
About KMess:
============

KMess is a MSN Messenger clone for Linux. It enables Linux users
to chat with friends online who are using MSN Messenger in
Windows or Mac OS. The strength of KMess is it's integration
with the KDE desktop environment, focus on MSN Messenger
specific features and an easy-to-use interface.

Like many Linux and KDE applications, KMess is free software.
The licensing terms are the GNU General Public License.



Installation Tip:
=================

In order for KMess to work properly, it must be configured first.
Run the configure script like this:

  ./configure

If the ./configure script completed with success, then type

  make

and then, as root, type

  make install

That's it.



Important:
==========

The configure script tries to detect your KDE3 directory automatically.
If configure fails to detect KDE, you should tell KMess which directory
to use.  Basically, we're talking about the parent directory
of /share/apps/k~bunch of kapps~

Not doing this will result in emoticons being displayed
as text, and icons being displayed incorrectly as well.



Troubleshooting
===============

The following packages are required to install KMess:
- make
- gcc
- gcc-c++ (if available)
- qt
- kdelibs


If your distribution uses separate "devel" or "dev" packages,
make sure you have these packages installed also:
  - qt-devel         (or qt3-devel)
  - kdelibs-devel    (or kdelibs3-devel)
  - x-devel          (or xfree-devel/xorg-x11-devel)
  - libstdc++-devel


Likely the dependencies of these "devel" packages will
be installed automatically. Some worth mentioning are:
  - fontconfig-devel
  - freetype2-devel
  - libfam-devel     (or fam-devel)
  - libjpeg-devel
  - libpng-devel
  - zlib-devel
  - libart_lgpl-devel


If configure tells you you're missing something that you think you
have installed on your system, you probably need to install the
"devel" package of that thing.

  i.e. If it tells you you're missing libfam, install the libfam-devel rpm.


If you get this error:
  ''configure: error: no acceptable C compiler found in $PATH''
you need to install the packages "gcc" and "make".


If you get this error:
  ''Your Installation isn't able to compile simple C++ programs.''
you need to install "libstdc++-devel" and some distributions
also require a "gcc-c++" package for C++ support.


If you get this error:
  ''error: Can't find X includes. Please check your installation [...]''
you need to install the x developer packages. Depending on your distribution,
this can be something like "x-devel", "xfree-devel", "xorg-devel".


If you get this eror:
  ''checking for libz... configure: error: not found.''
you need to install the "zlib-devel" package.


If you get this error:
  ''configure: WARNING: libjpeg not found. disable JPEG support.''
you need to install the "libjpeg-devel" package.


If you get this error:
  ''checking for Qt... configure: error:
    Qt (>= Qt 3.1 (20021021)) (headers and libraries) not found.
	Please check your installation!''
you need to install the "qt-devel" (or "qt3-devel") package.


If you get this error:
  ''checking for KDE... configure: error:
    in the prefix, you've chosen, are no KDE headers installed. This will fail.
    So, check this please and use another prefix!''
you need to make sure "kdelibs-devel" (or "kdelibs3-devel") is installed!





Installing from CVS:
====================

If there is any need to install the CVS version, read on.

The KMess CVS contains the latest changes made to KMess.
Each new feature or bugfix will be stored into CVS by developers.
The code in CVS will eventually become the new KMess release.

   Note that the CVS version is the equivalent
   of an "alpha" or "beta" release!

The changes made to CVS could take a few days to reach
the public servers.  To install KMess from CVS you need to
have the packages "autoconf" and "automake" installed.


To download the CVS version, run these commands:

  cvs -d :pserver:anonymous@cvs.sf.net/cvsroot/kmess login
  (hit enter when prompted for a password)
  cvs -d :pserver:anonymous@cvs.sf.net/cvsroot/kmess -z3 checkout kmess

If the download succeeds, run this command:

  make -f Makefile.dist

This will generate the ./configure script and Makefile templates.
Then you can proceed with the normal installation.


Each time the CVS version is updated, you can run

  cvs update
  make -f Makefile.dist
  ./configure
  make
  make install

and you'll have the latest KMess version installed.



Updating the translations
=========================

You can help translating KMess!

This is what you need to do:
  - Get the latest version of KMess
  - Install "kbabel" (supplied with "kdesdk")
  - To create a new translation file, copy "kmess.pot"
    to a new file named "<your language>.po".
  - Open the language "po" file, and start translating!
    Also watch for translations marked as "fuzzy",
    they often need updating.
  - The the following commands in the "po" folder:
      make
      make install
      (if this doesn't work, run configure first)
  - Test the new translation.
    (to test other languages, run 'KDE_LANG=<code> kmess')
  - Contact the KMess developers.

A more detailed tutorial can be found online
at http://kmess.sourceforge.net/translating/


Building RPM Packages
=====================

To build a RPM package for your distribution, run:

  rpmbuild -tb kmess-<version>.tar.gz



Building Slackware Packages
===========================

To build a TGZ package for Slackware, also run:

  rpmbuild -tb kmess-1.4.1.tar.gz



Building Debian Packages
===========================

To build a DEB package for Debian, run:

  tar zxf kmess-1.4.1.tar.gz
  cd kmess-1.4.1/
  dpkg-buildpackage



More Information
================

For more information about KMess, help forums, and the latest
releases, visit the homepage at http://kmess.sourceforge.net/

