Addon Spotlight: WoW Instant Messenger
by David Bowers 
Aug 12th 2007 at 9:09AM
Well now it can be. WoW Instant Messenger (or WIM for short) brings you the best of the Instant Messenger features out there and packs it into one nice addon. The main thing is just that it separates each conversation into a different window (or tab!) so that you can keep them straight and not miss any messages. You can set these windows to appear whenever a message comes in, or to wait for you to click on the icon, just like an answering machine. They also display the name, level, class, and guild of the person you're whispering with, and there are several buttons on the side, which allow you to do several things, such as add the whisperer as a friend, or find out where in the game he or she is at the moment.
So if WoW is not only a game to you, but also a place to meet up with your friends and just talk for hours, be sure to have this addon to make your social life a little bit easier.
Filed under: Add-Ons, AddOn Spotlight
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dom Aug 12th 2007 9:30AM
I've had this addon for a long time, it's great. I think I need to get a new version though, the only buttons I have on the side of the text boxes are invite and ignore.
DaveThePain Aug 12th 2007 9:31AM
Theres another addon that does the same, the only difference is, that it`s ACE. It`s called cellular, find it on the wowace.com page.
Raisa Aug 12th 2007 11:04AM
I've used WIM for a very long time and I love it. And as 2. said there is an ACE'd version called cellular which essentially does the same thing and as much as I love ACE addons, I don't like it nearly as much. When I went through my addon directory and changed out the addons for ACE addons that did the same thing WIM was one of the few I changed back. Awesome Addon!
dekulink Aug 12th 2007 12:53PM
I tried this out once, and I DO NOT recommend it. It's bulky, adds unnecesary windows which block your view... I got rid of it very shortly.
Lori Aug 12th 2007 1:04PM
@4 Yea, my first thought upon seen this post was that I don't need chat taking up more screen space. My chat window is pretty small as it is.
I run dual monitors and would like to be able to move the chat and combat windows to the second one. Blizz TS said it can't be done via WoW and to check for an addon that can do it but I have been unable to find one, yet.
Koskun Aug 12th 2007 1:15PM
Been using this for a month or more, and it does come in handy, especially while in raids or a party where a whisper can get lost in the chat scroll (yes, I know I can make a tab for it on the regular chat window).
The only real problem I have with the mod is it has issues accepting shift-links (to send a link to an item to someone) and list of links (like those that come from !gem).
chris Aug 12th 2007 1:57PM
It also makes it harder to link things from ItemSync, if you use that. I often have to link stuff in the /s channel and then link it from there to the WIM window. For some reason it accepts links form AtlasLoot still.
Daveti Aug 12th 2007 2:04PM
@5: It's an old post, don't know if it still works since all these updates and patches but someone did release a tutorial for dual monitor WoW setups, and even specifically mentioned having the 2nd monitor set for no rendering, just for chat and such. here's the link.
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=12052602&sid=1&pageNo=1
Lori Aug 12th 2007 4:51PM
@8 Thank you for the info. I neglected to mention that I was unable to find a SIMPLE way to move the chat window. I remember finding that post and deceided it was waaaaay to complicated for me to attempt.
DaF Aug 12th 2007 6:29PM
Personaly I find the regular chat and Fubar_HeyFu make a nice combo, for global channels i just keep extra tabs that only show that channel so i can scrool up when i think i missed something.
Areis Aug 12th 2007 7:11PM
@5 I'm running dual display, and its not too hard to set up. Check out http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u206/mdekkers/areis_ui.jpg
doobtray Aug 12th 2007 8:43PM
WIM is one of my favorite mods. I really like the very unobtrusive sounding IM chime and I wish I could use it for my own aim.
daniel Aug 13th 2007 3:24AM
I use chat tabs instead, got one general, one for whisper, one for guild chat, one for combat log and one for misc channels. That way if I miss a whisper or guild message, I can just click the tabs and take a look. Doesn't take up much space at all.
Lori Aug 13th 2007 4:56AM
@11 Looks cool. Did you use the method described in @8's link. If not how did you set that up?
Dacool561 Aug 13th 2007 9:29AM
This mod sounds great, but isn't. here is what will happen 99% of the time. You hold down "W" to run the hell away from some mobs, then some professional jerkass sends you a tell and all the sudden u stop and begin typing "wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww" in ur WIM box. Enjoy your repair bill.
PS i'm sure there is a way to fix it, but i'm just too lazy =P
Starfury Aug 13th 2007 10:16AM
@15 Use autorun. I have it bound to the left side button on my mouse.
Nereeza Aug 13th 2007 12:00PM
There's an option in WIM for whispers to only popup windows when out of combat..
.. so all you'd see is a flashing icon on the minimap signifying incoming whispers waiting..
infection Aug 13th 2007 12:14PM
@15
yes, that is an easy fix and 17 answered it
but the real problem with this mod is that you can't shift click items into it.
and with it taking priority (for example, i just hit "/w charactername" it still pops up the window to talk to the person and you still can't shift click
so you have to go into options and turn it off.
really annoying. if they would fix that, i would really enjoy the mod.
Bootsanator Aug 14th 2007 1:15PM
This's a fantastic mod.
It doesn't really clutter, if you need your screen cleared, just hit Esc a couple of times and everything closes. to get back open the chat windows you can either hit R and hit tab to cycle through, or go to your Fubar dropdown and select the person you want to chat with.
I love not missing IM's , and also love having less crap in my chat window.
and by the way, In Combat, the windows do NOT pop up (although they will stay up if you don't close). you get the whisper normally in the chat frame. the message is also put in the WIM frame, which you can open whenever.
Good choice for the spotlight, david! A+
Viper007Bond Aug 15th 2007 8:12AM
One of my most favorite mods ever.