When I’m on my Mac I’m always signed into iChat, which PC users will know as AIM (AOL Instant Messenger). AOL customers can communicate with with each other, iChat and AIM users…..infact, all three messenger clients can talk with each other, they all contact and communicate through the same servers at AOL.
Internally (we have lots of remote workers) Ultralab people are now using iChat and Skype to talk to each other to cut telephone costs now that these technologies are excellent at voice conversations across the Internet.
So on the left of this blog now you’ll be able to see if I’m online or offline.
I could not find a decent bit of code to display my current Online/Offline status which allowed the following:
- Allowed me to NOT need to submit my iChat password to an external website
- Did not use my iChat password at all
- Allowed me to create my own ‘Online’ and ‘Offline’ images
First I looked at Online Status. This service uses servers around the world which create code using your ‘iChat/AIM/AOL’ username. The generated code refers to an external to AOL server. The services offered allow you to link your own generated images, but sadly after trying 4 different server pages, this did not work for me and generic images were created. I tested the code, and it worked, it showed me online and offline, but it did not display the images I had created.
The cool thing it did was allow the user to click the ‘Online’ status and automatically start iChat and open a message window which would allow a message to be posted to me.
Sadly I realised that the servers that offer this service are referencing AOL servers, meaning if either fell over, the status would not show…..and the images I generated were not working….so I left this service to look for something else.
So then I thought, well surely if an external to AOL service was accessing AOL to pull information on the status of an iChat/AIM/AOL user then surely I should be able to get that information direct from AOL?
Another blogger from Yet Another Web Site has managed to achieve this pulling data from AOL concerning Online/Offline status.
But the code he generated does not allow the ‘Online’ status graphic to be clicked allowing the user to open iChat/AIM/AOL in order to send an instant message direct from the webpage.
So I hacked the two pieces of code I’d discovered together and managed get it to work as an alternative ‘Online/Offline status’! Obviously Yet Another Web Site has done the core work! Well done dude!
Here is my slightly adapted code, download the Text file: aol_code1.txt
Obviously you are advised to change the image URL’s to your own graphics. Check out Yet Another Web Site for some images you can use for Online and Offline status.
UPDATE 14 February 2005:The above code has since been modified by Steffen Nork. Click the following link to see the update:
iChat AOL AIM Online Offline Status - Code Updated by Steffen Nork + Send webpage URL’s
November 7th, 2006 at 8:55 pm
lingo liz
Submitted by visitor on Thu, 01/05/2006 - 16:47.
hey fellaz - great site, and would love to have this “msn i’m online” button on my site http://www.lingodesign.co.uk but when I click on your button it is a page not found? before I go ahead…what’s the score?! thanks
November 7th, 2006 at 8:56 pm
Mark Lapsley
Submitted by visitor on Fri, 12/16/2005 - 14:17.
Hi just thought i would drop you a line to say hi and will try to catch you on iChat
November 7th, 2006 at 8:56 pm
Rory
Submitted by visitor on Wed, 11/02/2005 - 22:55.
I’ve used very similar coding to this to display the online/offline status of an iChat account, but here’s the question: Can this code be adapted to show someone as “offline” if they’ve set their status to “away”? Right now it seems they are only shown as offline when iChat or AIM or whatever is actually quit. It would be more than awesome if this was possible.
Thanks, Rory
November 7th, 2006 at 8:56 pm
Aviah Zilberstein
Submitted by visitor on Thu, 03/24/2005 - 15:40.
I forgot my password, how can I recover it?
My user name is - Aviah
E.mail - aviah@post.tau.ac.il
Please send me my password.
Thank you
November 7th, 2006 at 8:57 pm
errmmmm…….
Submitted by Matthew Eaves on Thu, 03/24/2005 - 16:13.
Hi Aviah…..I don’t work for AOL, I don’t have access password information.
Sorry, contact AOL.
November 7th, 2006 at 9:00 pm
Exactly what I was looking for
Submitted by visitor on Mon, 02/14/2005 - 09:59.
Matthew,
thank you so much for your great work! It works superb! Thank you for letting people use it!
Greetings from Germany,
Steffen
November 7th, 2006 at 9:00 pm
hmnmm
Submitted by Matthew Eaves on Mon, 01/17/2005 - 11:20.
Not sure it works for me all the time, I logged in last night and my blog said I was online, which was true….but I was not logged into iChat…..will explore….
November 7th, 2006 at 9:00 pm
Vix
Submitted by visitor on Sun, 01/16/2005 - 23:35.
Wicked stuff!!!!!!
I’ve added it to my blog too!
:-)))))))
Vix
November 7th, 2006 at 9:00 pm
Yep, all works now
Submitted by Pete Bradshaw on Sun, 01/09/2005 - 16:38.
Thanks Matt… Useful stuff. I’ve put both Skype and iChat/AIM status indicators on my blog. How useful? We’ll see…
November 7th, 2006 at 9:01 pm
Ah…
Submitted by visitor on Sun, 01/09/2005 - 14:13.
It says you’re online… but you’re not ;-(
November 7th, 2006 at 9:01 pm
Skype status buttons and Q-cards
Submitted by visitor on Sun, 01/09/2005 - 14:00.
Qzoxy supply an API for Skype status buttons. Jyve have implemented a community that uses this API. See David Hanshall’s blog.
I’ve registered at Jyve and done everything they say, but the image doesn’t seem to be displaying just now ;-(
Pete B
July 31st, 2007 at 7:06 am
gr8 job…was looking for this from a long time…thanks buddy….now i can display my status on wiki with a bit of modification to your code