= ["Using Pidgin"] =

[[TOC(inline,noheading)]]

== Windows Specific ==

=== How does Pidgin for Windows determine which language to use? === 
For the user who installed Pidgin, the language selected during installation will be the default.
This can be overridden by setting the `PIDGINLANG` environment variable (for example, `PIDGINLANG=de`).
If neither of these are specified, it will fall back to the default Windows user locale setting.

=== Where are my settings and data (including logs) saved? ===
Data is stored in your user's "Application Data" directory in a `.purple` subdirectory.  The location of this will vary according to your setup and version of Windows.[[BR]]
 * For Windows 2000/XP/Vista(?), entering `%APPDATA%` in your Windows Explorer address bar will take you to the right directory (probably something like `C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data`).
 * For Windows 98/ME it will be something like `C:\Windows\Profiles\username`.
This can be overridden by setting the `PIDGINHOME` environment variable.[[BR]]
Logs are stored in a subdirectory called `logs`.

=== How do I run multiple instances of Pidgin on Windows? ===
Pidgin will, by default, prevent multiple instances from running simultaneously.
You can override this restriction by defining the `PIDGIN_MULTI_INST` environment variable.
If you do this, you may find the `-c` parameter useful to specify unique configuration directories for each instance (e.g. `-c c:\home\.pidgin-alt`).

=== How do I change the Look and Feel? ===
Pidgin doesn't support skinning.  It does, however, support using various GTK+ themes to render the widgets.  The default theme, `MS-Windows,` is designed to fit in with Windows.  The GTK+ Runtime installer now includes a utility, accessible from the Start Menu, to change the theme.

== Linux and Unix-like platforms ==

=== Where are Pidgin's settings and logs? ===
Because Pidgin is a libPurple client, it stores its settings and logs in ~/.purple.