Hi everyone! In the previous versions of Messenger Plus!, there used to be a 'Rename Contacts' system, where we get to add our own nicknames to our contacts for easier reference.

But now, in Messenger Plus! LIVE, I noticed that this feature has changed. Although still usable, all of my previous nicknames are now gone. This is a very serious problem for me as I rely HEAVILY on the renaming system and have hundreds of renamed contacts, which will make renaming everyone ALL OVER AGAIN extremely difficult.

I also read another member's topic refering to this same issue. Therefore, I would like to request that the creator, Patchou, to please look into this matter and come up with a solution.

Thanks

the reason that has not been included is because wlm now has a nickname feature like that, in the contact list, right click on a contact then go to "add nickname"

I hope that helps

Note that Patchou may bring this feature back if Microsoft doesn't improve theirs

source?

Thanks for your words, everyone. But my point here isn't to ask how to add the nicknames again, I'm suggesting that Patchou come up with a solution as my previous contacts have too many nicknames already, which means it would be quite impractical for me to give more than 200 people nicknames all over again.

Possible solutions would be either to create a way to allow us to import our previous rename list from the old MSN Messenger, or to create this feature in the next update of Messenger Plus! LIVE so that the list can automatically be imported

I think that it's necessary to include the "Contact rename feature" because the feature that includes wlm is a shit. If you rename someone, you can't see the original nickname that he had.

You can, just delete the custom name u had for them and it will then go to their default name

Well, yeah. That's another problem. I hope Patchou looks into this.

My suggestion > Replace the current 'Add nickname' feature with the previous 'Rename Contact' feature. It's more useful

The reason why the Custom Name feature has been depricted is indeed because Windows Live Messenger now has a Nickname feature.

During development, many beta testers also requested that the Custom Name feature would be brought back. Patchou is aware of this.

However, for this first release choices need to be made and it was not included. It is still possible that it will be added back in a future version though. Only time will tell.

The reason why the Custom Name feature of Plus! is far more usefull than the Nickname feature of WLM is because of one simple reason: With the Nickname feature of WLM you can not see the contact's orginal screenname, nor email, when you have set a nickname.

The usefullness of the Custom Name feature in Plus! comes from the fact that you could use the special tags (!N) and (!M) as part of the Custom Name to show the contact's original screenname or email. Making it possible to set custom names like: "John: (!N)" which would be seen as: "John: this is my original screen name"

If enough people vote on the poll to bring back the Custom Name feature (and if it is technically possible!!) I'm sure Patchou might speed up the development of it.


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On a personal note and without taking technical issues into account:

In short: There would be no need to replace anything...

Not so short: One way to integrate the Custom Name feature into the new Nickname feature is to simply add support for the (!N) and (!M) tags into WLM's nickname feature. This also means there is no need for extra control panels and such as WLM already provides this.

Though, there is one problem with this: Messenger Plus! needs a unique way to indentify names in the contactlist. Previously this was done by actually showing the emailaddresses instead of the screennames in the contactlist. Then Plus! could easly and uniquely identify each contact and replace the visible emailaddress with either a custom name or the screenname again. Hence what you was was a contactlist with (custom) names.

When WLM shows nicknames, there is no unique way to identify each individual contact in the contactlist as names are not something unique; two people can have the same name. Thus there is no way for Plus! to know who is who and thus can't replace the line you see in the contactlist with a Custom Name.

There is possible workaround though: Set the contactlist to show emailaddresses (like previously) and grab the nickname from WLM's own database. Put here is probably the catch: to be able to retrieve the set nickname (and thus also the "custom name") from WLM's encrypted files.

I tried to vote on the poll linked in the previous post, but because the thread has beenlocked i think, it wont accept anymore votes

it tells me i already voted, i try to undo it, it tells me i havent voted

I would also like to see the feature back in MPL

That's the spirit. Everyone! Please! For our sake, whether you use it or not, please help us out by voting it back!

@colin-uk > I know this might be a stupid question, but have you allowed cookies on your browser?

I think it was locked. thats why you cant vote.

Nope, the thread is closed for posting, but the poll is still working. Try allowing the cookies from this board

Well I can't vote either but I really miss the function! Some of my contacts have such weird names, I don't know who they are anymore. I need to rename them. And sometimes they do have useful information in their names so I still want to see the original ones... This was one of the main reasons for me to use Plus! I don't use many of the other features.

