- Since Messenger Plus! version 1.00, the way the software attaches itself to
Messenger had not changed very much. Some people have always experienced startup problems,
caused by different kinds of programs installed on the computer. These problems
should now be solved thanks to a new option added to Messenger Plus!. Read the
following only if you're interested in technical details :).
- The Misc section of the preferences now offers 3 methods to control the way
Messenger Plus! hooks Messenger: Default Mode, Default Mode - Forced, and
Alternate Mode (only available in Windows 2000/XP).
- Default Mode is the way Messenger Plus! has always used so far. Keep it that
way if you never experienced problems related to the Plus! menu disappearing for
no apparent reason. Default Mode - Forced is equivalent to the previous "Enable
Force Mode" option and is just a trick applied over the same Default Mode to try
to compensate for poorly designed softwares when the system startups.
- Alternate Mode is the new mode of interest. This mode sets a special
registry key in Windows (called AppInit_DLLs) to ask Windows to load the
MsgPlusLoader.dll directly when a new process is created. The end result is the
same as with the Default Mode, however, this technique normally prevents other
softwares from breaking the hook chain.
- Alternate Mode is in theory better than Default Mode because once it's
activated, MsgPlus.exe does not need to be running for Plus! to attach to
Messenger. Note that MsgPlus.exe is still not automatically removed from your
computer startup when Alternate Mode is selected, that's because MsgPlus.exe is
responsible for doing some basic installation diagnostic and displaying the
Recovery Window. However, if you remove the MessengerPlus3 value from the Run
key, everything will continue to work properly (see below).
- More and more software now monitor registry changes to "protect" users from
unwanted programs. Depending on how those software are configured, changed in
the Run key may be prevented automatically or by default, creating the now well
known "I have to reinstall Messenger Plus! every time I restart my computer"
problem. Messenger Plus! now checks for the existence of its value in the Run
key and if it can't find it, Alternate Mode is automatically selected to repair
the problem.
- Note that the registry key used to activate Alternate Mode could also be
monitored by a software installed on your computer. Trying to enable Alternate
Mode and preventing the registry change to occur will simply result in Messenger
Plus! not working anymore. As any other program, Messenger Plus! adds/changes
registry settings to function properly. Badly designed registry monitor programs
cause much more problem than they prevent, for any program.
- The Recovery Window has been modified. When "Automatically Repair" is
selected, the software automatically switches from Default Attach Mode to
Alternate Attach Mode and back again from Alternate Mode to Default Mode when
needed.
- The "HandleMessengerStart" registry setting has been documented and now also
controls how the new attach mode operates.
- A /notif command has been added which opens the Notification Configuration
window for a given contact.
- The /sendfile command has been fixed for the final version of Messenger 7,
however, no parameter is allowed for this command anymore (remember that you can
use /dropfile too).
- Sound Pack files (with a plp extension) are now associated to Messenger
Plus! in the Windows shell. This means that the sound packs now have a nice
Plus! icon attached to them and you can import a sound pack just by double
clicking on it. Note however that MSN Messenger or Windows Messenger must be
running for the import to succeed.
- When sending a custom sound, if the server takes some time to respond and
you switch to another window, the focus is restored before the sound is actually
sent to your contact (that way, the sound is properly sent).
- The custom emoticon problem for the Quick Icon panel and MSN Messenger 7
has been fixed.
- In several windows of Messenger Plus! (like the event viewer and the
floating windows), the status icons now use the Messenger 7 style (in MSN
Messenger 7 only).
- Fixed a bug that stopped handwriting to work when a contact sent a message
while drawing (this bug was only happening when custom names were enabled).
- Wink messages are now properly logged and formatted in the chat window.
- Added improvement in Messenger Plus! to let plugins like StuffPlug add
something before custom contact names (like timestamps).
- Emoticons are showing properly in personal messages displayed in the chat
window when custom names are used.
- The enhanced Plus! icon in the contact list is now more tolerant to color
variation (fixes problems when using a 16bits display).
- Animated GIF now look better in the Quick Icons panels (their transparent
background is always properly removed).
- A new little extra has been added to the software, find it :).
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