ICQ Contact List on Server - ICQ for Mac



	The Site People

ICQ for Mac - ICQ Contact List on Server

Main | What's New | Tips and Trouble Shooting | Version History | Features & Help Topics

The new generation of ICQ clients offers you an exciting enhancement of the ICQ experience. ICQ now saves your Contact List, as well as your visible and invisible list, on the server. This means that switching computers, working on other operating systems or even formatting your hard drive do not affect your Contact List. As soon as you login with your ICQ#, your contacts are available to you.

Importing your Contact List to the Server

Using the Contact List on Other Computers

Adding and Removing Contacts

Reloading the Local List

Importing your Contact List to the server
When ICQ 3.0 logs on for the first time, it automatically uploads your local Contact List to the server. This process usually takes a few seconds and does not require any intervention on your part. In case this process fails for some reason, ICQ will attempt the import again the next time you log on.

Using the Contact List on Other Computers
Most new versions of ICQ, including ICQ for Windows 2001b and ICQ Lite, support the Contact List on Server feature. When you add your account to a computer running such a version of ICQ, or when you login thru the Web using ICQ Lite, ICQ automatically imports your Contact List from the server. Any changes you make to the list are preserved and become available to you on other computers and ICQ clients.
Note that if you want to use two different Contact Lists, you must do so with two different ICQ numbers.

Adding and Removing contacts
All the Contact List related operations, such as adding or removing users, or changing your security lists, use user interface and conventions similar to those of previous versions of ICQ. The only difference is that such operations are now effective only after ICQ has confirmed them with the server. This means that if your ICQ incurs a communication problem while you are trying to add a user, then it is possible (though unlikely) that this user will not appear on your Contact List the next time you log on.

The Local Contact List
ICQ 3.0X still keeps a copy of the Contact List on your hard drive. The main reason for this is that some of the data regarding your contacts, such as your private notes and PC/Mac conversion settings, are not stored by the server. The local Contact List is stored inside your accounts preferences folder, in two files whose names end with 'user2.dat/idx'. See the ICQ Preferences Folder help topic for more details.

Reloading the Local List
Although the Contact List on Server has been on the 'Most Wanted' list of ICQ users for a long time, you may still want on occasion to re-upload your local Contact List to the server. This may happen if, e.g., you have accidentally erased contacts on another computer and wish to restore your list to its previous state. In order to reload the local Contact List, please do the following:

Make sure you have a backup of your local Contact List files ( See the ICQ Preferences Folder help topic for more details). Once you go online, your local list is rewritten to match the list on the server, so you need a copy of the list in its previous state.
In case you do not have such a backup and your local list has already been changed, you still have some recourse: if you have the previous ICQ database - two files that end with user.dat/idx - remove the new Contact List files and run ICQ again. Note that this will revert your Contact List to its state before the first time you've used ICQ 3.0X.
Go online with ICQ and select 'Reload Local Contact List' from the file/Change Current ICQ# menu.
After ICQ goes offline, quit the application and replace the files that end with user2.dat/idx with your backup files.
Go online again. The import process should start automatically. Note that your local users will be added to the list on the server.


	Join ICQ Communities

	Message Boards Chat Rooms IrCQ-Net Chat Interest Groups User Lists ICQ Rings People Search
	What's This?


	Help Center

		Trouble? Get ICQ Help Here

[Important Notice of Terms of Service]

User Feedback & Comments | ICQ Community | ICQ Sitecreators | SMS Center