This is the only thing missing for me from being happy with Plus and WLM, i  really miss the rename contact yet still being able to hover and see their current display name. Please bring this back...quick!!!!!

Yeah, please, Patchou.

I also really miss it.

    I was thinking on the possibility of a script that woul mimic the behaviour, but I think that it is not so simple, it would be really difficult to restore the previous renamed names (at least for a newbie).

    I would thank it to be back!!!! Please!!!!

Yeah I miss this feature too
Hope it will be in a next version or plug-in/script

Hi all, well I'm with the majority it seems here. I would also like it back very much please. I like to able to see who is who at a glance but also like to be able to see the personal messages my friends often put in their names.

I really miss it too!

i just want to say i miss it too. just another opinion so you can see how many people want it back BAD =P

i have 231 contacts, and i rename witch messenger plus! 70 contacts.

I think if somebody let me import the preferences to messenger live... or change the .pld to txt or other file compatible to copy / paste because i have 70 contacts to rename please help...

Indeed, I'm also one of the people who relied very much on the custom name feature, and have come to consider it an essential part of Plus. The renaming feature provided by WLM is a very lousy alternative to what Plus' feature offered, so I very much hope the latter will be brought back.

I really think to back to MSN 7.5 and messenger plus!...

I've just downloaded the new Windows Live Messenger and Messenger Plus Live.

I too had renamed a large number of my contacts using the function under the old Messenger Plus and have realised that they haven't transfered across.

Whilst, I'd love it to be done automatically, I'd be happy just to find out what names I'd given all my contacts in the previous version I had of messenger - Is there a way this can be done ???

Yeah, the data is still in your comp. Just uninstall WLM then reinstall 7.5 and the old Messenger Plus!, then you'll see the old renames again.

Thanks everyone for supporting this. I think we should now have enough people supproting the bring-back of this feature to make Patchou think

Well,

I think I have read many of this thread. My wy of thought is that because the decision made by WLM plus! is uncertained, I have to go back to both the old version of msn and msgplus.

Just wondering if Patchou have decided in what way is WLM plus! going to deal with this problem. I wish in whatever decision that WLM plus! is going to make, will be compitable with future WLM development.

However, if Patchou is worried about if his development is going to be replaced by WLM future development, then there will be no way to improve for WLM plus!, because furture is unpredictable, everything can happen.

A better way of doing this might be: to replace the current modification of users on WLM of their contact renaming parameters by the old parameters stored in his/her machine database, but if some new data is available in the current WLM, the program can popup a window allowing user to choose which data to preserve. I wish we will still have the abilitiy to show both our contacts' names and the names we given to them.

Finally, still have to thank Patchou's hard working on this brand new program. Thank you Patchou.

The thing I really miss about the Plus! method of doing the contact renaming is that with the WLM version if you put contacts on the desktop then the nickname isn't used, just the screen name (although I'm happy to be proved wrong..)


Anyways, I can't be bothered to transfer all my old contact nicknames over, so I've gone back

May i add something to this topic..

The way Microsoft does it is WAY more better!
Why? Because it's saved server side, so every where you sign in at a WLM version, no matter where you are, the names are allways the same..

Personally I use 4 different MSN accounts... in total I have over 500 contacts (each account is for different "reason")
The only feature I used MSN+ was because I was able to remember who-is-who in this chaos... and now it's gone...
I certainly WON'T be using MSN+ in the future not only because the developers removed probably the single most important use of it for the majority of users but mainly because I feel cheated and left without support since I was never given the option to transfer this HUGE amount of work I have done over the years to the latest upgrade....
What has been done is a SHAME to all the people who trust and use "unofficial" software and plugins...
What happened with MSN+ must be a lesson to NEVER AGAIN use programs/plugins that are not officially Microsoft written and endorsed!

quote:

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Originally posted by nikosATH
The only feature I used Msg+ was because I was able to remember who-is-who in this chaos... and now it's gone...
I certainly WON'T be using Msg+ in the future not only because the developers removed probably the single most important use of it for the majority of users but mainly because I feel cheated and left without support since I was never given the option to transfer this HUGE amount of work I have done over the years to the latest upgrade....

