RetroShare User Guide

Written for v0.5.5c

Installing RetroShare
Create a new Identity (account)
Using RetroShare for the first time
Adding Friends
Adding Shared Folders
Chatting with Friends
Using the News feed Ta
Using the Friends Ta
Using the File sharing Ta
Using the Chat !oies Ta
Using the "essages Ta
Using the Channels Ta
Using the Forums Ta
Ti#s $ Tric%s (and Trouleshooting)
Note: Windows and Mac users will see two extra options along the top that some Linux users
will not: FeedReader and LinksCloud. Because the usage portion of the guide was created
with a Linux version of Retrohare that did not have those plugins! this guide will not
explain those sections. "he #etting tarted ta$ is a shortcut to features which are
explained in this guide elsewhere! so will not $e dealt with here.
Installing RetroShare
Note: "his guide was made for installing on Windows. %ther operating s&stems ma& $e ver&
similar! $ut &ou ma& see some things that are a little $it different.
&' "he first dialog $ox upon opening the installation file allows &ou to choose the language
&ou want to use to install the program.
Note: 'ou are not choosing the language Retrohare will run in! onl& the language &ou
will use while &ou install it. (t seems that once installed! Retrohare defaults to the
language of the operating s&stem. )"his can $e changed later if &ou want.*
Current options: Catalan! #erman! +nglish! panish! French! ,olish! "urkish! Russian!
and Chinese
(' 'ou arrive at a standard -welcome to the setup. dialog. Click /ext to continue.
)' /ext &ou will see a license agreement. Click on the radio $utton next to -( accept the
terms....! then click next.
(f &ou feel like reading it! it $asicall& sa&s that the creators of the program want &ou to $e
free to use it and change it in an& wa& &ou like! and are giving &ou a license that gives &ou
as much freedom as possi$le. )"his is a complete contrast to most software written $&
programmers of companies! who want to take awa& &our freedom to share and change it.*
(This next step may not apply to all operating systems.)
*' /ow &ou are presented with two options: tandard installation! and ,orta$le installation.
0 standard installation is tied to the computer &ou install it on. "his is a good choice if
&ou will not $e using Retrohare on an& other computer.
0 #ortale installation is designed so &ou can move the files later to another computer and
continue to use the program with the same account. "his is a good choice if &ou ma&
change computers! or if &ou have more than one computer $ut onl& one computer is on the
(nternet at a time.
"he porta$le installation is a little more complicated to use! so unless &ou know what
&ou1re doing! &ou want to use the standard installation.
Note: Retrohare is not like k&pe2 &our account is connected to where &ou installed the
program. (f &ou know &ou want to use the same account on more than one computer! &ou
will need the #ortale installation! and will need to move the files from computer to
computer in order to make it work.
Click on the radio $utton next to &our choice and click /ext when done.
+' (n this step! &ou are given the choice of where the program1s files will $e installed to
)destination folder*. "he default folder is perfectl& fine2 &ou don1t need to change it unless
&ou have a special reason to.
Below the 3estination Folder $ox! the dialog $ox lists the space re4uired and the total
space availa$le on the computer. 'ou pro$a$l& have more than enough space. (f &ou1re
tr&ing to compare the two! remem$er that #B is a$out 5!666 times $igger than MB.
Click /ext to continue.
,' "he dialog $ox here lets &ou select components to install. "he program defaults to
installing ever&thing necessar&! $ut there are a few things &ou ma& want to decide on.
(f &ou don1t want shortcuts on &our desktop! 4uick launch! or start menu! this is where &ou
can choose to leave those out. Click on the 7 sign next to -hortcut icons. and uncheck
the $ox next to an& shortcuts &ou don1t want.
B& default! Retrohare will start when &ou start up &our computer. (f &ou don1t want that
to happen! uncheck the $ox next to -0uto tartup..
Click (nstall when &ou1re read&.
-' "he program will show a progress $ar as it installs. When it1s finished! it will sa&
Completed. Click /ext.
.' /ow &ou1re at the final dialog. B& default! Retrohare is set to run as soon as &ou click
Finish. 'ou can uncheck that if &ou aren1t read& to use the program &et. Click Finish
when &ou1re read&.
Create a new Identity (account)
"his is how &ou create an account to use to connect with other people.
Note: 'our account is tied to the computer &ou installed it on! unless &ou chose a porta$le
installation.
&' 8pon opening Retrohare for the first time! &ou will see a dialog that sa&s -Create a new
(dentit&.. "he dialog has five things that need to $e dealt with.
a) Name This is the name everyone else will see when they connect to you.
"his can $e an& name &ou want to use on Retrohare. ome people prefer to
use their real name! since the& will onl& $e connecting with people who
know who the& reall& are. Because Retrohare is completel& secure! this is
safe. 'ou will never connect to an&one &ou don1t want to. 'ou can also
create a username that is not &our real name if &ou prefer! $ut &ou will need
to let people know that it1s &ou if the&1re not used to &ou using that name.
Note: 'ou can use spaces! num$ers! and s&m$ols as well as letters in &our
name.
Important Note: 0lthough &ou onl& connect with &our direct friends!
an&one who is friends with one of &our friends will $e
a$le to see &our name if the& look in the right place.
"his onl& works one la&er deep! so whether &ou feel safe
using &our real name will depend on whether &ou trust
&our friends1 9udgment.
) asswor! This is the passwor! you will use forever with your account.
/ou cannot change this #assword after you create your account0
Make sure &ou pick something that &ou can remem$er. 'ou should
also pick a strong password so that no one who uses &our computer
can guess it. trong passwords contain a mixture of letters! num$ers!
and other s&m$ols.
