MSN messenger tweaks?

[Crappopotamus]

im a former trillian user who has had to convert because trillian loses lots of msn messages. i hate messenger... but ive been making it better/ getting used to it. there are some stuff that could be better still though.

-minimize to system tray
this is so stupid. you have to close the window in order for it to minimize to the system tray! i want it there all the time! theres gotta be a way to do this...

-remove the whole top options bar
i like the window to be thin, and when its as thin as i like it, the bar doubles up. its so ugly and i dont use that stuff anyways. could skins cover it altogether?

-sort by custom name and/or status
i went ahead and renamed everyone (using plus)... but its not organized by the new names! hell. i want to organize it any friggen way i like! also, can i organize by status? all the online people at the top of the group, then away etc...

-timestamping and history
plus has a history... but it keeps it hidden away. in trillian, you can see old conversations in new message boxes! its convenient to see what i was talking about last time... also, is there a better timestamper than the one in plus!? again, i like the trillian style

-skins?
is there a skin community for msn? i downloaded one, but its strange. you have to replace the whole program file... is that usual? what if its a different version of messneger? its this one... i was doing some reading and apparantly its a 'reshack'? its nice... it removes the stupid top bar. i need more info!


so yeah. those are my complaints. any tips and hints would be wonderful. anyone trying msn beta 7? is it any good? all ive heard about it is theres gay stuff like nudges. WHEEE.

 

[moparmaga]

Sounds like you would be a good candidate for MSN Messenger 7.0 Beta. Download it here.

 

[kamper]

I've got 6.2 currently and it does all the things you're asking about. Well at least between the main window and conversation windows, they don't each do all of that but they come close.

 

[Crappopotamus]

Originally posted by: kamper
I've got 6.2 currently and it does all the things you're asking about. Well at least between the main window and conversation windows, they don't each do all of that but they come close.

wanna specify how and how close? i mightve missed a setting somewhere...

 

[trek]

nudges, and winks...
I just tried 7.0 now and immediately went back to 6.2 w/ plus.

It does sort properly though, and has a short history in the conversation window. It also removes the frame around the main window like in the conversation windows and wmp...

But then you are stuck with an extra button on the contact list, and the banner.
Annnnd, that place where you change your status grew.

 

[Crappopotamus]

Originally posted by: trek
nudges, and winks...
I just tried 7.0 now and immediately went back to 6.2 w/ plus.

It does sort properly though, and has a short history in the conversation window. It also removes the frame around the main window like in the conversation windows and wmp...

But then you are stuck with an extra button on the contact list, and the banner.
Annnnd, that place where you change your status grew.

yahhh. i gave it a shot as well and promptly uninstalled it. msn is gross when you first install it. i really dont want to mess with it right now. in its current tweaked 6.2 state, im relatively happy. i think im going to wait until it comes out for real.

 

[kamper]

Originally posted by: Crappopotamus

Originally posted by: kamper
I've got 6.2 currently and it does all the things you're asking about. Well at least between the main window and conversation windows, they don't each do all of that but they come close.

wanna specify how and how close? i mightve missed a setting somewhere...

Ok, I lied about the first one, the main window is always in the system tray but it stays on the taskbar as well, until you close it.

The conversation windows allow you to hide the top panel (menus and such). I'm not sure if I changed any options to make it do that but it just does it for me. The main window doesn't but you spend most of your time in conversation windows anyways.

Sorting: From the main window:
Contacts -> Manage Contacts -> View Contacts By....
Contacts -> Sort Contacts By -> ...
It's not perfect but it is somewhat manipulable.

Old messages: I guess msn doesn't show them to you in the window but they are saved.
Tools -> Options -> Messages
They're in xml files that are (somewhat) nicely formatted by xsl when you open them in a browser.

Skins: ok, I lied again (I didn't read that one very carefully first time). Maybe there are some but I haven't seen them.


I don't think I've helped too much here

 

[Crappopotamus]

Originally posted by: kamper
I don't think I've helped too much here

youre right

i'm using the imessenger skin and its quite good. little bit cleaner, especially since it gets rid of the top menu bar. 2 down. 3 to go.

 

[Crappopotamus]

bump? no one knows anything about this stuff?