What has been done is a SHAME to all the people who trust and use "unofficial" software and plugins...
What happened with Msg+ must be a lesson to NEVER AGAIN use programs/plugins that are not officially Microsoft written and endorsed!

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Alright. From what we have read, it has been made quite clear to all of us that Patchou didn't REMOVE it, he just didn't ADD it. Please stop flaming him over this as it isn't actually his fault,

So, now all we can and SHOULD do it to try to convince Patchou that his old renaming contacts feature is one of the main reasons we use Messenger Plus, and that we would really appreciate it if he restored the feature AND the old parameters to our old renamed contacts so that we don't have to rename them all over again.

Once again, Patchou, I plead that the feature be restored. Waiting for WLM to make their move will not do us any good. Instead, you should be trying to impove your program by adding features which they don't have! The rename contact feature is Messenger Plus!'s trademark, so please restore it.

Go, PATCHOU!!!

I thought everybody has forgot this thread already. Although I am so disappointed. However, I am still using 7.5 --- at least I have something to rely on.
The reason for not using new version is that I really don't want to manually move those contact names one by one. They are simply too many and error prone. Another reason is there are some plug-in's not available for the new version. For example,  StuffPlug-NG.
So... still waiting... waiting...

Anyway, waiting is not so painful. Hopeless is painful.
I havn't seen any hope on this "improvement" so far (as it is not a put-back function, it should be some kind of improvement).

All we can do is to wait.

You got that right. It's already sour enough to not be able to use WLM, yet not getting response from Patchou regarding this feature, is MUCH worse.

Throughout the forums, I think that obviously this feature is among one of the most wanted. More importantly, we need our old renames to load in MSG Plus! LIVE so that we don't have to rename them all from scratch. We have hundreds of contacts, so renaming them all over again would be a pain, and unpractical.

He's already said what he is going to say about it! He is first working on getting bugs irened out, THEN he will add new features... But for the moment, there is a WLM nickname feature. If he when he looks at it thinks he can do it better, he will... But as mentioned on numorous occasions its not a priority.

Patchou doesn't have time to answer every thread saying it's gone when yet it has been mentioned many times before.

Cloudy

Just to support this function once more!

I'm still supporting and awaiting a response on this. It may not come, but I can hope hard because I still can't move to Windows Live Messenger as a result of this.

IHey all,

It's been a while since I've been checking out how things were going on around here. Has there been any developments towards this feature for Windows Live Messenger yet? To date, I am STILL stuck with MSN Messenger 7.5 due to this incompatibility. Is there any way that I can convert all my Rename Contacts databases to a format compatible with Windows Live Messenger or Messenger Plus! Live?

Thanks

quote:

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Originally posted by Samanoske Akechi
IHey all,

It's been a while since I've been checking out how things were going on around here. Has there been any developments towards this feature for Windows Live Messenger yet? To date, I am STILL stuck with MSN Messenger 7.5 due to this incompatibility. Is there any way that I can convert all my Rename Contacts databases to a format compatible with Windows Live Messenger or Messenger Plus! Live?

Thanks

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Thanks for the reply, mate. However, if you refered into the first few pages of this thread, you'd find that those of us suffering from this dilenma have an extremely plausible reason to ask for a better solution than renaming everything from scratch. Simply said, our contacts go by the thousands. Could you imagine yourself copying thousands of sentences then retyping them in? It's possible of course, but definitely not practical. After all, we ARE using Messenger Plus! as a convenience, right?

quote:

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Originally posted by Samanoske Akechi
Thanks for the reply, mate. However, if you refered into the first few pages of this thread, you'd find that those of us suffering from this dilenma have an extremely plausible reason to ask for a better solution than renaming everything from scratch. Simply said, our contacts go by the thousands. Could you imagine yourself copying thousands of sentences then retyping them in? It's possible of course, but definitely not practical. After all, we ARE using Messenger Plus! as a convenience, right?

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So, what are we to do now. We have waited as requested, yet Microsoft has yet to show any interest in upgrading their crappy version of the 'Add Nickname' feature. And many of us here still await the ability and freedom to customize our contacts according to different styles and colour-codes, as well as keeping the actual nicknames.

