable you to speak.  The default key for this is the 'Control' key, but it may be changed to any key of your choice.  To access this option sign on, and click the 'Options' menu on the menu bar at top, then click 'Set Global Key'.  This will bring up a prompt allowing you press any key.  Once you press the key, the change will be set.  For more information see our section on Voice Chat.


Jabber

Jabber is the name of an open source interoperable IM project.  GCN contains a Jabber client which lets you connect to the various Jabber servers which are out there.  Jabber allows you to Instant Message anyone using AIM, MSN, ICQ or Yahoo.  To use this feature, first open it by clicking the Jabber Icon, or by pressing Ctrl+J.  Then you will see a window prompting for a Jabber username and password.  If you do not have one, smiply make up a username and password, check off the 'Register New Account' box, and click connect.

Once you are connected, it will bring you to the Contacts tab.  This tab will show you which of your contacts are currently online.  To add or remove contacts, click the 'All Contacts' option.  Then you simply fill in the user name of your contact, select the service they are using, and then you may add or remove the name.  Clicking an item on the list will sill in their username and service automatically.  To contact a friend online, make sure the 'Contacts Online' option is selected.  Then you may fill in the username of the person, and click the 'Send Message' button to open a private message between you and that person.

Before you may use the Contacts tab, however, you will need to add your accounts for other services.  To do this, first click the Accounts tab on the Jabber window.  You will then see four option boxes, for AIM, MSN, ICQ, and Yahoo.  If the option is not enabled it means that the Jabber server you are connected to does not suport those services.  Once you check off a box it will allow you to Add an account for that service if you have not already done so, or it will let you delete an existing account for that service if you have already added one.  Blow the add or remove account section you will see four check boxes for the four services.  If they are enabled it means that you are able to sign on to the respective service.  If it is checked it means that you are currently logged into that service.  By unchecking or rechecking the box, you can sign into or out of the individual services.


Room Voice

If you are in a chat room and you wish to use your microphone and speakers to communicate with other members in the room, you can do so by clicking the Room Voice Icon, located in the lower right hand section of GCN, or by pressing Ctrl+O.  If the private Voice Chat window is opened then you will not be able to use the Room Voice feature.

When you are in Room Voice, you will see a list on the left hand side of the chat room, this will list the names of other users which have opted to use Voice in that room.  Above the list you will see a 'Close' button, which will exit out of Room Voice, and a 'Hang Up' button, ehich will allow you to remove someone from Voice chatting with you.  To talk, use the mouse to click and hold the 'Talk' button down, or use the voice chat hot key, see Set Voice Chat Hot Key, and hold the button down while you speak.

Bear in mind that Room Voice is optional for all rooms, and in some rooms there may be no others using it.  If this is the case then the buttons will not be enabled until somone else opts to use Room Voice.


GCN's Home Page

For a click and easy way to access GCN's webpage, you may click the www.gcn.cx Icon in the lower right corner, or press Ctrl+X.  On GCN's website you are able to download new versions, try out new skins, and use GCN's 'Tell a Friend' feature to tell your friends about the service.


Translator

The GCN Translator lets you translate directly between any of the 9 supported languages.  The Translator is capable of translating English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Chinese.  To acces teh Translator, simply click the Translate icon located in the lower left, or press Ctrl+T.

To translate text, simply type in the uppermost text field for the language selected in the left drop down list.  For example, if 'English' is selected in the leftmost list, drop down list, then type English in the topmost box.  If the text you wish to translate is located on your clipboard, then you may click the 'Paste' button to enter it.  When you are ready to translate, click the button that says: 'Translate >'  The program will then time out while it contacts the translation server, and as soon as one is retrieved it will display in the lower box, for the language selected in the right most drop down list.

Now that the text is translated, you may click the copy button to add the text in the lower box to the clipboard.  If you wish to do a reverse translation, by going from the text in the lower box to the lanuage selected in the left most drop down list, then click the button that says '< Translate', and once complete, it will add the translated text to the top most text field.


Whiteboards

The White Board feature allows you and one other person to draw simultaneously to the same board.  It can be used to play such games as hang man or tic-tic-toe.  To initalte a white Board, click the Games Icon on the Toolbar, then click White Board.  Then enter the Screen Name of the other member you wish to draw with and press 'Enter', or click the 'Invite to White Board' button.  Once the other member accepts the request, you will then be able to begin drawing.


Media Player

GCN can be used to play your favoirte media files such as DVD movies and MP3's.  To access the MP3 player, simply click the 'Media Player' Icon located on the bottom of GCN.  Doing this will open a window from which you can select a directory where your media files are stored, then simpy select the file, and click the 'Play' button.