(t is recommended to keep a cop& of the password in a safe place
where no one will think to find it except &ou! 9ust in case &ou forget it.
(f &ou do forget it! &ou will lose access to that account )and an&
messages &ou had stored there* and will have to create a new one.
c) asswor! (chec") "&pe the same password again. (t will not let &ou continue if
the passwords don1t match! to make sure that &ou don1t
accidentall& t&pe a character incorrectl&.
d) #ocation This can $e use! to connect two computers with the same account.
8sing one account on two computers is complicated to set up! so &ou
don1t need to worr& a$out that. :ust t&pe something that indicates
which computer &ou are creating the account on.
+xamples: ;ome! Laptop! ,C! ...
e) %an!omness This is the $ar at the $ottom that has $een filling up with $lue
rectangles. (&t appears on #inux as a green progress $ar.)
"he randomness $ar is a wa& to protect &ou from someone tr&ing to
hack into &our account. "o $e sure it is as safe as possi$le! wiggle the
mouse around until it gets to 566< $efore &ou move on.
When &ou have finished all five parts! click #enerate /ew (dentit&.
Note: "he dialog $ox sa&s Retrohare uses ,#, ke&s for identit& management. "his is a
term for the t&pe of securit& used to prevent hacking. Because ,#, ke&s have a -private.
ke& that no one else $ut &ou ever sees! and a -pu$lic. ke& that &ou onl& share with &our
friends! this means that no one can pretend to $e &ou! or see an&thing &ou have saved in
&our program unless the& are using &our computer while the program is logged in.
(' /ow the program will generate &our identit& )which is what Retrohare calls accounts*.
When it finishes! it will ask &ou to t&pe in &our password in order to log in for the first
time.
)' 'ou ma& see a dialog $ox that sa&s -Retrohare has detected an unregistered plugin..
"his is $ecause the& are still working on Retrohare and haven1t finished some parts of it.
"his does not affect the safet& of &our account or keep the main parts of the program from
working correctl&. :ust click 'es to -authori=e. the plugin. )'ou ma& see more than one
of these dialog $oxes.*
*' /ow Retrohare has started up> 'ou will need to tell an& firewall &ou use to allow access
to Retrohare. For Windows users! Windows Firewall will likel& default to onl& check the
-,rivate networks. $ox! giving a warning that -,u$lic networks. are risk&. Because
Retrohare is so safe in itself! &ou can use it on an& network &ou like without an& chance
of someone seeing what &ou are doing! so check that $ox too.
Using RetroShare for the first time
Congratulations> 'ou have successfull& installed Retrohare and created &our account. /ow it1s
time to use it> Before &ou start chatting and sharing files! let1s set ever&thing up the wa& &ou
want it.
&' %n the left side of &our screen &ou will see several icons in a vertical column. "he top
icon shows a $lue figure with a green plus sign. Look down till &ou see a gra& $utton that
looks like a gear )it has spokes and a hole in the middle*. (t should $e 9ust a$ove the red
-power. $utton. Click this gear to $ring up the %ptions dialog $ox.
(' "he %ptions dialog has a lot of things &ou can change. (f &ou understand the options! &ou
can change them as &ou like. "he reason &ou need it open right now is $ecause there are a
couple ver& important things to change $efore &ou start to reall& use the program. "he&1re
in the 3irectories ta$! so click on that.
)' (n the 3irectories ta$ &ou will see five options: three check$oxes and two address $oxes.
a) 'utomatically share incoming !irectory
Retrohare automaticall& checks this $ox $ecause it assumes that &ou will want to
share ever&thing &ou download. (f &ou are using it 9ust to share music! films!
games! e?$ooks! or other general content! this is pro$a$l& true. ;owever! if &ou
plan on using Retrohare for an&thing sensitive that not ever& one of &our friends
should see! &ou should uncheck the $ox.
(f onl& one person will $e seeing an& sensitive files! &ou can change the permissions
on that director& )look under -File sharing. for information on how to do that*.
;owever! if &ou will $e getting sensitive files from more than one person! and &ou
don1t want them to see what others are sending &ou! then &ou will need to uncheck
the $ox and simpl& move the files into individual folders for each person to see.
a -
b -
c -
d -
e -
) %emem$er hashe! files for (
;ashed files are the files &ou1ve chosen to share that Retrohare has alread& looked
at and stored in its memor&. "he default num$er is fine.
c) 'uto)chec" share! !irectories every ...
Retrohare defaults to 5@ minutes for this option. "his means that ever& 5@ minutes
it will scan all the directories &ou have shared and check to see if there are an&
changes.
(f &ou will onl& $e sharing a small a handful of files at a time! this num$er will
work fine. ;owever! if &ou plan on sharing a large amount of files )such as man&
giga$&tes of various files*! &our computer will $e slow a lot as it scans all of those
files. 'ou should then change it to a much larger amount )the value in the
screenshot comes out to A da&s*.
Note: (f &ou have made changes to the files availa$le! &our friends will not see
those changes until Retrohare does this check or unless &ou tell it to check files
right then )there is a $utton that can do that*. 'ou will need to take this into
account when &ou want friends to get files that &ou have recentl& created or gotten.
d) &ncoming *irectory
"his is the director& )folder on &our computer* where an& files &ou download will
go when the& finish. "he default director& is hard to find! no matter which
operating s&stem &ou1re using! so &ou definitel& want to change it $efore &ou
download an&thing. 'ou ma& create a separate Retrohare folder under &our
3ocuments or 3ownloads folder! or simpl& tell it to go to &our 3ownloads folder.
e) artials *irectory
"his director& is not as important to change! $ecause it1s onl& going to hold the files
while the& download2 finished ones will go to the (ncoming 3irector&. 'ou can
leave it as it is.
