VFUG Instant Messenger (VIM) Buddy List Page Help

The "Buddy List" store (membership database) is actually located on the IM Server. The buddy list is created from the member database according to your search criteria. Once you have entered the desired criteria and pressed the "Search" button, a list of matches is brought down and displayed in the top portion of the page. You then pick the members (buddies) you want to keep in contact with and add them to your buddy list store on your local disk for easy access in the future. The Buddy List is what you use when you write messages in the "Buddy Message" area.

Search By

This area is where you enter the criteria for members you wish to find. You must fill in both lines and they may not be the same criteria (i.e.: Last Name cannot be used twice).

Dropdown Lists (left) -- Pick from Last Name, Company, City, State or Country as the main criteria for your search.
Dropdown Lists (center) -- Specify that the criteria on the left "Starts With" or "Contains" the text you enter in the text boxes on the right.
Text Boxes (right) -- This is where you enter the text you want to find. Make sure both the upper and lower text boxes are filled in with at least 2 characters each.

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Search

Click on this command button to begin the search to find the matching entries in the database on the server. The results will appear in the list immediately below it.

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Search Results

Here is the results of your search. You can scroll up or down the list to view who you wish to add to your Buddy List. Use the "Add Buddy" command button to select the highlighted (clicking on a list row will highlight it) selection.

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Buddy List

This is a list of your currently selected "Buddys". This list is stored on your local computer for future use in the "Buddy Message" page tab.

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Copy Buddy List

Click on this command button on the left bottom of your screen to copy the list to another file. The status line will show you the name of the data file (table) created with a copy of your buddy list in it. This is great for backing up your buddy lists in case of problems in your main buddy list store.

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Undo Buddy List

When you select and add a buddy to the Buddy list it will appear there but it is not saved to disk. You must press the "Buddy List Save" command button to actually store the data locally. But before you save your buddy list you can click on this button to discard any changes to your buddy list since the last time it was saved. Basically, the application reads your local data store and copies it into your buddy list as a fresh copy.

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Add Buddy

The "Add Buddy" command button will copy a line of data (member info) from the "Search Results" list to the "Buddy List" section. Double-clicking a selection in the "Search Results" list will have the same effect as pressing this button.

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Buddy Delete

By pressing this command button you will "delete" (remove) a line of data (member) from the local "Buddy List". You must press the "Buddy List Save" button to actually commit the changes to disk.

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Buddy List Save

When you press this command button the current contents of the "Buddy List" will be saved to disk locally. Once the list is saved the contents of your list is ready to be used in the "Buddy Message" page.

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Status

Status Line: At the bottom of the page frame and just above the Copyright notice is the Status line. System messages will appear here as you use VIM. Keep an eye there as it will present a lot of valuable information as you use VIM.

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