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Historical Document

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 In that time the AIM servers have been closed down (2017) and iChat has been superseded by Messages. That effectively make this a sort of Historical Document of how it worked.

I will make attempts to renew and refresh Links to either the most current site or use the Way Back Machine Archive so that people can at least look at what was used. I will make Edit Notes on this and on those where I can find no link to replace the older one as I go through the document.

iChat Windows

iChat In Pictures >> Your are in Folder 4_iChat Windows >> Page: Group Chat

10[15]

10 Group Chat

19-10-2008

This is a Group Chat at a point just after the Invite was accepted by two of three Buddies.

You can Start a Group chat from the File Menu (Go to Chat and enter a room name to create one). Then visit the View Menu and make sure you have Show Paricipants selected. (Some versions will change to Read Hide Paritcpants to indicate that it is active). This will show the Pop Out Drawer like the picture above. It will default to be furthest from the edge of the screen so hiding the drawer and moving the window enables you to select which side it is On.

As I have several Screen Names and can have them all active in iChat 4 I invited "myself" twice. The appleu3testxx accounts do not respond to Text invites but it does show what happens while you wait for a Buddy to respond.

The + button is so you can invite other Buddies and in Group Chats anyone already in the chat can invite others. It will tell you if a Blocked person is about to enter but will not prevent them from entering and in iChat 4 as Buddies can be Invisible, they show up as Greyed Out Buddies as if they were Off-line.

The whole Chat window can be resized using the bottom right corner with the graduated diagonal bars on it, like other resizing window handles.

Incoming Invite windows are always top right of Screen but the Outgoing Chat will always be where the last one was. iChat on the whole tends to remember where you put a window for the next time you use it. The exceptions are all the Incoming invites (Audio, Files, Video, Group and 1-1 Text chats) which always are in the same (individual) place no matter where you drag the accepted window.

You can not send Files or Pictures-in-Chats in Group Chats. You can of course send HTML Links and format your text from the Format window (or Buttons in iChat 1). Smilies also work.

All the Incoming Buddy IMs will be on the left with your IMs on the Right IF you use Bubbles as the Text Style. From the View menu you can decide to show their Pic, Name or both under their IMs. On the whole I find people choose a suitable, readable Font and colours to go with it so that you do not have to Override the Incomming messaages in the Messages Preferences. I have a regular Group chat on Saturday evenings (for me) and sometimes it gets to 15 or more people and most have different colurs and/or Fonts. I also use Pictures and Names so I can follow who said what without any problems.

As you can see from this older example small grey messages appear in the middle of the chat as people come and go as well as time stamps.

I have picked a point in this chat where two Buddies with the same icon are IMing at the same time to show the Names and Pics and Bubble colours help sort who said what.

When you re-open a old group chat like this the Participants drawer will show who is currently On-line or not not who was actually present and active at the time even if the chat or room you were in previously is actually still active.

If the Chat is not the Front window the iChat icon in the DOCK will display a number much like Mail does about new items. In iChat 4 in the Messages Preferences screen you can set it to watch for your name as well.

Next:- Status Message List

Upward Arrow saying Top Top of page

Created with JAlbum 4.0.6

© 2005 Ralph Johns: Edited 24/9/2005, 5/5/2006
Updated September 2006
Updated October 2008. Reviewed and Updated to HTML 5 October 2024

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

Options to This Page

To the right you can resize or colour the page as well as choose one of three Fonts.

About This Page

This picture is about Group Chats. I grabbed it just after I had invite a few people and before sending any Text.

There is an example of an active part of a chat further down to highlight using Display options so that you can tell two Buddies apart from each other.

In iChat 4 if you type /me at the begining of sending an IM in a Chat it will become a little grey message. As it puts your name in front, an Action is the best thing to send. In Bonjour the text can be sent as you type so it appears in the Window and the Text Entry field

Compatibility

Much of this page has been altered to be as HTML 5 compatible as possible. This may cause issues with any of the Browser below.

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.

Previously confirmed to work 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) may only see a text-based page which, while not the prettiest option, is still entirely usable.