When &ou finish changes &ou can click %B in the %ptions dialog $ox to accept the
changes.
*' /ow &ou should $e $ack in the main window. "he final step of getting &our account
prepared $efore connecting to friends is to edit &our shared directories. "hese are the
folders of files &ou share with other people. (t1s a good idea to share something! $ut &ou
don1t have to share much if &ou don1t want to or don1t have much people would like.
"o edit the shared directories! click on the 0dd hare $utton on the left. (t looks like a
folder with a green plus sign in front of it.
+' /ow! &ou should see the hare Manager. %nl& one folder is currentl& shared! and this is
the folder that Retrohare wanted to put &our downloads in. 'ou will notice that it sa&s
3ownloads under the Cirtual Folder column. ince &ou have changed &our downloads to
go to another folder! &ou do not want to share this folder. Click on the folder! find the
Remove $utton at the $ottom! then click on that. "he folder should disappear from the list!
leaving an empt& hare Manager.
,' 'ou still need to share something! so find the section of this guide titled 0dd hared
Folders and add at least one folder. "his folder should $e shared with ever&one! so make
sure it can $e $rowsed $& ever&one and searched $& ever&one. )"he 0dd hared Folders
section will explain the flags2 turn on the $lue folder and the weird $lue mask.* (f &ou
can1t think of an&thing to share! tr& downloading some pu$lic domain e?$ooks or music.
"he Bing :ames Cersion of the Bi$le is free to download here! and ,ro9ect #uten$erg has
man& classic $ooks. "he (nternet 0rchive has man& older $ooks! films! and music free for
download as well.
-' /ow &ou1re read& to add friends> #o to the 0dding Friends section of the guide to
continue.
Adding Friends
Friends are what make Retrohare useful. Without friends! all the features are useless.
"herefore! this is the most important section of the guide.
Because &ou connect directl& to &our friends! &ou have to exchange certificates. Companies like
k&pe and 'ahoo take care of this step for &ouD$ut then the& can see what &ou t&pe. Retrohare
trades that eas&?to?use aspect for $etter securit&. 'ou 9ust have to remem$er that &ou have to give
&our friend &our certificate! and the& have to give &ou theirs.
&' "he first step in adding friends is to go to the 0dd a Friend Wi=ard. 'ou can find the
$utton for this on the top of the left column of $uttons. (t looks like a $lue head with a
green plus sign in front of it.
(' /ow &ou should see a dialog $ox that sa&s Connect Friend Wi=ard. ;ere &ou have four
options for adding friends:
a) +nter the certificate manually
"his means that &ou would paste the text of &our friend1s certificate into a $ox! and
cop& &ours into something for &our friend to cop&. While this can $e done! it is
eas& to miss a character or two if &ou cop& in a hurr&! and the certificate must have
ever& letter and num$er in order to work properl&. "his is not recommended for a
first?time user.
"his option is most useful in a situation where &ou are communicating with a friend
other than $& e?mail. ites like ,aste$in! ,astie! and others can $e used to hold the
text of the certificate for a short while! and the link to the text can $e e?mailed or
pasted into a chat. (f the friend &ou are connecting with cannot use an e?mail
address! this is a possi$le solution.
(f &ou choose this option and click /ext! the next window &ou see will have &our
"ext certificate. "o cop& the certificate! &ou will need to click on the $utton on the
right that looks like two pieces of paper with a tin& R on them. "his copies &our
certificate to the clip$oard so &ou can paste it somewhere.
"he disk $utton lets &ou save the certificate to a file )a much easier option*! and the
envelope $utton starts up &our e?mail client so &ou can paste the certificate in an e?
mail to someone.
"he space $elow &our certificate is for &ou to paste &our friend1s certificate in. (f
&ou use this option! $e careful as &ou cop& &our friend1s certificate! to make sure
&ou don1t miss an& characters. (f &ou pasted successfull&! the red E will change to a
green check mark and allow &ou to click /ext.
) ,ou get a certificate file from your frien!
"his is the simplest method! and eas& for new users to learn. (t saves the certificate
to a file! and lets &ou import a file with &our friend1s certificate.
(f &ou choose this option and click /ext! the next window &ou see sa&s Certificate
files. 'ou should click on the $utton that sa&s +xport m& certificate... "his will
open up a dialog that will ask &ou to save a file. 'ou can name it an&thing &ou like!
$ut it would pro$a$l& $e more helpful if &ou included something in the name that
showed it was &our Retrohare certificate.
Note to #inux users: 'ou ma& need to manuall& add the extension .rsc to &our
certificate when saving. 0 certificate without that extension cannot $e used to add
friends.*
"he address $ar $elow allows &ou to either dragFdrop a certificate &our friend gives
&ou! or click Browse to find it on &our computer1s hard drive. %nce &ou have the
address to the file in the line! &ou can click /ext.
c) -en! an &nvitation $y +mail
"his is simpl& a shortcut to opening &our e?mail client and sending an e?mail to
&our friends to tell them a$out Retrohare. (t is designed to work with a desktop
client like %utlook or "hunder$ird. (f &ou onl& access &our e?mail using a we$
$rowser )such as Firefox! (nternet +xplorer! Chrome! or %pera* then &ou will not $e
a$le to use this option properl&.
(f &ou choose this option and click /ext! the next window &ou see sa&s (nvite
Friends $& +mail. (t has a spot for &ou to enter &our friends1 addresses! a u$9ect
line for the e?mail! and a sample introduction text! complete with a spot for &ou to
paste &our certificate. When &ou enter addresses and click next! Retrohare will tr&
to figure out what &our default e?mail client is and start it upDeven filling a $lank
e?mail with the information &ou see in the window. 8nfortunatel&! not ever&one
uses desktop clients! the +nglish is slightl& awkward! and most people will pro$a$l&
do a $etter 9o$ introducing Retrohare to their friends and famil& without it.
d) %ecommen! many frien!s to each others
'ou ma& $e having difficult& understanding the poor grammar of the description.
