Re: Can Outlook 2003 use MSN Messenger INSTEAD of Windows Messenge

From: Dan (Dan_at_discussions.microsoft.com)
Date: 01/25/05 

Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2005 15:29:03 -0800

Thanks Brian. I deleted the msmsgs.exe file and replaced it with msnmsgr.exe
which I then renamed to msmsgs.exe. Result: no change in the behavior of
Outlook 2003. That is, it just didn't recognize the existance of a Messenger
program at all. So I just reversed the process and put the files back where
they all started. I didn't want to mess with the registry for such a minor
nit. I'll just boot up MSN Messenger separately from Outlook. No biggie. I
just like the MSN version because it carries more features like a photo of
the person for instance.

I did learn some other things in the process!

1. There are two versions of Messenger. (I file this information under the
quandry of why are there Outlook and Outlook Express, WAB and Contacts,
etc.). What other 'almost' duplicative programs lurk within my computer?

2. This whole quest started when I checked the "Enable the Person Names..."
and "Display Messenger Status..." boxes in the Outlook 2003 - Tools - Options
- Other dialog. I saw the little 'person' icon on the email message
indicating the sender's online status and the Messenger (Windows Msgr 4.7)
icon in the task bar. When I tried to shut down Windows Messenger from the
task bar, I was advised to first shut down Outlook 2003. This didn't happen
when I was running MSN Messenger.

2. After deleting and then undeleting the Windows Messenger .exe file, the
messenger behavior no longer works the same within Outlook. Even with the
appropriate boxes checked in Outlook, no icon appears in the task bar and the
sender's status icon in messages are always gray. (Reinstalling Windows
Messenger from the Windows setup didn't change this either.) However...

3. If I first start MSN Messenger and then start Outlook, the sender's
status is reflected correctly (brown 'person' icon for offline, etc.) but if
I start Outlook before MSN Messenger the icon is always gray.

4. I can choose to shut down MSN Messenger with Outlook running and I don't
get any grief about first shuting down Outlook. But then the sender's icon
goes gray and won't properly reflect the sender's online status unless I
shutdown and then restart Outlook.

Hope the Outlook MVPs are reading along...

"Brian Tillman" wrote:

> Dan <Dan@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
>
> > I don't know exactly what you mean by your reply but it sounds like
> > it could be a solution.
>
> What I mean is to put MSN Messenger in the folder where your system expects
> Windows Messenger to be and replace the Windows Messenger image with that of
> MSN Messenger by changing its name and overwriting Windows Messenger.
>
> > I also find the following file:
> > "C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\MSG.EXE"
> > It doesn't seem to do anything when I double-click it other than
> > launch a DOS window that appears and disappears too quickly for me to
> > read.
>
> That's not it. That's a command line messaging program that pops up a
> little window containing a message. You use it like this:
>
> C:\> msg user Hello there!
>
> What you'd see is a window on the screen with "Message from User1 1/25/2005
> 8:58 AM" (time and date change, of course) in the title bar and "Hello
> there!" in the window, with an OK button below that.
>
> > Finally, there's also a file within a .cab file, MMSSETUP.CAB:
> > "msmsgs.exe". It seems to be the closest match to the filename you
> > suggested replacing (msmsg.exe).
>
> msmsgs.exe is, indeed, the name of the file. I mistyped.
>
> My Windows Messenger V4.7 (on WIndows XP Pro SP2) is located in
> %ProgramFiles%\Messenger.
>
> > Am I in the neighborhood of understanding your suggestion? I don't
> > know what you mean when you suggest I "replace the image file...". I
> > guess I need you to explain that for me please.
>
> Delete the Windows messenger .EXE and replace it with MSN Messenger's .EXE,
> naming it msmsgs.exe so that when whatever application executes that image
> runs MSN Messenger instead.
>
> However, since you don't seem to have msmsgs.exe on your system, I don't
> know how Windows Messenger can be called by Outlook at all. Open the
> registry and look at the key
> HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersionApp Paths\MSMSGS.EXE and see
> where it points. That should be where the Windows Messenger image should
> be. In fact, if you're brave, you should be able to change the references
> to where Windows Messenger is to indicate MSN Messenger instead. There's
> many of them, though, and I don't understand all of the side effects of some
> of the references.
> --
> Brian Tillman
>
>

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