User guide for Android

This is the user guide for the Android version of KouChat. It runs on both phones and tablets.

• Main chat
  • Chat area
  • User list
  • Input field
  • The menu
  • Notifications
• Private chat
  • Notifications
• Away mode
• Topic
• Settings
• The KouChat notification
• File transfers
  • Send file
  • Receive file
• Smileys

Main chat

The main chat is a public chat containing all the users on the network. It looks like this:

Chat area

The big text area displays information messages and chat messages. Information messages are prefixed with ***. Chat messages are prefixed with the nick name of the user who sent the message.

Any links written are underlined and clickable.

User list

The text area on the right is the user list. It contains all the currently online users. Click on a user to open a private chat session with the user.

Icons and text style used on the user says something about the status of the user:

Style	Description
Bold font	This is you.
Normal font	Other users.
Gray text	User is away.
Star (*) after the nick name	User is currently writing.
	User has sent you a private message.

Input field

Everyone can send a message to the main chat, as long as they are not away. Type a message in the lower input field, and press the Enter/Return key to send. Click on the input field to open the on-screen keyboard if it’s not visible.

The menu

These are the menu items you get when clicking the menu button (with the three dots) in the top right corner of the main chat.

Notifications

Main chat messages will be grouped together in one notification. The 5 latest messages will be displayed, while the unread message counter will keep increasing. Click the notification to open the main chat.

Private chat

You can start a private chat with a user if you do not want everyone to see the conversation.

Click on a user in the user list, and you will get a window like this:

The chat area and input field works just like the main chat. Click on the arrow in the top left corner to go back to the main chat, or use the back button.

Notifications

Private chat messages will be shown separately for each user. The 5 latest messages will be displayed, while the unread message counter will keep increasing. Click the notification to open the private chat for that user.

Away mode

You can use away mode to say that you do not wish to be disturbed. When you go away:

• You can not send or receive files.
• You can not change the topic.
• You can not change your nick name.
• You can not send any messages to the main chat.
• You can not send or receive private chat messages.
• Your nick name in the user list turns gray.
• Heads up display of notifications are disabled, as well as sound and vibration.

When you click Away in the menu, you will get a popup asking for an away message:

The away message can’t be empty. After you click OK you are in away mode.

To return from away mode you click on Away in the menu again, but instead of a popup asking for an away message, you get a popup asking if you want to come back from away:

After you click OK you are back to normal mode.

Topic

You can set a topic in the main chat that all users, including users joining later, will see. The topic is shown in the actionbar of the main chat.

When you click Topic in the menu, you will get a popup like this:

The popup will initially show the current topic. Change it and click OK to set the new topic of the chat. Blank the field to remove the topic of the chat.

Settings

Use the Settings to tweak certain aspects of KouChat.

Click on the arrow in the top left corner to go back to the main chat, or use the back button.

Here is a more detailed description of the settings:

The notification settings are only visible on Android 7 (Nougat) and below. On Android 8 (Oreo) and newer you get much more control and can configure notifications by clicking Configure notifications.

Click on a category for many configuration options.

The KouChat notification

When you start KouChat, it will continue to run in the background until you use Quit from the menu. Just closing the app by using the back or home button will only hide the user interface. Same thing when killing KouChat from the “switch app” screen.

You can see when KouChat is running by looking for this (Service) notification in the notification drawer:

This is a low priority notification, which means the icon may not be showing in the status bar, depending on version of Android. Clicking the notification will open the main chat.

File transfers

Send file

To send a file with KouChat you need to use the share functionality in Android. This examples uses the Gallery:

Select KouChat in the list of apps, and you will get another popup where you can select which user to send the file to:

A notification will be shown immediately after selecting a user, with status and progress of the file transfer. Until the other user has accepted, the status will be “Waiting”. You can click the Cancel button at any time to abort.

Receive file

When someone sends a file to you, you will get a notification like this:

Click the notification to continue. On Android 6 and newer you will be asked for permission to save files the first time:

After accepting, or if you don’t need to accept, you can choose to receive the file or not:

The transfer should start immediately if you click Accept. The notification will be updated with status and progress of the file transfer. You can click the Cancel button at any time to abort. The file is saved to the standard download folder in Android.

Smileys

These smileys can be used in the main chat and the private chat.

Code	Smiley
:)
:(
:p
:D
;)
:O
:@
:S
;(
:$
8)