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 Tab Using the Friends Tab Using the File sharing Tab Using the Chat Lobbies Tab Using the Messages Tab Using the Channels Tab Using the Forums Tab Tips & Tricks (and Troubleshooting) 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 RetroShare that did not have those plugins, this guide will not explain those sections. The Getting Started tab is a shortcut to features which are explained in this guide elsewhere, so will not be dealt with here. Installing RetroShare Note: This guide was made for installing on Windows. Other operating systems may be very similar, but you may see some things that are a little bit different. 1. The first dialog box upon opening the installation file allows you to choose the language you want to use to install the program. Note: You are not choosing the language RetroShare will run in, only the language you will use while you install it. It seems that once installed, RetroShare defaults to the language of the operating system. (This can be changed later if you want.) Current options: Catalan, German, English, Spanish, French, Polish, Turkish, Russian, and Chinese 2. You arrive at a standard “welcome to the setup” dialog. Click Next to continue. 3. Next you will see a license agreement. Click on the radio button next to “I accept the terms...”, then click next. If you feel like reading it, it basically says that the creators of the program want you to be free to use it and change it in any way you like, and are giving you a license that gives you as much freedom as possible. (This is a complete contrast to most software written by programmers of companies, who want to take away your freedom to share and change it.) (This next step may not apply to all operating systems.) 4. Now you are presented with two options: Standard installation, and Portable installation. A standard installation is tied to the computer you install it on. This is a good choice if you will not be using RetroShare on any other computer. A portable installation is designed so you can move the files later to another computer and continue to use the program with the same account. This is a good choice if you may change computers, or if you have more than one computer but only one computer is on the Internet at a time. The portable installation is a little more complicated to use, so unless you know what you're doing, you want to use the standard installation. Note: RetroShare is not like Skype; your account is connected to where you installed the program. If you know you want to use the same account on more than one computer, you will need the portable installation, and will need to move the files from computer to computer in order to make it work. Click on the radio button next to your choice and click Next when done. 5. In this step, you are given the choice of where the program's files will be installed to (destination folder). The default folder is perfectly fine; you don't need to change it unless you have a special reason to. Below the Destination Folder box, the dialog box lists the space required and the total space available on the computer. You probably have more than enough space. If you're trying to compare the two, remember that GB is about 1,000 times bigger than MB. Click Next to continue. 6. The dialog box here lets you select components to install. The program defaults to installing everything necessary, but there are a few things you may want to decide on. If you don't want shortcuts on your desktop, quick launch, or start menu, this is where you can choose to leave those out. Click on the + sign next to “Shortcut icons” and uncheck the box next to any shortcuts you don't want. By default, RetroShare will start when you start up your computer. If you don't want that to happen, uncheck the box next to “Auto Startup”. Click Install when you're ready. 7. The program will show a progress bar as it installs. When it's finished, it will say Completed. Click Next. 8. Now you're at the final dialog. By default, RetroShare is set to run as soon as you click Finish. You can uncheck that if you aren't ready to use the program yet. Click Finish when you're ready. Create a new Identity (account) This is how you create an account to use to connect with other people. Note: Your account is tied to the computer you installed it on, unless you chose a portable installation. 1. Upon opening RetroShare for the first time, you will see a dialog that says “Create a new Identity”. The dialog has five things that need to be dealt with. a) Name This is the name everyone else will see when they connect to you. This can be any name you want to use on RetroShare. Some people prefer to use their real name, since they will only be connecting with people who know who they really are. Because RetroShare is completely secure, this is safe. You will never connect to anyone you don't want to. You can also create a username that is not your real name if you prefer, but you will need to let people know that it's you if they're not used to you using that name. Note: You can use spaces, numbers, and symbols as well as letters in your name. Important Note: Although you only connect with your direct friends, anyone who is friends with one of your friends will be able to see your name if they look in the right place. This only works one layer deep, so whether you feel safe using your real name will depend on whether you trust your friends' judgment. b) Password This is the password you will use forever with your account. You cannot change this password after you create your account! Make sure you pick something that you can remember. You should also pick a strong password so that no one who uses your computer can guess it. Strong passwords contain a mixture of letters, numbers, and other symbols. It is recommended to keep a copy of the password in a safe place where no one will think to find it except you, just in case you forget it. If you do forget it, you will lose access to that account (and any messages you had stored there) and will have to create a new one. c) Password (check) Type the same password again. It will not let you continue if the passwords don't match, to make sure that you don't accidentally type a character incorrectly. d) Location This can be used to connect two computers with the same account. Using one account on two computers is complicated to set up, so you don't need to worry about that. Just type something that indicates which computer you are creating the account on. Examples: Home, Laptop, PC, ... e) Randomness This is the bar at the bottom that has been filling up with blue rectangles. (It appears on Linux as a green progress bar.) The randomness bar is a way to protect you from someone trying to hack into your account. To be sure it is as safe as possible, wiggle the mouse around until it gets to 100% before you move on. When you have finished all five parts, click Generate New Identity. Note: The dialog box says RetroShare uses PGP keys for identity management. This is a term for the type of security used to prevent hacking. Because PGP keys have a “private” key that no one else but you ever sees, and a “public” key that you only share with your friends, this means that no one can pretend to be you, or see anything you have saved in your program unless they are using your computer while the program is logged in. 2. Now the program will generate your identity (which is what RetroShare calls accounts). When it finishes, it will ask you to type in your password in order to log in for the first time. 3. You may see a dialog box that says “RetroShare has detected an unregistered plugin.” This is because they are still working on RetroShare and haven't finished some parts of it. This does not affect the safety of your account or keep the main parts of the program from working correctly. Just click Yes to “authorize” the plugin. (You may see more than one of these dialog boxes.) 4. Now RetroShare has started up! You will need to tell any firewall you use to allow access to RetroShare. For Windows users, Windows Firewall will likely default to only check the “Private networks” box, giving a warning that “Public networks” are risky. Because RetroShare is so safe in itself, you can use it on any network you like without any chance of someone seeing what you are doing, so check that box too. Using RetroShare for the first time Congratulations! You have successfully installed RetroShare and created your account.