+ither wa&! this option is for recommending existing friends to other existing
friends. (t is not for adding someone to Retrohare who does not have an account
alread&.
(f &ou choose this option and click /ext! the next window &ou see sa&s Friend
Recommendations. 'ou can check an& num$er of friends in the left column2 these
are the friends &ou want to recommend to people. 'ou can also check an& num$er
of friends in the right column2 these are the friends &ou want to receive the
recommendations. "he $ox $elow lets &ou t&pe a message to go to all of them. B&
recommending! it sends a message to the friends in 4uestion that lets them click on
links to the recommended friends1 certificates.
0t this point &ou should have picked one of those four options and clicked on /ext or
Finish.
Note: 'ou do not have to get and give certificates in the same format. For
example! &ou could send a friend &our certificate file! $ut the& might send
&ou an e?mail with their certificate as text. 0s long as &ou import their
certificate into &our Retrohare! and the& import &our certificate into their
Retrohare! &ou will $e a$le to connect.
)' /ow &ou should see a dialog $ox that sa&s Make Friend. "his is the final step to go
through.
Retrohare has good defaults $uilt in here. "he two check$oxes in the middle of the
dialog $ox are vital to adding someone as a friend! so the& should definitel& $e checked.
-0uthenticate friend. should onl& $e used if &ou know that the certificate definitel& came
from that person.
"he dropdown $ox lets &ou add the friend to a group immediatel& instead of having to do
it later in the Friends ta$.
"he service permissions are usuall& good. (f! however! &ou don1t trust the friend &ou1re
adding to $ehave well in some wa&! &ou can limit their a$ilit& to connect with &ou $&
unchecking some of the $oxes. )'ou can alwa&s change &our mind later and edit these
$oxes in the Friend 3etails dialog.*
-3irect source. has to do with making downloads work correctl&. (f &ou don1t plan
on allowing this friend to download from &ou )or vice versa*! &ou can turn this off.
-3iscover&. has to do with finding new friends to add on Retrohare )onl& possi$le
if allowed! as otherwise &ou can onl& see those &ou trust*. "urning off 3iscover&
means &ou can1t recommend friends to them from inside the program.
-ForumsFchannels. means that &ou can transfer information a$out new posts in
forums and channels $etween &ou two. "urning it off would mean $oth of &ou
would have to get the information from someone else instead.
-0non&mous routing. means the& would not $e trusted to transfer pieces of other
people1s files! and the& would not $e a$le to use &ou to transfer pieces of files from
&our other friends to them. "his ma& $e the most important to turn off! in case &ou
are worried a$out $eing prosecuted for sharing files.
0t this point &ou can click Finish.
*' Retrohare will spend a little $it tr&ing to connect with that friend now. (t1s wise to have
them online when &ou add them )and add each other around the same time*! so the initial
connection can $e made 4uickl&. Be patient while it attempts to connect! and don1t worr&
if it fails at first! especiall& if &ou don1t know if the other person has their Retrohare
running at that particular moment. "r& again and &ou might have $etter luck. When it
finishes! &ou1ll have a new friend in &our Friends ta$>
Adding Shared Folders
hared Folders are how &ou can allow friends to download files from &ou. "hese files could $e
an&thing from generic e?$ooks! music! videos! or games to a private pro9ect &ou1re working on
and sharing results with one or two friends. "he hare Manager allows &ou to control exactl&
who sees &our files so that &our privac& is never in danger.
&' "o edit the shared directories )using the hare Manager*! click on the 0dd hare $utton on
the left. (t looks like a folder with a green plus sign in front of it.
(' /ow &ou see the hare Manager. From the hare Manager! &ou can add new shared
folders! edit existing ones! or remove folders &ou have shared.
"o add a folder! click the 0dd $utton at the $ottom.
"o edit a specific folder! click on the folder in the list first! then click the +dit $utton at the
$ottom.
"o remove a folder! click on the folder in the list first! then click the Remove $utton at the
$ottom.
For this section of the guide! we will assume &ou are adding a new folder and clicked on
0dd.
)' /ow &ou should see the hare Folder dialog.
"he hare Folder dialog has four main parts to deal with:
a -
b -
c - d -
a) #ocal ath "his is where the folder is on &our computer. Click on Browse to find
a folder. (f &ou don1t have one &ou can share alread&! create one under
&our 3ocuments or 3ownloads folder. 'ou can call it an&thing &ou
like. -Retrohare. is a good name if &ou can1t think of one. 'our
friends on Retrohare will not see the name of this folder.
) .irtual /ol!er "his is the name ever&one on Retrohare will see for the folder &ou
share. (t can $e different from the actual name on &our computer. For
instance! &ou might call the folder on &our computer -Retrohare.!
$ut call it -hared Files. in the Cirtual Folder line! so all &our friends
will think it1s called -hared Files..
c) -hare /lags "his lets &ou control who can -$rowse the director&. or whether
someone can -rela& anon&mous tunnels to the director&..
Browsing the director& means that one of &our friends can go to see
what files &ou have shared and click on the folder to see the files.
"he& can then choose a file to download directl& from &ou if the& like.
Rela&ing anon&mous tunnels means that &our friends and their friends
can search &our files. "he& won1t know for sure that &ou1re the one
who has those files if the& are searching! $ut the& can find them and
download them anon&mousl&.
