How Rally’s IM Integration Works

The chat and pc-to-pc calling icons in the Contact Popup (which pops up when you hover over an owner display name with the dotted underline) are links to an instant messenger protocol. Clicking on one of these icons will tell the web browser find a url protocol handler for the protocol and launch the registered application for that protocol. This is the same technique that the web browsers use to open your email client when clicking on an email link in a web page or a .pdf file that will launch an application associated with .pdf files.

Many IM clients install url protocol handlers into the operating system during the installation process which allows a web page to launch the client IM application when a web user clicks on a html link for that protocol. The url protocol handlers map a url protocol to an application on your computer. For Microsoft Windows, these handlers are installed into the windows registry. For Mac OS X, the url protocol handlers are installed on your computer. For Linux, url protocol handlers need to be configured in the web browser.

As of this release, Rally supports the following IM protocols:

aim (AOL Instant Messenger)

gtalk (Google Talk)

xmpp (Jabber)

msnim (Microsoft Live Messenger)

skype (Skype)

ymsgr (Yahoo Instant Messenger)
Windows OS
AOL Instant Messenger 5.9 (AIM)

Works fine.

Installing the AIM windows client installs a url protocol handler into the windows registry.
Windows Live Messenger 8.1

With Internet Explorer, chat and pc-to-pc-calling works fine.

When installing the Windows Live Messenger desktop client, it doesn’t install a protocol handler in the windows registry but the IE browser knows how to handle html links using the msnim protocol.

Doesn’t work with Firefox since there is no url protocol handler installed for the msnim protocol.
Google Talk 1.0.0.104 (GTALK)

Works fine (with one exception – see next text).

Installing the Google Talk desktop client installs a url protocol handler in the windows registry. Launching the Chat action works fine. Launching PC-to-PC calling action brings you into chat with that person but you can easily hit the call button to call the person.
Skype 3.2.0.175

Works fine.

Installing the Skype desktop client installs a url protocol handler in the windows registry. Chat and PC-to-pc calling works perfectly.
Yahoo Instant Messenger 8.1 (Y!M)

Works fine.

Installing the Y!M desktop client installs a url protocol handler in the windows registry. Launching the Chat action works fine.
Jabber Clients
Exodus 0.9.1.0

Works fine.

Installing the client installs an xmpp url protocol handler into the windows registry.

Pandion 2.5

This jabber client will work if you add a protocol handler for the xmpp protocol to the windows registry. For example:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\xmpp]

"URL Protocol"=""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\xmpp\shell]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\xmpp\shell\open]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\xmpp\shell\open\command]

@="\"C:\\Program Files\\Pandion\\Pandion.exe\" %1"

 
Pidgin 2.1.0 (IM Aggregator)

The best IM Aggregator for using url protocol handlers.

Best to use Pidgin 2.1.0 and above since it adds in url protocol handler functionality.

When installing make sure to select the uri handler check boxes that you what to use pidgin for. They only have 3 options now: AOL (aim), Yahoo (ymsgr), and Microsoft Live Messenger (msnim).

Note: Pidgin must be running before trying to IM someone with our app. This is a bug in Pidgin since the application should launch but doesn’t if it not started.

Pidgin client does not support the pc-to-pc calling IM feature.

Yahoo Instant Messenger via Pidgin works fine.

AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) via Pidgin works fine.

Windows Live Messenger via Pidgin works fine.

Jabber via Pidgin does not work since there is no xmpp protocol handler installed and does not seem to work when you do try to install one.

There is no Skype support in Pidgin.

If for some reason you do not have Pidgin url protocol handlers registered in the registry, you can add them to the registry:

For Y!M:

Create a .reg file for the following code (replacing the first line with the appropriate string for your version of windows) and double click on that file to add it to the registry:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ymsgr]

@="URL:ymsgr"

"URL Protocol"=""

 

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ymsgr\DefaultIcon]

@="C:\\Program Files\\Pidgin\\pidgin.exe"

 

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ymsgr\shell]

@=""

 

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ymsgr\shell\Open]

@=""

 

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ymsgr\shell\Open\command]

@="C:\\Program Files\\Pidgin\\pidgin.exe --protocolhandler=%1"

 

For AIM:

