Want to keep in touch with your Facebook friends throughout the day? Here we’ll show you how to easily add Facebook chat to the popular multi-protocol chat client Pidgin.
Facebook has recently added support for XMPP chat, which means you can easily add it to popular chat clients such as Pidgin. Previously you could only add Facebook chat to Pidgin through a plug-in that didn’t always work correctly. Here we’ll walk you through setting up your Facebook account in Pidgin.
Getting Started
First, make sure you have a username for your Facebook account (link below). This is a relatively new feature for Facebook, so if you’ve had your account for a while you may need to choose one.
If you already have one, you should see it listed instead.
Now, open Pidgin, and click Manage Accounts.
Click Add…
Then select XMPP from the Protocol list.
Now, enter your Facebook username without the facebook.com part (e.g your.facebook.username, not http://www.facebook.com/your.user.name). Then, enter chat.facebook.com for the Domain, and enter your standard Facebook password. You can check the “Remember password” box if you’d like Pidgin to automatically sign in to Facebook chat.
Now, click on the Advanced tab, and uncheck the “Require SSL/TLS” box. Also, make sure the Connect port is 5222. Click Add, and your Facebook account is added to Pidgin.
Now Facebook will show up in your list of accounts, with the username
[email protected].
Your Facebook friends will show up directly in your Buddy list, complete with their full name and Facebook profile picture. Any users that are not in a group will show under your standard list, while ones in a Facebook group will be shown in a separate group. You can move which groups your Facebook friends show up in, just like you can with other chat contacts.
And no matter if your friend is logged in on the standard Facebook website or through another chat application, it will work the same as always.
This is a great way to keep in touch with your Facebook friends throughout the day. If you like Facebook chat and already use Pidgin, now you can keep from switching between programs and just chat with all your friends from a central location.
Links:
Download Pidgin
Set your Facebook username
Similar Articles
Productive Geek Tips
The How-To Geek is No Longer on FacebookWin a Free iPod Touch in the How-To Geek Facebook Giveaway!Block Those Irritating Facebook Quiz & Application MessagesPut Your Pidgin Buddy List into the Windows Vista SidebarHow to Lock Down Your Facebook Account
TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey
The Icy Undertow
Desktop
Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN
The Clear & Clean
Desktop
Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums
Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window
Latest Software Reviews
Tinyhacker Random Tips
Revo Uninstaller Pro
Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows
PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010
PCmover Professional
Make your Joomla & Drupal Sites Mobile with OSMOBI
Integrate Twitter and Delicious and Make Life Easier
Design Your Web Pages Using the Golden Ratio
Worldwide Growth of the Internet
How to Find Your Mac Address
Use My TextTools to Edit and Organize Text