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

An update, finally! I’ve been busy with school up until last week but now have some time off.

The major change in this update is that Chax is back to loading automatically when iChat launches. This will solve problems with Chax not working with the menu extra, among others. Chax is now using a Scripting Addition to do the loading, which is how most everyone seems to be handling code injection right now. There’s been some discussion in the comments over which loading mechanism was preferred, but it looks like doing this way is the best way to get things working properly. Sorry to everyone who really liked the separate launcher app

One side-effect of this change is Sparkle will not update from any of the previous versions to alpha 5. You’ll need to download and install this version manually.

Thanks for your patience! I’m hoping to have a few more updates before I head back to school in a few weeks.

Changes from Chax 3.0 Alpha 4:

• New loading mechanism using Scripting Additions (Chax is now loaded automatically when iChat launches, rather than having to launch Chax as a separate application)
• Fixed the unified contact list not updating when removing contacts
• Fixed searching in the log viewer on 10.6.2

Download Chax 3.0 Alpha 5

Changes from Chax 3.0 Alpha 3:

• Readded show status changes in messages windows
• Fixed auto-accept of file transfers
• Fixed Growl status change alerts appearing sometimes when opening or closing a chat
• Fixed Current iTunes Song status not working properly
• Fixed the unified contact list not working properly after waking from sleep
• Fixed potential crash when using auto-accept text invitations

Download Chax 3.0 Alpha 4

The issue where iChat would open instead of Chax if you stay logged in when iChat is quit has been mostly resolved in this build. The caveat is that you need to kill iChatAgent and relaunch it through Chax. The easiest way to do this is to log out and back in, but you can also type “killall iChatAgent” in the Terminal or terminate iChatAgent from the Activity Monitor. The iChat menu extra will also direct its calls to Chax as long as Chax isn’t running already. There’s a bug where it will continue to attempt to launch iChat once Chax is open.

ICQ users should also be happy to see that ICQ messages are sent in plaintext once again. This also required some trickery in iChatAgent, as Apple has rewritten significant parts of the backend of iChat. So as above, you need to kill iChatAgent and relaunch with Chax in order for your friends to stop seeing HTML-pollued messages.

Lastly, some people requested a way to hide the badges that Chax adds to its menu items. You can now turn these off by entering the following command into the Terminal: defaults write com.ksuther.chax HideMenuBadge -bool YES

Changes from Chax 3.0 Alpha 2:

• iChatAgent will now launch Chax instead of iChat when receiving a message while iChat isn’t open
• Chax can now be set as the default application to open saved iChat transcripts
• Fixed reopening the unified contact list if it is minimized
• Messages sent to ICQ users are now sent in plaintext

Download Chax 3.0 Alpha 3