Just a few more changes on the way to 3.0. Some localizations are back thanks to volunteers. The auto-hide options from previous versions have also returned. Barring any serious issues, a “real” 3.0 release should be ready soon!

Changes from Chax 3.0 Beta 1:

• (New) Added options to auto-hide the contact list and chat windows when inactive
• (New) Added a new Growl notification for status message changes
• (New) French localization (thanks to Yann Ricquebourg)
• (New) German localization (thanks to Christoph Schmitz)
• (New) Russian localization (thanks to Denis Avdeev)
• (Bug) Plain text ICQ now works properly on 32-bit machines
• (Bug) Fixed the add contact menu not always working in the unified contact list

Download Chax 3.0 Beta 2

Sending plain text to ICQ users is finally back thanks to mach_inject. Due to changes in how this feature works, you will now need to enable this feature explicitly in the Chax preferences. Enabling this option will require you to enter an administrator password the first time in order to load into iChatAgent.

Updating with Sparkle from alpha 7 to beta 1 should finally work. Unfortunately, if you’re running a version earlier than alpha 7 you’ll likely need to manually upgrade. The changes made in alpha 7 should put an end to that inconvenience and confusion.

Regarding localizations, the necessary strings to localize Chax and the installer can be found in a zip archive inside the installer’s application package (inside Contents/Resources/ChaxLocalizableStrings.zip). If anyone is interested in localizing Chax and would like instructions on how to test their localization, let me know. Thanks to the localization code made available by Wil Shipley.

Changes from Chax 3.0 Alpha 7:

• (New) Reimplemented sending plain text to ICQ accounts as an option in the preferences
• (New) Option to add a confirmation sheet when closing active AV chats
• (New) Rearranged the preferences window
• (Bug) File transfer auto-accept works properly again
• (Bug) Minor fixes to log viewer

Update: The plain text ICQ option will not work for users running on 32-bit machines. The next update will resolve this problem.

Download Chax 3.0 Beta 1

The problem with all the contacts in the unified list disappearing should be resolved in this update. Updating through Sparkle has also been causing trouble for a number of people; this update should resolve future updates with Sparkle. If you have trouble updating to alpha 7 from an earlier release, manually downloading and reinstalling will resolve any problems.

As a number of you have commented, HTML-stripping for ICQ accounts is still disabled. This was necessary because of the new loading system. I’m still working on figuring out the best way to get that working well, without having to manually relaunch iChatAgent.

• (Bug) Fixed contacts disappearing from the unified contact list shortly after launch
• (Bug) Improved the installation and upgrade process. Future updates using Sparkle should be applied more consistently.

Download Chax 3.0 Alpha 7

Another alpha, hopefully the last one before I do a final 3.0 release. As with beta 5, you need to manually download and update if you’re running beta 4 or earlier. Using Sparkle to update from beta 5 should work smoothly.

The big new feature is a completely redesigned log viewer. The interface has been modernized and two new modes to browse logs have been added. In addition to just viewing the raw transcript, the log viewer will pull out the images and links that were in the conversation, making it easier to find a particular image or link you’re looking for.

Also back after a couple year hiatus is auto-reconnect. It works for me in simulated tests, but I’d like to hear how it works for people who have continual connection problems.

If you’re still having any problems, please keep reporting them and I’ll see what I can do. One issue that I am aware of that still hasn’t been resolved is the activity log and Growl notifications for status changes not appearing.

Changes from Chax 3.0 Alpha 5:

• (New) Redesigned log viewer with an updated interface and the ability to browse images and links
• (New) Option to attempt to automatically reconnect when the connection is lost
• (New) Added “Show in Log Viewer” to the contact list contextual menu
• (Bug) Fixed reordering statuses in the Edit Status Menu sheet
• (Bug) Fixed crash when receiving an invitation to a group chat

Download Chax 3.0 Alpha 6