This file contains instructions related to GitHub written in markdown format. For basic information about the project in plain text, see the README file. Also check the project wiki page for step-by-step instructions regarding more complex build scenarios.
Window Merge is a Pidgin plugin that merges a conversation window with the Buddy List window. It can be used to achieve a rudimentary "single window mode" for Pidgin. Both Window Merge and Pidgin itself should be kept updated for the most stable experience.
This project was not written and is not maintained by Pidgin developers. The nature of this project can potentially destabilize Pidgin or its other plugins, so use it at your own risk.
The source files available at the GitHub repository are intended for project maintainers, not necessarily distributors or end users. The project downloads page offers some distribution tarballs suitable for compiling and prebuilt binaries for Microsoft Windows.
The GitHub repository contains all the configuration files necessary to compile or create distribution archives with the latest commits. This will require the following tools to be installed and available on your system:
On a command line of any given operating system, running the following should create a copy of the project's git repository and change to its directory.
git clone https://github.com/dm0-/window_merge.git
cd window_merge
Now the build system scripts will be generated, and boilerplate project files will be copied into the source tree.
mkdir m4
autoreconf -fi
At this point, the source in the current directory is ready to be compiled. To create and verify a distribution archive, run the following commands.
./configure
make distcheck
The GitHub repository provides two system-specific packaging scripts that are not included in the distribution archives. (Remember to check the project wiki for step-by-step instructions on how to use them.)
The file pidgin-window_merge.spec can be used with a source archive, as would have been created with make distcheck, to produce an RPM package. The spec may use conventions that require a relatively recent version of RPM, but it should work without much hassle on any GNU/Linux distribution conforming to sensible packaging standards.
The build system should be able to determine when it was configured to use the MinGW compiler, and it should write a Windows DLL file as a result. When built in this manner (i.e. after make successfully ends), the included script pidgin-window_merge.nsi can be run to create an executable installer. The required makensis command is a part of NSIS.