"he reason it is called rela&ing is $ecause no one $ut &our friends can
download from &ou. (f someone )who is not &our friend! $ut is a
friend?of?a?friend* wants one of &our files and finds it in search! when
the& tr& to download it! it causes &our mutual friend to -rela&. the file
$& downloading pieces and giving them to the friend?of?a?friend.
Note: 0non&mous searching can work up to seven la&ers of friends
from &ou! so &ou have no idea who could $e seeing those files. 'ou
should allow rela&ing anon&mous tunnels onl& for folders with non?
personal files in them.
"here are three share flags to control:
(green fol!er) 'ou can restrict it so onl& friends in particular
groups can $rowse the folder. )ee more information on groups
later.*
($lue fol!er) 'ou can allow all of &our friends to $rowse the
folder.
(weir! $lue mas") 'ou can allow the folder to $e searched
anon&mousl& $& people up to seven la&ers deep. B& default!
ever& new hared Folder will have this turned on2 $e careful to
turn it off if &ou don1t want ever&one to see it>
For a folder of non?personal files! &ou pro$a$l& want to allow
ever&one to $rowse and search the folder. 'ou can do that $& turning
on the $lue folder and keeping the weird $lue mask showing.
For a folder of personal files that &ou feel comforta$le sharing with
ever&one &ou plan on connecting with on Retrohare! turn on the $lue
folder onl&! and turn off the weird $lue mask. "his will allow &our
friends to $rowse the folder! $ut no one will $e a$le to find those files
in search )which prevents a friend?of?a?friend from finding them*.
For a folder that &ou want to share with onl& specific people! &ou
should turn off the weird $lue mask! and turn on the green folder.
"hen &ou need to choose which groups.
d) 0roups 'ou1ll notice that this is a list of check$oxes with group names next to
it. 'our client ma& have created a default set of groups such as
Friends! Famil&! Co?Workers! and %ther Contacts. %r it might have
no groups at all. (f &ou have no groups when &ou go to add a new
shared folder! &ou1ll need to create one first $efore &ou can limit a
folder1s access to a specific group. 'ou can create and edit groups
from the Friends ta$.
"o mark which groups are allowed to access the folder &ou1re adding!
9ust check the $ox next to the group or groups &ou want.
Note: 'ou don1t need to do an&thing with this section unless the
&ou1re turning on the green folder in the flags section.
*' When &ou have finished with the hare Folder dialog! 9ust click %B at the $ottom and
&our folder will $e added to the shares. Retrohare ma& $e slow for a little $it as it
-hashes. the files. "his means it runs a special calculation the first time &ou share the
files! so that later it can share them with other people ver& 4uickl&.
Below is a sample hare Manager:
'ou1ll notice that the& chose to keep the same Cirtual Folder name.
"he Music folder can $e $rowsed and searched $& an&one.
"he ,ictures folder has $een set up to $e limited to specific groups! $ut $ecause the sample
account used did not have an& groups set up! the& don1t have an& listed in the green section to the
right. )"hat folder will not work correctl& until groups are set up and assigned to it.*
"his is an example of what a limited folder with groups specified might look like:
0nd finall&! the Cideos folder can $e $rowsed $& all their friends! $ut no one can search it.
Chatting with Friends
(f &ou have ever used instant messaging )such as 'ahoo! M/! 0%L! or an& form of :a$$er chat
such as #mail Chat*! then &ou won1t find Retrohare1s -chatting. to $e much different. 'ou t&pe
in the $ox $elow the conversation and hit +nter or click end when done! and &our message is
transmitted to the other person! who can then read it and respond. (t1s ver& hand& for real?time
communication where &ou need an immediate response.
'ou can customi=e the format of messages )such as how time and date are displa&ed* in the
%ptions. 0nd while &ou can customi=e all sorts of aspects of &our communication )such as font!
font si=e! and color* from the conversation itself! &ou can ad9ust the defaults in the %ptions. )(f
&ou have particular needs! such as large si=e font or a specific color! &ou1ll want to set the default
to something &ou can tolerate so &ou don1t have to change it ever& time &ou start a new
conversation.* Fortunatel&! Retrohare remem$ers the st&le &ou used the previous time with that
person.
'ou1ll see &our avatar and &our friend1s avatar on the left side. )'ours is the lower one.* (f &ou
haven1t selected one! it will $e a large $lue head figure like the upper avatar a$ove. 'ou can
change &our avatar 9ust $& clicking on it! if &ou like. "he $est pictures to use are s4uare. "he
avatar in chat goes up to 566x566 pixels2 an&thing larger will $e shrunk down to that si=e! and
an&thing smaller will $e stretched to fill the space.
Below the part of the chat window where &our conversation will appear! &ou can see the $ox
where &ou t&pe. 8nderneath that is a row of $uttons. "he&1re mostl& prett& standard: a wa& to
insert various emoticons! to $oldFitalici=eFunderline text )note that currentl& it seems to appl& it to
all the text in the message*! choose the font! and even text color.
"he last three icons are a little different. 'ou1ll see an icon of a picture with a green plus sign in
front of it. "his is supposed to allow one to insert pictures. "he author has not had this work!
personall&! $ut perhaps someone else has! or it1s still $eing worked on.
"he next to last icon shows a folder with a green plus sign in front of it. "his is one wa& to add
files to chat. 'ou can also drag and drop the file onto the $ox &ou t&pe in. "his works ver& well!
and is possi$l& the simplest wa& to share files an&where. "he larger the file! the longer the time
it1ll take $efore Retrohare turns it into a link. )"he pause is $ecause Retrohare is -hashing. the
file! running some code to create a string of text from the file that will $e used to help &our friend
download it correctl&.*
"o download a file from a chat window! simpl& click on the link to the file. (t1ll $ring up a dialog
$ox asking if &ou want to -process the link.! which is code for -do &ou want to download this
fileG.. %nce &ou click 'es! it will $e added to &our downloads in the File sharing ta$.
