Thanks for all the feedback on this new feature. The /cal (send calendar) command accepts optional numeric parameters for month [1-12] and year. To send a calendar for another month of the current year, just add the month’s number after “/cal ”. Here are some examples:
/cal 7
Sends the July calendar of the current year.
/cal 7 2009
Sends the July 2009 calendar. You must specify the month if you want to specify the year.
For the second post of the night, I am announcing the release of an update to Gus Verdun’s IM Tweaks. This version adds a new feature called Hotkeys which lets you define keyboard shortcuts to the IM and Buddy List windows that you can use within any other application.
Just press the hotkey for the IM windows (defaults to WIN+CTRL+SHIFT+UP ARROW) to set focus to the last IM window. Press it again, and it will close all IM windows. You can also press the hotkey for the Buddy List window (WIN+CTRL+SHIFT+DOWN ARROW) to switch focus to that window.
See the IM Tweaks page for more details.
Enjoy.
I just released an update of Gus Verdun’s RX-Plugin. This version fixes a number of bugs and also adds a new feature that lets you send a calendar:
Give it a try.
Enjoy.
I updated this plug-in yesterday. This version fixes the problem with AIM 6.5 where invisibility was not being set properly at first sign in. I also added a new about window that you can access from AIM 6.5’s Help menu. The about window has a way to send feedback.
Be sure you sign-out and exit from your IM client before installing this plug-in.
Let me know if you have any questions. I will post my answers in the comments.
I got some feedback questions today from a few of you reporting problems with my plug-ins.
Q. Do these plug-ins work on Windows Vista?
A. Unfortunately, I can only test them on Windows XP. That being said, I don’t see any reason why they should not work on Windows Vista. Can someone post a comment on their experiences in running my plug-ins on Windows Vista? Is there anything that is not working?
Q. I get an “Error opening file for writing C:\Program Files\Gus Verdun\rxplugin.dll”. What does this mean?
A. This means that the installer could not overwrite a plug-in file since it is being used by the client. Just exit AIM before installing the plug-in. Once you exit your AIM client, you can select re-try to make this install work. You might have to wait a bit for the client to truly exit so just keep re-trying.
Thanks for your feedback.
I released a new version of my IM Tweaks plug-in today. This build contains a few new features. The first feature was by request. Someone asked me, via my AJAX powered anonymous feedback page, to be able to automatically sign in invisibly when AIM automatically started at Windows startup. So, I added an option that will automatically do this when you sign in during the first eight minutes of Windows startup. You have to login fast since the time starts as soon as Windows is functional.
The second feature that was added is the ability to start an IM conversation from the context menu of the buddy list. You can send an IM by clicking the right mouse button on a buddy and then selecting the “Send a Real Quick IM” option. An optional prompt window will open to let you change the default message of “yt?”.
As a side note, this feature was also developed separately by Greg at his aimInfo blog via his Quick IM plug-in. We were both standing at the curb waiting for a taxi while talking about this idea and agreed to implement our own solutions. Since Greg got his version out first, I had no choice but to call my version “Real Quick IM”. What fun. Be on the look out for a “Super Fast Quick IM Deluxe” plug-in real soon. 
I did say I would be very busy, right?
As a bonus, I added the prompt window and the ability to change the recipient by dragging a buddy from the buddy list and dropping it on the prompt window.
You can see the screen shots and more details here.
Wow, IM Tweaks has already been downloaded by 523 fans. Not bad, considering I have done little to promote it. Imagine the usage if there was a central site where everyone could go to discover all AIM plug-ins.
One last minor feature: IM Tweaks will now automatically check for newer versions. You should see a nice tray balloon message when that happens.
Enjoy. As always, I appreciate your feedback.
Today I am going to start by inviting all of you to join me in designing a plug-in. The deal is this: I am your developer. You tell me the features you want, and if I think I can do it, I will estimate the effort, design it, and make it happen. The end result, is a plug-in that we can all use and share. I hope that the effort can be concluded within 60 days. (Remember, I can only work on this in my spare time.)
The plug-in I propose to make is based on an idea that has been around for a while. I want to add the ability in AIM to let you paint on an image that you and your buddy can see in real-time.
Does this sound like a good idea? Remember this plug-in is for you. What would you do with such a plug-in? Draw lines? stamp icons? Write secret messages? What shall we name it?
Please leave your thoughts and ideas as comments. Maybe we can form a chat room and talk about this. Lets see how it goes. The floor is now open to you.
Thanks.
I have a new plug-in ready for testing. This one is extremely simple. AIM 6.1 gives you the option to let your linked accounts sign-on as invisible, but your primary account is always signed on as visible. This plug-in simply signs your primary and linked accounts on as invisible every time. Once online, you can toggle your invisibility state by clicking on the eyeball.
You can read more about the plug-in and download it here.
I have more “tweaks” in the works. Let me know if you have any tweak ideas that you would like to see.