A huge thank you to everyone who has been using Messenger, testing it and sending in ideas.
Messenger is very much being shaped by the people actually using it. Each upgrade is being driven by real user feedback rather than adding features for the sake of it, and 1.1.1 is a good example of that.
This update focuses heavily on presence, positioning, notifications and performance, with several of the changes coming directly from suggestions made by customers.
Live Messenger Online Members widget
Messenger now includes its own
Online Members widget using Messenger’s live presence system.
This is separate from XenForo’s normal online member list and reflects Messenger presence directly, including Online and Busy states while still respecting privacy settings such as appearing offline.
The widget updates automatically while the page is open, so members can see who is currently available without refreshing the page.
Administrators can add it from:
ACP → Appearance → Widgets
Choose:
Messenger: Online Members
You can place it anywhere supported by XenForo’s widget system and also control the maximum number of members displayed.
This gives communities a much more visible sense of activity and makes Messenger feel integrated into the rest of the forum rather than something hidden away in the corner.
Administrator control over Appear Offline
Administrators can now decide whether members are allowed to appear offline in Messenger.
This can be controlled from the existing Messenger settings in the ACP using:
Allow members to appear offline
When enabled, members can continue using Appear Offline normally.
When disabled, the option is removed from Messenger entirely and the user’s real Messenger presence is used instead.
This is enforced server side as well as visually, so it cannot simply be bypassed by submitting the old setting manually.
Existing saved preferences are not destroyed. If the administrator enables the option again later, normal behaviour returns.
This gives administrators much more control over how visible and active they want Messenger to feel within their community.
Left, Right and Drag Messenger positioning
This is probably one of the biggest UX improvements in 1.1.1.
Messenger is no longer limited to one fixed position.
Administrators can now choose the default desktop behaviour from:
Left
Right
Drag
These controls are available under:
ACP → Messenger Appearance
Left and Right keep Messenger fixed to the selected side of the screen, with adjustable spacing controls available in the ACP.
Drag mode gives members complete freedom to move Messenger themselves.
Members can grab the Messenger header and drag the entire Messenger window anywhere on the desktop.
The position is remembered, automatically kept inside the browser viewport and safely adjusted if the browser is resized.
A
Reset Messenger position option is also available so members can instantly return Messenger to the administrator’s default position.
This makes a huge difference for compatibility with different XenForo styles.
If a style has floating navigation, custom buttons, notices, accessibility controls or anything else occupying part of the screen, members can simply move Messenger somewhere more convenient rather than having it clash with page content.
Mobile behaviour remains unchanged.
Native XenForo friend request alerts
Friend requests are now integrated directly into XenForo’s normal alert system.
When somebody sends you a Messenger friend request, you will receive a normal XenForo bell notification.
Selecting it takes you directly to:
Messenger → Requests
The notification flow also works in the opposite direction.
When somebody accepts your friend request, you will receive a XenForo alert confirming that the request was accepted, with a link directly to:
Messenger → Friends
Members can control these native alerts themselves from Messenger settings using the new:
XenForo friend alerts option.
Turning this off only disables the XenForo bell alerts. Messenger’s own internal friend request system continues to work normally.
Declined requests, cancelled requests, removals and blocks deliberately do not generate extra XenForo alerts to avoid unnecessary notification noise.
Lazy loading for Messenger audio
Messenger audio attachments are now lazy loaded.
Previously, browsers could begin loading audio information simply because a conversation containing audio had been opened.
From 1.1.1, Messenger audio attachments use lazy loading and are only fetched when the member actually plays them.
This means a conversation containing multiple audio messages no longer needs to request every audio file when the conversation opens.
The result is fewer unnecessary network requests, less wasted bandwidth and faster conversation loading, especially in chats containing a lot of audio.
The normal Messenger notification sound is deliberately unaffected and remains immediately available so incoming message notifications are not delayed.
Overall
1.1.1 is primarily about giving both administrators and members more control over how Messenger behaves.
Administrators now have better control over presence and positioning, members have much more freedom over where Messenger sits on their screen, friend requests feel properly integrated into XenForo, and conversations containing audio are more efficient.
Thank you again to everyone who has been sending suggestions and testing Messenger.
The direction Messenger takes continues to be heavily influenced by the people actually using it, and there are already more customer ideas planned for future updates.
