These iChatAV (Version 2) pages are coloured Green and have the iChat 2 icon on them that was in use at the time, so you know where you are. The icon differs from Version 1 by having the camera logo added.

These pages have sat here since 2008 with no update. In that time the AIM servers have been closed down (2017) and iChat has been superseded by Messages. That effectively make this a sort of Historical Document of how it worked.

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iChatAV (Version 2) Pictures

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04 iChat 2 Alerts Preferences

Oct 2008

4 Alerts Preferences Picture

This is the iChat 2 Alerts Preferences.

This is where you set the sound iChat makes for specific Actions. These are Global settings that effect every Buddy in the two Buddy Lists.

The top Drop Down shows a list of iChat Actions or Events. You choose one and then set the Sound and whether the icon bounces and any Speech in the lower tick boxes and Drop Down. You then repeat for the next item you want to set. I have a different sound for Audio invites compared to Video ones whereas the default Ringing sound is the same.

In the Sound drop down iChat has several Sounds that are stored in the Application itself. The list has a divider and will show System Sounds below that as well. A second divider will separate off any Sounds you have in ~/Library/Sounds (your own Sounds Folder).

iChat will play almost any sound in any format the System can but as some sounds will only play in certain apps capable of playing them it is best to save any Sound file as an .AIFF file at 41000Mghz.

The volume of the sounds can seem higher here when testing. The actual every day volume is controlled in System Preferences > Sound > Sound Effect tab as they as played as if they were System Alerts.

The Speech option will display the default phrase for the particular item/Action you choose although most can be changed. For Instance it reads "@ has Logged on" for Buddy Logging In as the actual Buddy Name as the @ symbol will cause their name to be read out. It tends to play the speech after any sound choice if both are made.

You can set different sound to specific action for Individual Buddies. Highlight a Buddy in the Buddy List and then use the Apple (/Command/⌘) and I keys together (Get Info). This will bring up the Info Card. Select the Actions Option and the same sounds can be applied to just the one Buddy. Can be useful if you wish to contact one particular Buddy and have a specific Alert/Sound when they Log in.

Next we have the Privacy Settings pane.

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Information Block

This site is about iChat from Version 1 through to iChat 5.x.x
Mostly this is kept as an Historical Document. Some small tense changes have been made but the content is by and large untouched.

It has a mixture of basic info and problem solving help.

The sections below will change for Specifics about info on the page on view

About This Page

The place to set Alert sound to actions or Events within iChat.

You can also alter the default phrase to say what you want for the same Actions.

Compatibility

As mentioned above this has had a major Edit/Update in September 2024 meaning that the Browsers listed below are likely to no longer work.

I have tested in Safari 18.1, Firefox 130.x and 131.0, Vivaldi 6.9.3447.48 and iCab 6.2.3 (All Mac Browsers) I don't have access to a PC let alone multiple browsers to test on.

The original pages worked with Win/IE 5.5 and later (should work in 5.0, but not confirmed), Firefox 2, Safari 3, Opera 9, iCab 3.02 and later, Mac/IE 5, Netscape 6 and later

Old browsers (IE version 4 or earlier, Netscape 4 or earlier) would only see a text-based page which, while not the prettiest option, is still entirely usable.