Q: no message input box in Messages

Hi,

I cannot replicate this in Yosemite.

I can describe how it used to be done.

In System Preferences > General section you can change the amount of Documents, Servers or Applications that appear in Recent Lists.

Saved Messages chats are the "documents" on Messages and have an .ichat ending

I have the setting set at 20.  (See the Apple Icon Menu > Recent Items  for an example)

It used to be you could access the Messages Recent List in the Messages app > File Menu but this is no longer here.

Opening older saved Chats this way in earlier version of Messages and iChat would sometimes not have the text entry field across the bottom.

It usually denoted that the person was Off Line.

You can also  double click a chat in the side bar of the Messages main window and that particular chat will open in separate window.

However this retains the Text entry field.

As Saved chats are stored so deep within the Home Folder nowadays I doubt you have opened a Saved Chat.

If I use Spotlight and deliberately open an older Chat  it shows the text entry field.

I can't think what you could have done to achieve this.

9:39 PM      Thursday; November 27, 2014

Try to repair disk permissions on the main startup disk. I had this exact issue (how I found this thread) with a group iMessage and resolved fully with repairing permissions and quitting, re-opening Messages.  OS X 10.10.4

I had the same problem in a group chat.  I repaired disk permissions, closed messages and restarted my macbook.  Still same problem.  Then I signed out of iMessage and signed back in.  That fixed the problem.  Don't know what parts of the process contributed to the resolution.

This helped. I didn't actually have to sign out though. Just disable and re-enable the account from Preferences. The text input box reappeared as soon as I disabled it.

Hi,

That is interesting.

I will have to try and remember that.

9:36 p.m.      Wednesday; October 14, 2015

I had the exact same problem (no input box in 1 group message) all other messages had them.. I tried everything but it didn't work UNTIL i changed the number of "recents from 10 to 15 as noted above" and restarted iMessage (I didn't log out AND didn't re-enable any accounts)

To be clear, I tried re-starting, enabling, etc and nothing else worked.. Changing "recents" by itself did not work, it was only after changing "recents" AND re-starting iMessage, did the input box return to the single group message that was missing it. 

Thanks Ralph!

Interesting.

I will try to remember that.

7:40 p.m.      Sunday; October 18, 2015

This worked for me. Took less than 10 seconds. Went to preferences in messages. Clicked and reclicked the box "enable this account" and it was there. I was only having problems with one group message. Thanks.

Can confirm lubin07's answer worked for iMessage 9.0 on OS X 10.11.1

That did it for me. 

I'm experiencing this same problem.  Disabling / re-enabling the account in Preferences brings the input box back (it actually reappears as soon as I disable the account), but if I select a different conversation then return to this group conversation, the input box disappears again.  Lather, rinse, repeat.

OSX 10.11.3

Messages 9.1 (5085)

Just chiming in because I have the same issue: one particular group Conversation (i.e. this is an iMessage, not SMS) has no input text box in the Message app. No issue on the phone, just on the MacBook running El Capitan.

Going to Message preferences and disabling and then re-enabling my account as suggested does make input box reappear, but only temporarily. The next time I open the app it has disappeared again.

Would rather not trash the plist file or anything else from my user library, as I don't really know what I'm doing and don't want to lose my chat and conversation histories.

OSX 10.11.5

Messages 9.2 (5100)

Edit: apologies just realized this was an old thread under Yosemite forums; it came up when I googled. Will see if I can find another under El Capitan.

HI,

Try this thread with the replies by Linc Davis.

Reset Home Folder permissions and ACLs Error

The Orange marked reply (helpful) is the test bit.

Then the Green marked one is the fix.

This does not delete the .plist (preferences files) in ~/Library/Preferences but does check and then fix - if you need to - the Permissions on the files in your Home Folder (the one with the Little House icon).

Generally windowing info in Messages is held in com.apple.iChat.plist  which does not contain any Chat info.

Window info can be where the Preferences fro Messages appear n the Screen, whether it show the Tool Bar (and in Icons or Text or both), where the Buddy List(s) are  and whether they show Off Line Buddies  or not.

The size the main Chat window is.

It should show a Text Input line even if the account is not On line (It would be a good clue if it was missing when you were not logged in).

10:03 pm      Thursday; June 2, 2016