Thus, I would like to plea, once again, to anyone listening and especially Patchou too. Please try to restore this feature from Messenger Plus!. Despite my past rants on not being able to transfer my old database, I'd be more than willing to totally rename all 500 of my contacts from scratch if this feature were to be graciously restored.

Thanks again.

I join to this request. I'm waiting since the first version of MSG Plus Live! was released.
I still use Messenger 7.5 with Plus 3.63, because I like to see customized and original contact names at the time.
Maybe this functionality will appear again in MSG Plus Live! 4.50 version? Can Patchou comment something about this?

Thanks!!

Yet another supporter to the cause, thanks mate. I'm still under the impression that no one else here has ANY interest of reviving this feature anymore? I'm still waiting as patiently as ever for this feature to transit to WLM. Do help, Patchou.

Thanks

I hope that Patchou (or someone talking in his name) will say us if he's going to implement that feature in the future, or we will not see it again.

Cannot agree more!!!!

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The reason why the Custom Name feature of Plus! is far more usefull than the Nickname feature of WLM is because of one simple reason: With the Nickname feature of WLM you can not see the contact's orginal screenname, nor email, when you have set a nickname.

The usefullness of the Custom Name feature in Plus! comes from the fact that you could use the special tags (!N) and (!M) as part of the Custom Name to show the contact's original screenname or email. Making it possible to set custom names like: "John: (!N)" which would be seen as: "John: this is my original screen name"

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*fingers crossed for a revival* Or at least a way to export the data from the Messenger Plus 3.x settings.

I'd have to agree with the last 2 posts.

If bringing the settings and such from Plus! 3.x isn't plausible at least Custom Names feature making a return

i'm here to support this request, as for me it's really vital. i was ok with sticking to 7.5 just because this feature wasn't implemented in WPL but today something bad happened. messenger FORCED me to update. it would not sign on until i installed Live. I'm so, so frustrated at this point. I really wish Patchou would add this feature, it seems there is a pool of users already asking for it (from the looks of this thread, they've been asking for a year!

as you know, the microsoft "add a nickname" feature is basically crap. i can't just "add" the nickname to the user's name, i'd have to get rid of their msn name and add my nickname instead. which i never did with my 7.5 plus, what i did was left their name in and added my nickname in bold in front of me. nice, neat, tidy, and by the size of my contact list, necessary.

don't tell me "this is what you get for having that many contacts", what is that supposed to mean?  go and delete them? too bad so sad? come on, i'm just asking for a functionality that was already present in a program i've grown accustomed to and not implemented in an update i had to use, against my will.
please, please, help us out?

Thanks for joining the cause too, aixerona.

Anyways, first to solve your Messenger 7.5 dilemma, I got the same damn forced-upgrade notice too. However, there's a way to bypass the upgrade if you wanna stick to 7.5 and Plus! like myself.

- Go to Program Files / MSN Messenger
- Right-click the 'msnmsgr.exe' icon and go to 'Properties'
- Under the 'Compatibility' tab, choose to run messenger under the 'Windows 2000' compatibility mode, then select Apply and OK while Messenger IS NOT running in the background

- DONE! You can run MSN Messenger 7.5 once again, with no more forced upgrades.

Hope that helps. And worry not, it's not illegal to do so It's just another reason for us to plea for this feaure in WLM.


Thanks

Old rename contact feature is not going to re-appear in MSG Plus Live 4.50, isn't it?

No.  The major feature is skinning messenger.  I think renaming contacts is a feature that may never come back... maybe at a later date if Patchou gets some ideas to make it a lot better than what it was, but apart from that I think it has had it's day and we will have to use the WLM attempt at this feature.

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Originally posted by markee
No.  The major feature is skinning messenger.  I think renaming contacts is a feature that may never come back...

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Originally posted by markee
maybe at a later date if Patchou gets some ideas to make it a lot better than what it was

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Originally posted by markee
but apart from that I think it has had it's day

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and we will have to use the WLM attempt at this feature.

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Originally posted by CookieRevised
And Pathou once said that when MS isn't going to improve the WLM nickname feature he is going to add custom names again... Patchou?

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Originally posted by markee

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Originally posted by CookieRevised
And Pathou once said that when MS isn't going to improve the WLM nickname feature he is going to add custom names again... Patchou?

