I've just upgraded to Mavericks, so am now having to use Messages for chatting, instead of iChat. However, the Messages window will only display at a certain width - wider than I would like. Can anyone tell me how I can make it narrower?
Mac Mini, Mac OS X (10.7.2)
Hi,
As with any Window you can grab the bottom right corner and reduce it to it's smallest amount.
For me that is around the same surface area as the reply box is here (but slightly taller but narrower)
If it is still too big then use the Amber button and place it in the DOCK until you need it.
Or Full Screen it and use it in a separate "desktop"
9:17 pm Sunday; April 6, 2014
That's just it, though. If I grab the bottom right corner, I can move the size up and down, but I can't move it from side to side. Nothing happens, it always stays the same width.
I don't want to minimise it or put it on full screen. I liked to have my iChat window open on the right of my screen while I had my browser open, so I could see all of both at once. Now I can't do that; I can only see the edge of the Messages screen, so have to keep clicking on it to read what people have written. This is a backwards move in my opinion!
Hi,
So the right hand edge of the Messages window is up against the right hand of the display.
In your case this means the left hand edge is roughly level with a Browser window.
Can you drag the window anywhere else on the screen ?
I doubt you are using a set up that will not let you take the window beyond the bounds of the scree, so that you could move the window almost Off screen in any direction ? (most windows cannot be taken above the Menu Bar though)
There is a related issue that has been known about for some time.
If the Menu Bar Status item is Used and one of Status Messages is very long and the drop down would pass the right hand edge of the screen it moves the alignment to the right hand side of the Menu Bar icon.
Re-ordering the Menu bar items with CMD+ click and Drag can sort this.
I get the impression that you can move the window about it is just the dimensions that are the issue.
I re-grabbed the smallest size I can get my window to and it is 604 pixels by 361 pixels.
Are you sure it is not as narrow as it can be already ?
I can make Buddy List much smaller.
7:55 pm Monday; April 7, 2014
Hi Ralph,
Well, I've made the buddy list narrower, and that helps me narrow the text section a little, but it's still wider than I would like! I guess I must just have it at the minimum. Yes, I can move it around on the screen okay, and I'm not using the menu bar status.
Hi,
CMD+Shift+4 will allow you to describe around an area you want to grab.
If you add the space bar in you can grab Windows.
You can then open the Pic in Preview and in the Tools Menu use the inspector to see the size in pixels.
8:36 pm Monday; April 7, 2014
Hi,
It's 480 x 526 pixels.
Hi,
I should have said mine was Width then Height.
It is also close to a ratio of 16:9 like a wide screen TV.
If yours is 526 wide and 480 high then it would appear yours is narrower than I can get mine but somewhat taller.
If however you did mean 480 wide and 526 high it would seem it is taller than mine by a significant amount.
it would still be narrow then mine.
It does suggest there is an issue with the windowing on yours.
Can you change the size of the Preferences window and the Buddy Lists ?
Do they stay changed ? (after a reboot of the app or the computer)
7:39 pm Tuesday; April 8, 2014
Sorry, 480 wide and 526 high. I would prefer it about half that width!
Yes, I can change everything else normally. It's just the width that won't change.
Hi,
That is much narrower than Mine which may be related to the Resolution of the Screen.
I am not sure you will get it any narrower.
The windowing info is stored in com.apple.ichat.plist
Deleting this .plist and restarting the app will restore all the default settings.
This includes all the items except Accounts in the Preferences plus some Menu items.
You would need to use the Finder > Go Menu whilst holding down the ALT key
Select the Library that appears.
Navigate to Preferences.
Find the.plist and Drag it to the Trash.
Restart Messages.
8:33 pm Wednesday; April 9, 2014
I'd like to be able to make my chat window tiny, too. No reason it needs more than 250 pixels for the conversation thread -- attached photos should simply resize automatically to accommodate.
Hi,
I cannot get the get the list of names on the left that small even with trying to drag the divider between the list and the Chat part of the window.
269 pixels is the smallest I can make it.
Currently I can reduce the whole window to 672 X 338 but no smaller.
I am not sure where the settings for this window size are set.
8:05 pm Friday; December 12, 2014
I'm able to collapse the buddy column down so it displays only the avatar, not the most recent message text, getting it to 491 x 338. Try dragging the buddy column in from both edges and one might work! 🙂
Hi,
I was trying the line between the list and the chat portions and as it seemed to stop when the words had been contracted so far I though that was it.
Presuming it would stop there I dragged the line further and the divider jumped to show just the Avatars as you say.
From that it is as you say, smaller.
7:34 pm Saturday; December 13, 2014
Messages window is too big
