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TMO Quick Tip - iChat: Chatting Outside the Bubbles

by , 7:30 AM EDT, April 9th, 2008

iChat is something of a staple in many online chatter's lives because it handles text, voice and video chats. If you are using Mac OS X 10.5, it also supports screen sharing, and even hides a few tricks if you know where to look.

One of the cool little tricks iChat has up its sleeve harkens back to the days when IRC clients ruled the land. If you start a message with "/me" iChat will transmit the message with your name first followed by your text, and it will all land in the chat outside of a chat bubble.


Start your iChat message with /me...

For example, if I want to tell a colleague that I'm back at my desk, I could type /me deftly walks back to his desk and my friend would see Jeff Gamet deftly walks back to his desk.


...to bump it outside of a chat bubble.

This is handy if you want to add some special message or tag to a chat session -- maybe to note what the conversation relates to for future reference. Or maybe you just want to herald your return to your computer.

Jeff Gamet is TMO's Morning Editor and Reviews Editor. He lectures, teaches and speaks on Mac OS X and design-related topics, and is the author of The Designer's Guide to Mac OS X from Peachpit Press.

if you have tips or tricks to share, or Mac-related questions you want answered.

Observer Comments

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Close Name:computerbandgeek Posts: 46 Joined: 09 Jun 2006
Wed Apr 09, 2008 11:07 pm Subject: AIM

This is pretty cool, but will my contacts using AIM on windows etc. be able to see these notifications?


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Close Name:iJack Posts: 289 Joined: 13 Jun 2001
Thu Apr 10, 2008 12:21 am Subject:

Quote
computerbandgeek wrote:
This is pretty cool, but will my contacts using AIM on windows etc. be able to see these notifications?
Can't say yes for sure, but since iChat is in fact a Macinized version of AOL Instant Messenger, the chances are good.


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View Name:Guest
Wed May 07, 2008 5:49 pm Subject: ichat or adium or???
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