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In that case he should have had it in 4.00 because the WLM team already had it there and once they have a feature they're never going to update it.

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Originally posted by markee
I understand that Plus! feature was good and all but do you think Patchou might now wait to see if WLM 9.0 comes with a decent API to use like what is being rumoured and tries to link through that to get and alter this information?

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Originally posted by markee
Also that comment about reinventing the wheel seems a little silly seeing as though Patchou recoded Plus! for 4.00, was't that itself reinventing the wheel for all those features?

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Like I personally would prefer to see the functionality that tabs used to have and I feel it is more important than just improving a feature that is missing just one or two tiny things to make it complete in your view.

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Originally posted by Patchou
I promise I'll add it back.

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I promise I'll add it back, it's now obvious Microsoft won't do a thing about it. I'm just disapointed.

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Originally posted by Patchou
I promise I'll add it back, it's now obvious Microsoft won't do a thing about it. I'm just disapointed.

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Originally posted by vikke

quote:

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Originally posted by Patchou
I promise I'll add it back, it's now obvious Microsoft won't do a thing about it. I'm just disapointed.

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We could always hope for Windows Live Messenger 9 to bring us this feature. But they probably doesn't care about it at all.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Patchou
I promise I'll add it back, it's now obvious Microsoft won't do a thing about it. I'm just disapointed.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Patchou
I promise I'll add it back, it's now obvious Microsoft won't do a thing about it. I'm just disapointed.

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Well, it's been months since my last reply here, guess I'm back again to highlight this issue. As many of the other users who posted in this thread, I for one am still stuck on MSN Messenger 7.5, forced to find bypasses to Microsoft's day-by-day efforts to evict 7.5 users. WLM's been out for years and I'm still here.

Patchou, I'm sure you've heard this before but this feature has been an integral part of my Messenger-ing days since the day you put it in. Having been heavily dependent on this feature to identify and classify my thousands of contacts over the past couple of years, it's near nowhere near practical nor plausible to rename my contacts from scratch in the new yet crippled WLM environment, let alone practicing the memorizing habit.

My point here is simple, this isn't a feature that I, and I'm sure many others who share my dilemma have been, and will be able to drop just like that. I felt a great sense of relief when I saw your reply here promising us that very change, and I still hold you to your word till this day. As a loyal user, I beg of you to one day answer this plea. As of today, my MSN 7.5 has begun to show signs of failing, endless sign in cycles with no success. Perhaps, Microsoft has finally dealt the death blow, and if that's true, I'll be confined to web messengers until the day this feature can make its return to Messenger Plus! Live.

With all the sincerity in the world,
Samanoske Akechi

I vote for revival of Rename Contact feature.

I still use MSN7.5 along with Messenger Plus's Rename Contact feature which is the utmost important feature.

I can't imagine without it any more.

Please bring the Rename Contact feature back as before.

quote:

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Originally posted by 2haerim
I vote for revival of Rename Contact feature.

I still use MSN7.5 along with Messenger Plus's Rename Contact feature which is the utmost important feature.

I can't imagine without it any more.

Please bring the Rename Contact feature back as before.

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And yet again, this marks the 3rd annual anniversary of this thread. And now not only have we missed the days of Windows Live Messenger 8.0, the agony continues with Windows Live Messenger 2009.

Patchou, we still patiently await the day this feature either returns as it was in Messenger Plus! 3.63, or at least, some form of a conversion tool to port over the thousands of renamed contacts we've be relying on to identify our contacts, to be compatible with the new Messenger Plus! Live. I remain optimistic for this, Patchou, and I will continue to wait for the day this is finally granted a solution.

Thanks again for reading this, Patchou.


Sincerely,
Samanoske Akechi

5 years and 7 months since I first opened this thread to make this request. Hi Patchou, I don't mean to impose. I still patiently await the day this feature finally makes it into MsgPlusLive. For now, I'll continue to live, as I always have, with the 6-year old MSN Messenger 7.5 and the deprecated Msg Plus! 3.63.

Thanks again, as always, Patchou.


Your loyal user,
Samanoske Akechi

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Originally posted by Samanoske Akechi
Thanks again, as always, Patchou.

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Thanks for the info.