These iChat 4 pages are coloured Gray and have the iChat 4 icon on them that was in use at the time, so you know where you are. The icon differs little from the Version 3 version.

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 In that time the AIM servers have been closed down (2017) and iChat has been superseded by Message and FaceTime. That effectively make this a sort of Historical Document of how it worked.

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iChat 4 Pictures Status Messages

You are In:- iChat >> Versions >> iChat 4 >> iChat 4 Pictures Index >> iChat 4 Status Messages Index >> Status Messages Access

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01 Status Messages Access.

Nov 2008

1 Access Drop Down for Editing and Changing

This is the iChat 4 Status Messages Access point in the Buddy List. It can also be accessed from the Menu Bar Icon on the Right end of the Menu Bar.

The Status Messages can be changed.

Clicking on the current Status Message will open this Drop down.

Now Changed. There are now 3 additional Available and Away Messages as well as the plain presets that read Available or Away and will change your blob from Green to Red or Red to Green depending on which way you are changing.

There is also a Custom option in either section which gives you access to change the Message currently shown.

When you get to that screen (and from this picture) you will see the Custom ones you make can be saved and chosen in the future.

Also Changed. You will also notice that any Away or Available Message you create will show the Smiley in the list if you use the Keystrokes at the Edit/Creation stage. They also appear in your view of your Status Message at the top to the Buddy List

iChat 4 also offers you the choice to show what is playing in your iTunes if it is open and playing. Is it an Available option. You can not use it and show as Away. By default it shows Tune then Artist. However this Web Archive Grab of Hint Formerly at MacOSXHints can allow you to change this as the purists claim it should be Artist then Track. Anyhow the message will then change somewhat dynamically as the Tunes change. The process is an AppleScript running in the background.

An AppleScript can be used in the same way to put up multiple phrases one after the other to achieve a sort of Scrolling message. Examples:-

Change Message to new phrase by delay time (secs)

repeat 100 times
	
	tell application "iChat"
		set status message to "I really wish"
		delay 2
		set status message to "the posters on"
		delay 2
		set status message to "the Apple iChat Discussion Pages"
		delay 2
		set status message to "would read the FAQs; -) "
		delay 5
	end tell
end repeat

A "true" Scroll (Unformatted)

---------- script start ----------
-- idea and script: spoun@mac.com
set a to every character in "  Read the FAQs at  www.ralphjohns.co.uk  :-D "
set h to ""
set i to 1
set c to count every item in a
repeat
	repeat with n from 1 to c
		repeat with m from 1 to c
			set h to h & item i of a
			if (n = 1 or n mod c = 1) and i = (c) then
				set i to i - (c - 2)
			else if i = (c) then
				set i to i - (c - 1)
			else if m = c then
				set i to i + 2
			else
				set i to i + 1
			end if
		end repeat
		tell application "iChat"
			delay 0.2
			set status message to h & ""
			set h to ""
		end tell
	end repeat
	set i to 1
end repeat
---------- script end ----------

Both AppleScripts can be copied and Pasted to AppleScript Editor. When Run for the first time they will adpot the Bold and Blue text (the Second has some green it as well) that you see in the first example. The second will look like a Times Square style ticker tape scroll at your end but may be delayed and stutter a bit at your Buddies end depending on your Upload speed.

The second also needs the leading spaces and some at the end so that when "Read..." starts again it does not bump into the Smiley shown by the :-D at the end.

Anyways back to the main Picture. There are three ways to Preceed. Choose a Message. At the bottom of the main picture is the Edit Status Menu... link which will take you to the Next picture. At the bottom of each section is Custom Available and Custom Away which is the third picture in this series.

There is of course the New Invisible option in the middle of the drop down.

Next - Edit the Status Message

Created with JAlbum 4.0.6

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Created October, 2008 Major Update/Edit October 2024.

 ©  Ralph Johns. Created October 2008

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

How to Access the Status Messages from the Buddy List. It is the same Drop Down if you use the Menu Bar icon when Off Line

Details that Smileys now appear at your end and the Buddies Ends.

iChat 4 adds a line about showing the Track palying in iTunes. It shows some examples of other AppleScripts that are geared towards scrolling text, either in Blocks of text but also by one letter at a time.

Compatibility

As mentioned above this has had a major Edit/Update in September/October 2024 moving towards being fully HTML 5 compliant 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) should/may only see a text-based page which, while not the prettiest option, is still entirely usable.

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