Create a .reg file for the following code (replacing the first line with the appropriate string for your version of windows) and double click on that file to add it to the registry:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\aim]

@="URL:aim"

"URL Protocol"=""

 

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\aim\DefaultIcon]

@="C:\\Program Files\\Pidgin\\pidgin.exe"

 

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\aim\shell]

@=""

 

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\aim\shell\Open]

@=""

 

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\aim\shell\Open\command]

@="C:\\Program Files\\Pidgin\\pidgin.exe --protocolhandler=%1"

 

For Windows Live Messenger:

Create a .reg file for the following code (replacing the first line with the appropriate string for your version of windows) and double click on that file to add it to the registry:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

 

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\msnim]

@="URL:msnim"

"URL Protocol"=""

 

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\msnim\DefaultIcon]

@="C:\\Program Files\\Pidgin\\pidgin.exe"

 

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\msnim\shell]

@=""

 

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\msnim\shell\Open]

@=""

 

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\msnim\shell\Open\command]

@="C:\\Program Files\\Pidgin\\pidgin.exe --protocolhandler=%1"

 
Trillian 3.1 Basic (IM Aggregator)

Doesn’t work with our app. Trillian installs protocol handlers but they didn’t put you into a chat session with the person you are trying to contact since it doesn’t seem to handle the url parameters correctly.

 
Mac OS X
AOL Instant Messenger (AIM)

Works fine.

Installing the client application installs the ymsgr url protocol handler into the operating system.
Skype

Works fine for both chat and pc-to-pc calling features.

Installing the client application installs the skype url protocol handler into the operating system.
Google Talk (GTalk)

Doesn’t work.

There is no GTalk desktop client for the Mac.

Adding a GTalk account to Adium doesn’t create a url protocol handler so web browsers don’t know how to launch it.
Jabber

Works with Adium (IM Aggregator for the Mac).

iChat does not work with our app since it doesn’t use url protocol handlers.
Yahoo Instant Messenger 3.0 Beta 1 (Y!M)

Chat works fine.

Installing the Y!M desktop client installs a url protocol handler in the OS.

Launching the PC-to-PC calling action only brings up the Y!M client and doesn’t call the user.
Adium (IM Aggregator)

Only supports Chat (no pc-to-pc calling).

Yahoo Instant Messenger via Pidgin works fine as long as Adium is up and running before starting a chat session. If Adium is not running, the Adium app will start but it won’t take you into a chat session with the person you are trying to contact.

AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) via Adium works fine.

Windows Live Messenger via Adium doesn’t work since Adium uses an‘msn:’ protocol and not ‘msnim’ which is what it should be.

Jabber via Adium works fine.

There is no Skype support in Adium.

GTalk doesn’t work for our app since there are no protocol handlers for it. Adding one doesn’t help much since Adium doesn’t interpret the url parameters for it.
Windows Live Messenger

Doesn’t work with our application since installing the Windows Live Messenger Client does not install a url protocol handler.
Linux

Linux uses url protocol handlers in the web browser and not the OS so you need to install url protocol handlers in the web browser and use a IM client that knows how to work with these handlers.
Pidgin

Pidgin (http://pidgin.im/) is an IM client for Linux (and Windows) that is similar to Adium or other multi-protocol clients.

This setup should work for Firefox on any platform, but I have only tried it on Linux.

Firefox uses an internal registry-like table to track configuration settings.  You can access this part of firefox by typing "about:config" in the URL.

To add a new protocol handler in firefox:

1) go to "about:config"

2) right-click, select New->Boolean

3) type the name as "network.protocol-handler.external.foo" where "foo" is the protocol, such as "ymsgr" for Yahoo Instant Messenger, “xmpp” for Jabber.

4) select "True" for the value

5) right-click, select New->String

4) type the name as "network.protocol-handler.app.foo" where "foo" is the protocol again

6) type the value as "/usr/bin/purple-url-handler"

 

The first time firefox tries to run the external app, it will show the attached warning dialog.  purple-url-handler is an application shipped with pidgin that is similar to the old "gaim-remote" app that came with gaim.

            See http://kb.mozillazine.org/Register_protocol for more information about registering protocol handlers             in mozilla (and firefox).