iChatStatus is a very quick and very unsupported hack, which will automatically update your iChat status to reflect the song played in iTunes.

System requirements

iChatStatus should run on all system versions supporting iChat, but has been tested on 10.2.2 - 10.2.4.

Support (this is an important section!)

iChatStatus is a quick hack, which makes unresponsible use of private Apple frameworks. It is likely to break on future system versions, and it is possible that it could cause unexpected problems on current OS versions too. iChatStatus is 100% unsupported. If you find a bug, please report it to [email protected], although there is no guarantee that it will be fixed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why doesn't iChatStatus work with AIM?

A: Because AIM doesn't support all of the protocol sugar iChat supports. Don't ask me to implement universal AIM support, because I won't.

Q: Does iChatStatus use AppleScript to communicate with iChat?

A: No. iChat does not support AppleScript. iChatStatus uses a private interface to iChat which is also used by the iChat menu extra.

Q: Does iChatStatus use Application Enhancer (APE)?

A: No.

Q: Will iChatStatus make my machine unstable?

A: No, that is very unlikely. The worst that could happen is that you start having problems with iChat. In that case, simply throw away the preference pane and log out and back in again.

Q: Does iChatStatus use a lot of bandwidth?

A: Setting the status does consume some bandwidth. However, the status will only be set when it actually changed. Therefore it will only be updated when the current song in iTunes changes.

Q: How is iChatStatus releated to SETI@Home?

A: There is an iChatStatus script that can show your current SETI@Home score, and your computer's progress.

Q: Do I need to log out and back in again after installation?

A: No, but you will need to restart System Preferences.

Q: Will iChatStatus work when iChat is turned off?

A: It should, yes.

Q: Why do I get the message that I am not allowed to modify the PreferencePanes folder?

A: Most likely, you tried to put it in this folder: /System/Library/PreferencePanes. Read the installation instructions again.

Q: I made a cool script. Can you include it with the program.

A: Sure. Just send me a mail and I'll include it in a new version as soon as I have time.

Q: Is there a way to enter Unicode characters in AppleScript?

A: I don't know. I haven't found a way to do it without separate osaxen. Please drop me a note (over iChat or mail) if you know how!

Q: What should I do if I have problems with a script, or the status stops updating.

A: Switch briefly to another script, and then back to the script you want to use. This should force a re-read.

Q: Can I have the source?

A: Yes. Contact me over iChat. The only reason it isn't included on the DMG is to save bandwidth.

Introduction