"he last icon shows a wrench with a dropdown arrow. "his lets &ou manage chat histor&. 8nlike
most instant messaging! Retrohare does not save ver& man& messages at a time! so much of &our
chat histor& will not $e saved unless &ou want it to $e. (ndeed! the idea is that &ou might not
want it saved! as the first two options are to clear and even delete the chat histor&! which would
render it impossi$le for an&one to figure out what &ou had $een discussing. "he third option on
the dropdown does let &ou save the chat histor& as a txt file! which is the format man& instant
messaging clients store chat histor& in an&wa&s. "he fourth option lets &ou $rowse message
histor&! $ut again! it onl& stores the last A6 messages $& default )&ou can change that to a larger
figure in %ptions*! so &ou can1t view $e&ond those. "he last option is to clear offline messages!
which is onl& active if &ou have offline messages.
Using the News feed Ta
'our /ews Feed is a one?stop glance at ever&thing new that happens.
+ver& time a friend connects! it will show up there. "he news item gives &ou shortcut options
such as starting a message )e?mail* and starting a chat )instant messaging*! so &ou don1t even have
to go to the Friends ta$ to deal with it.
/ew channel posts )for channels &ou are su$scri$ed to*! new forum posts! new messages!
attempts $& others )not in &our friends list* to connect! all will appear there as well.
'ou can clear all news using the Remove $utton at the top! while the %ptions $utton is a 4uick
shortcut to the /otif& ta$ in the %ptions controls! letting &ou manage exactl& which things &ou
want to $e notified for. For instance! since the Messages ta$ icon will change color and show the
num$er of new messages next to it an&wa&! &ou ma& not want new messages listed in &our news
feed! and could turn that off.
Using the Friends Ta
"he Friends ta$ is where &ou can see which friends are online or not! and &ou can manage groups
of friends. 'ou can manage &our ke&ring )which is where all &our friends1 certificates are stored*!
and &ou can see who is friends of &our friends.
"he Friends ta$ is split into two panes. "he left pane is where &ou will spend most of &our time!
as it lists all &our friends. %ffline friends are gra&! while online friends are shown in $lue.
"o control la&out and viewing options! click the little $lue dropdown $utton in the upper right of
the left pane. (t lets &ou hide or show groups! offline friends! and columns such as avatar )the
picture &ou choose to represent &ou*! last contact )when the& last connected with &ou*! and (,
address.
"o manage friends! right click on a friend and &ou will see a context menu appear.
%n the left $elow is the context menu that appears when &ou click on the friend.
%n the right $elow is the context menu that appears when &ou click on the friend1s location2 &ou
can get to this $& clicking on the plus sign next to the friend1s name.
"he& are ver& similar! $ut &ou will notice several differences.
"he options $elow are found on $oth menus:
/rien! 1 #ocation: "his is the menu title2 &ou1ll notice &ou can1t seem to select an&thing
when &ou click on it.
Chat: "his starts an instant messaging session with that person. 'ou can
t&pe messages $ack and forth as if &ou were having a live
conversation.
2essage /rien!: "his opens up something similar to a $lank e?mail. )"o learn more
a$out messages! read the section of this guide a$out the Messages
ta$.*
/rien! *etails: "his pulls up the Friend 3etails dialog. 'ou can look at &our friend1s
name! their Retrohare (3! or their ,#, fingerprint )these are details
the program uses to keep people from $eing confused with someone
else*. 'ou can edit &our -trust. in them )there is little documentation
on what this is for! so don1t worr& a$out it for now*. 'ou can look at
their certificate. 0nd finall&! &ou can edit the service permissions &ou
gave them when &ou added them.
%ecommen! this /rien! to...: "his opens up a message )aka e?mail* all set up so all
&ou have to do is decide who &ou want to recommend
the friend to! and perhaps edit the text of the message.
"he person who receives the message can simpl& click
on a link to the certificate within the message! and the&
can add a new friend that wa&. (t is far easier to add
friends like this than $& exchanging certificates
manuall&.
'ttempt to connect: "his option lets &ou force Retrohare to tr& connecting again2
useful if &our earlier attempts at connecting to &our friend were
unsuccessful.
aste certificate lin": "his is onl& clicka$le if &ou have previousl& copied a
certificate link. 0gain! &ou might use this to help friends
connect inside the program.
+xpan! all: "his expands ever& group and friend so &ou can see all of them.
Collapse all: "his collapses all the groups so &ou see 9ust the group names and an&
friends not in a group.
"hese options are onl& availa$le when right?clicking on the friend name:
*eny /rien!: "his is onl& visi$le when &ou have the main friend name selected. "o
den& a friend is to remove them from &our friends list.
0roups: "his is where &ou manage &our friend groups. 'ou can:
Create new group )&ou will want to do this when &ou first start if
there aren1t an& automatic groups*
0dd to group )this adds them to a specificDalread& createdD
group! $ut does not take them out of their old group*
move the friend to a specific group )which takes them out of the
group the& were in when &ou selected their name*
remove from group )this takes them out of the group the& were in*
remove from all groups )this takes them out of ever& group the&
were in and leaves them outside of the groups2 &ou can find them
at the $ottom of the list*
"hese options are onl& availa$le when right?clicking on the friend1s location:
Copy certificate lin": "his can $e useful in helping friends connect with each other.
%emove /rien! #ocation: "his is onl& visi$le when &ou have selected the friend1s
location. 'ou will likel& not need to do this unless a friend tells
&ou to2 it would $e necessar& onl& if the& changed locations $ut
kept the same ke&! a process that is uncommon and difficult for
new users.
