mynetx

Messenger Plus 4.9—just an in-between solution

Messenger Plus! is getting near to its fifth version, planned for release in December 2010. Plus! 5 will have complete support for Messenger 2011 (Wave 4). However, in the meantime Yuna Software has published an in-between version, Messenger Plus! 4.9, with only partial support for the new Windows Live Messenger.

How-to: Get Plus! 4.9 running in Messenger 2011

The following tutorial was written by Menthix.

To get Plus! working in Messenger 2011 first make sure you installed the latest build of both. You will need [download id=22] (released September 30, only works on Vista and 7) and [download id=4] (released October 20).

Once Plus! 4.9 is installed you will have to disable its safe mode to make Plus! load in Messenger 2011:
In the contacts list press the Alt key to make the menu bar appear. On the menu go to ‘Plus!’ -> ‘Software Not Loaded’. Check the ‘Disable safe mode’ option and close the window. A warning will show. Press ‘OK’ ans Messenger will be restarted, this time with Plus! loaded.

Software Not Loaded... Messenger Plus! - Error Detected

Which features will work?

  • Some things of Skinning
  • Event Viewer
  • Transparency on the contacts list
  • Lock Messenger (half working)
  • Contact List Clean-Up
  • Contacts on Desktop
  • Event Notifications
  • Sound Library, although you won’t be able to send or receive any sounds.

These Plus! features do not work in Live Messenger 2011 yet:

  • Colored/formatted nicknames
  • Chat logging
  • Connect to several accounts simultaneously (polygamy)
  • Any commands or tags such as /away or (!VER)
  • Any features which usually can only be activated from the conversation window. The Plus! menu does does not (yet) hook into WLM 2011 conversation windows.
  • Transparency on conversation windows
  • Custom and built-in Plus! sounds
  • Scripts. Scripts do import fine and are running. But without the scripts menu and without any functionality in the conversation window you won’t get much useful out of most scripts.
  • Tabbed chats. But Messenger 2011 does tabbed chats natively now.
  • Quick texts
  • Quick icons
  • Personalized Status. Although the dialog shows up fine when you change status, it doesn’t seem to do very much.
  • Plus! Extras. When you right-click on a person in the contacts list.

Free download: [download id=4]

The change log for this version is at http://www.msgpluslive.net/download/changelog/.