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Tabbed messaging

Tabbed messaging allows the flexible combination of multiple chats into any combination of windows to maximize efficiency and screen real estate.

A single window might contain 10 different tabbed chats, or one window might hold 4 while another holds 2 and a third holds a single chat.

Switching tabs with the keyboard

Switch tabs with ^⇥ (next tab) and ^⇧⇥ (previous tab). This keyboard shortcut is customizable in Preferences → General.

Closing tabs

Adium's tabs have a close button hidden behind the status icon. Only the front tab may be closed.
To close all tabs but one, hold down option and click the close button on the tab you'd like to keep.

Separating tabs

Adium's tabs can always be freely dragged, allowing you to:

Reorder tabs within a window
Drag tabs out of their windows to become their own, independent windows
Drag tabs from one window to another, combining the two into a single window

Tab location

You can choose the location of tabs in message windows. You can choose between Top, Bottom, Left or Right.

To select the location of tabs, follow these steps:

Select Preferences in the Adium Menu (or press ⌘,).
Select the General button in the Preference window.
Look for the "Show tabs on the:" option.
Select the drop-down menu and you will be able to choose where tabs will be located.

Any open message windows will automatically be changed to your new tab location selection, so you can see what it will look like in different locations.