"he panel on the right side of the Friends ta$ has several useful things. First! &ou can easil&
choose or change &our avatar )picture* $& clicking on the s4uare to the left of &our name. "he
picture should $e a s4uare! and can $e as large as 566x566 pixels. 0lthough it looks smaller at
the top of the right panel here! it is displa&ed at 566x566 pixels when &ou chat with )instant
message* someone.
Below &our name is a s&m$ol of a pencil. 'ou can click on this to choose a status messageDa
short! simple description of what &ou1re up to. (t can $e funn& or serious! 4uirk& or even useful.
3roa!cast: "his lets &ou t&pe a message that all &our connected friends will see at
the same time.
#ocal networ": "his ta$ displa&s a visual concept of &our local network. 'ou are the
&ellow node at the center! and lines show connections $etween &ou
and other people. 'ou can also see which of &our friends have
friended each other. 'ou can click and drag to move nodes around to
see $etter.
0t the $ottom of the Local network ta$! &ou1ll see an option called
-Friendship level.. (f &ou increase this to A! &ou can see people who
are friends of &our friends! $ut who &ou have not friended &ourself.
Remem$er that other people can do the same thing.
"he other option at the $ottom of the Local network ta$ is -+dge
length.! which controls how large the network looks. 'ou can
increase or decrease the num$er to change that.
4eyring: "his allows &ou to manage &our friends1 certificates. 'ou can remove
them permanentl& here. 'ou will onl& need to do this if someone has
lost their account permanentl&2 then &ou can remove them here so
the& won1t clutter up &our account with friends who will never $e a$le
to log on and connect with &ou. 0t that point! the&1ll 9ust need to
create a new account. and start over.
Using the File sharing Ta
"he File sharing ta$! which also is called File "ransfers! is where &ou can monitor! start! and stop
downloads and uploads of files.
"here are four main sections of the File sharing ta$:
*ownloa!s:
"his is where &ou can see the files &ou are downloading or uploading. 0t times &ou
ma& see a file transfer in the 8ploads ta$ that &ou did not start with a name of
random letters and num$ers )starting with fc?own?*. "his is perfectl& normal2 it1s
how Retrohare updates people with their friends1 shared folders lists. %ne reason
&ou were recommended to increase the time in $etween auto?checking shared
folders is $ecause fre4uent checks mean more fre4uent transfers of folder updates!
which can $e a pro$lem with people who have low $andwidth limits or caps.
-earch: ;ere is where &ou can search for files and get results from as far awa& as
seven la&ers of friends from &ourself. 'ou can choose which of the
following are included: files &ou can $rowse! files that are found onl& in
friend?of?a?friend folders! and files &ou are sharing &ourself. 'ou can also
control the maximum num$er of results and the t&pe of file searched for.
When &ou see files &ou want! it1s eas& to download2 a setting at the $ottom
even allows &ou to select multiple files and click one $utton to download
them all at once.
/rien!s files: ;ere is where &ou can $rowse the files &our friends have shared. (f
&our friend has a shared folder! there will $e a plus sign next to their
name. Click on it to expand! and &ou can see which folders the& have
shared and what files are in them.
0t the top right of this ta$! &ou1ll see options to switch $etween tree
view and flat view )it defaults to tree view! which is far easier to work
with than flat view*! to filter visi$le files $& date )useful if &ou need to
look for onl& recent files*! and a one?click $utton to download
whichever files are selected.
2y files: ;ere is where &ou can $rowse &our own shared files. +ach folder &ou have
availa$le is shown here in alpha$etical order $& the Cirtual Folder name &ou
chose.
"he top right of this ta$ has the same options a$out tree view vs. flat view
and for filtering $& date! $ut the 3ownload $utton is replaced $& a -check
files. $utton. "his is how &ou can force Retrohare )whenever &ou click on
it* to check &our files and update the list of files &our friends see availa$le.
When &ou do this! &ou will likel& see an upload with the changes )starting
with fc?own?* going out to whichever friends are connected at that time.
Friends who were not connected when &our files were checked will
download the update as soon as the& connect to &ou again.
Using the Chat !oies Ta
"he Chat Lo$$ies ta$ is Retrohare1s e4uivalent of chatrooms. +ach -chat lo$$&. is given a
name and a topic )what &ou1re supposed to $e talking a$out*. When &ou 9oin a chat lo$$&! &ou
can choose a different nickname from &our account name.
Chat lo$$ies can $e pu$lic or private. ,u$lic chat lo$$ies are visi$le to &our friends2 the& can see
when &ou create one and 9oin it on their own. ,rivate chat lo$$ies are invisi$le except to the
friends &ou have invited.
"o chat in a chat lo$$&! simpl& find the one &ou want from the list of pu$lic and private ones! and
9oin it. When &ou create a chat lo$$& or su$scri$e to one! a third option will appear ),rivate
u$scri$ed Lo$$ies or ,u$lic u$scri$ed Lo$$ies! whichever the case ma& $e*. "he author has
not $een a$le to test chat lo$$ies enough to know what the advantages of su$scri$ing are.
Note: 0 chat lo$$& will exist onl& as long as there are people in them. When ever&one has left a
chat lo$$&! it will 4uickl& disappear from the list.
Using the "essages Ta
'ou might recogni=e that the Messages ta$ looks a lot like &our e?mail. "hat is $ecause this is
Retrohare1s e4uivalent of e?mail. (t even has folders like (n$ox! %ut$ox! 3rafts! ent! and
"rash. Currentl& there is no wa& to create or delete folders! $ut that a$ilit& ma& appear in a later
version of the program.
"he $uttons along the top ma& $e somewhat intuitive. (f not! &ou can hover over them to see
what the& are. "he $lue displa& icon on the right of the $uttons lets &ou turn on text next to the
$uttons! which is helpful if &ou have a hard time remem$ering what is what.
