Mac OS X Leopard - ARCAism

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CHAPTER 12 iCHAT
In iChat, buddies who are receiving their messages via
mobile forwarding will have a gray “broadcasting” symbol next
to their names, as shown in Figure 12-10. Their availability dot
will be clear to light gray in color, and they will have the status
message they had when they logged out.
CAUTION Most mobile plans limit the number of SMS text messages subscribers can send
and receive, and some even charge a fee for each message. Keep this in mind before using
mobile messaging features from iChat.
File Transfers
One nice feature of iChat is the ability to send a file to someone you are chatting with. If you’d
like to send a file, select Buddies ➤ Send File... (Option+Cmd+F), which will open a file dialog to
select the file you wish to send. Once the file is selected, the person you are sending the file to will
get prompted to accept the file. When they accept, the download will begin. Likewise, if you are
being sent a file, you will be prompted in your chat window to accept or decline the item. If you
accept, the file will be downloaded to your system.
You can also drag files from within the Finder
to names in your buddy list, or into the input field
of an open chat. Certain types of files, such as
images and PDFs, will be rendered in place, as
shown in Figure 12-11.
To save the image, drag it from the chat window
to the Finder. If the image is large, it will be
scaled down in the chat window; but when you
drag it, you will save the original file as if you had
just transferred it.
Since moving files around in iChat has
become so common, Leopard adds a File Transfers
window, much like the one found in Safari. This
window contains a list of files, their transfer status,
and a magnifying glass icon you can click to jump
to the file in the Finder. The File Transfers window
will launch automatically as needed, but you can
Figure 12-11. Pictures are usually rendered
in place in iChat
Screen Sharing
Figure 12-10. A buddy using
mobile forwarding in iChat
also summon it from the menu bar by selecting
Window ➤ File Transfers (Option+Cmd+L).
Screen sharing allows you to view and control another user’s computer from a window on your
own machine. It’s a great way to show something to a friend, collaborate with a colleague, or
provide technical support for a family member.
You can initiate screen sharing from within iChat by selecting Share My Screen... or Ask to
Share Remote Screen... from the buddy list contextual menu or the Buddies menu bar item. You
can also click the Screen Sharing button on your buddy list. That’s the one on the right side that
looks like one rectangle overlapping another.
Screen sharing is actually one of Leopard’s Sharing networking features, so it’s discussed in
much more detail in Chapter 21.