iChat Icon   Setting your iChat AV status

When your iChat AV status is Available, others who have you in their Buddy Lists see you're online and can send you messages. When a message arrives, it appears in a window on your screen.

If you want others to see you're online, but you don't want to chat, set your status to Away. Others can still send you messages, but your status will let them know that you may not answer.

If you're not actively using your computer, your status will remain as you last set it, but your friends will see that you're idle, as well as how long it has been since you last used your computer. Any message that arrives while you are away or idle will be waiting on your screen.

To prevent messages from being sent to you, or to prevent someone from seeing that you're idle, set your status to Offline.

In iChat AV, you can set your status in the Buddy List window. Click the status indicator below your name in the Buddy List and choose a new status from the pop-up menu.

You can also set your status without opening iChat AV by using the iChat AV status menu in the menu bar. If you don't see the iChat AV status menu, turn it on in the General pane of iChat Preferences.

You can set a different status for the AIM and Rendezvous services, as long as one of them is Offline. For example, if you only want people on your local network to be able to send you messages, set the status in your Buddy List to Offline, and your status in the Rendezvous window to Available.

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