Retro Messenger Guide

Welcome to RetroMessenger, a minimalist, secure peer-to-peer chat client with a retro aesthetic. This manual will help you get set up and start chatting in just a few minutes.

Requirements
Windows OS or Linux OS
An internet connection

Start Up
Execute the application within the folder or run it within a terminal. The screen will boot up. This can later be disabled from the chat-menu. From the main screen you can either create an account through a username and password, or log in. The application will auto-fill this with the last username you have logged in with.

Contacts
To add a contact to your list, type in a valid username. A symbol besides their name will show their status. A red symbol means they are not online and within a chat. A green symbol means they are waiting in a chat for a peer. A gray symbol means they are appearing invisible.

Connection
After logging in, enter the username of your desired peer. You may also input the name via the contact list by selecting the desired username. Check for capitals or symbols. Once you are in the chatroom and both of you have connected, you or your peer must send a message to begin chatting. You will know this has been successful when a message appears stating the session has begun.

Further Chatting
After this has gone through, you can connect to other users using the connection box on the lower left side. To delete someone from your current session, right click on their name and press delete.

Multi-Line mode
Pressing Ctrl + Enter will change the single line input into multi-line mode. Click the box once more and press Ctrl + Enter to place multiple lines of text.

File Sharing
Files up to 12MB may be sent to your peers.

Logs
Logs can be activated, meaning you have a local history of chats within the 'log' folder. These are generated when you enter the peer's username and are encrypted. To set up a password, enter it into the text box below the button to activate logs. This cannot be changed and if you forget it you must delete everything in the log folder and start over. Enter your password and press 'unlock logs'. Do this every time you open the application to both save and load the encrypted logs. This is unique per user, and logging in as a different user will not allow for file decryption.

Disconnection
To disconnect, press the disconnect button and you will be removed from the chat.

Application Size
If you wish to cut down on the size of the application you can manually delete the music folder, though this will remove the sound tracks from the application.