;ere is an explanation of the first few:
New 2essage: "his is where &ou start a new Retrohare e?mail. )Retrohare calls
e?mails Messages! which can $e slightl& confusing at first.*
%eply to selecte! message: "his starts a repl& to the sender of the message &ou have
selected.
%eply to all: "his starts a repl& to ever&one who the selected message was sent to.
/orwar! selecte! message: "his forwards the selected message to people &ou
choose.
%ther $uttons let &ou tag! delete! or print messages. 0 set of default tags are present! and use
color coding to help &ou 4uickl& recogni=e what tag is assigned to each message. 'ou can create
&our own tags )and assign colors* as well.
%ne of the most useful aspects of the messages s&stem is that &ou can recommend friends to
other friends using Retrohare Certificate links in messages. 'ou can do this in a new message
$& selecting the friend &ou want to recommend from the Contacts list on the left! and clicking the
Recommend $utton instead of the "o! Cc! or Bcc $uttons $elow it.
"he other ver& useful aspect of the messages s&stem is the a$ilit& to -attach. files to messages.
8nlike standard e?mails! however! the files will not $e downloaded $& the recipient unless the&
choose to download them. "his eliminates the pro$lem of waiting for an e?mail with a large
attachment to download $efore receiving the rest of one1s e?mail.
0ttached files show up in messages at the $ottom under the section titled Recommended Files.
'ou can download $& right?clicking and choosing to download the selected file or all files. (f &ou
know &ou want all of the files! there is a $utton on the right side of the Recommended Files panel
that will let &ou download all the files in the message.
Because the files did not actuall& come with the message! &ou will onl& $e a$le to download them
when the sender of the message is online.
Using the Channels Ta
"he Channels ta$ is Retrohare1s e4uivalent of R feeds. (f &ou have never used an R feed
and have no idea what it is! the simplest explanation is that it1s a wa& of delivering content )such
as news updates* to &ou instead of &ou going to the we$site.
Channels work like this:
%ne person creates a channel a$out a certain topic. (t could $e a dail& $log of whatever the&
happen to think of. (t could $e a weekl& update for a cross?countr& or international trip the&1re
taking. (t could $e on?the?ground news from a political hot spot. Whatever it is! the& are
communicating it to an&one who is interested! who can then su$scri$e to it! much like one would
su$scri$e to a newspaper. Restricted channels allow ever&one to read them! $ut limit pu$lishing
to people who have the ,rivate ,u$lish Be&. ,rivate channels allow onl& specific people to read.
When a new post is made to a channel! ever& su$scri$er who is connected will receive it
immediatel& from their friends! and pass it on to an& other su$scri$er who gets on later! providing
the&1re friends.
"o create a new channel! click on the $utton on the right of the left panel that shows a "C with a
green plus sign in front of it:
"his will $ring up the Create a new Channel dialog. 'ou will need to create a name for the
channel and a description )for others to read to know what &ou are -$logging. a$out*.
'ou will need to decide if &ou want to make the channel pu$lic or private. 0 pu$lic channel will
get more viewers! $ut could $e visi$le $& people who are not &our friends. 0 private channel will
$e limited to onl& people that &ou invite personall&.
'ou can also choose a channel logo! which should $e a s4uare no larger than 566x566 pixels.
Note: Channels and their updates will not last forever. 0fter a month! the posts to each
channel will disappear from memor&. (f there is information &ou want
saved! &ou1ll need to cop& it somewhere else. Channels themselves will disappear
after a while if not updated.
'ou can attach files to a post in a channel! which allows an&one seeing that channel to download
the file.
Using the Forums Ta
Retrohare1s use of forums is ver& similar to forums or message $oards online. "he $iggest
difference is that posts to a forum will eventuall& disappear after a &ear2 should &ou want to keep
information from a forum! &ou1ll need to cop& it somewhere else.
"he $utton to create a new forum is in the same place as the one to create a new channelDin the
upper right of the left panel. (t1s simpl& the s&m$ol for forums with a green plus sign in front of
it.
Forums need a name and a description. 'ou also need to decide if it will $e pu$lic or private2
private forums re4uire invitation to read them.
Be& haring means &ou can share the a$ilit& to post new messages with someone else.
0llowed messages gives &ou two options. 0uthenticated messages means &ou sign it with &our
ke&! showing an&one who reads it that &ou are who &ou sa& &ou are. 0non&mous messages
means &ou can post a message and no one has an& idea who posted it.
Ti#s $ Tric%s (and Trouleshooting)
;ere are a few things that people have learned from using Retrohare! presented in F0H format:
I can1t connect with my friend0
3ou$le?check that &ou each have each other1s certificates imported into &our Retrohare clients!
that &ou1re $oth logged into Retrohare! and that the (nternet is working correctl& for $oth of &ou.
(f one of &ou doesn1t have the other person1s certificate! &ou will $e una$le to connect.
"y friend can1t seem to send me this file'
Right?click on &our friend1s name in the friends list. Look at the services ta$ and make sure
-direct source. is checked. Make sure &our friend does the same thing on their end.
I1m running a "ac' Is there anything unusual aout RetroShare on "acs2
"he font si=e is fairl& small overall! compared to the si=e of the font on Windows or Linux. 0lso!
it is ver& difficult to find chat windows if the& get hidden. Mac users have reported that it does
not act like a Mac program! so expect some oddness.
"y chat doesn1t seem to rememer the font style I use with this #articular friend0
"r& t&ping a character and then $ackspacing. /ow when &ou t&pe! &our usual st&le should kick
in. For some reason it doesn1t alwa&s remem$er the st&le first thing.