HyperIM

There are numerous third-party tools that can be used to customize one’s favorite instant messaging client, and their functionality ranges from removing the interface banners to acting as an answering machine. However, most of these software tools focus solely on a single IM, so if you use several chat apps on a daily basis, you can give HyperIM a try, as it can integrate within multiple source programs and personalize them.

During the installation, you can specify the instant messengers you typically use so that HyperIM seamlessly integrates with them. The setup process also allows users to select their media player of choice so that the currently played song gets displayed within their IM client.

Even though it supports several chat apps (including Google Talk, Miranda, MSN/Windows Live, Skype, Trillian and Xfire), HyperIM comes with certain functions especially created for Yahoo! Messenger, such as BuddY! Alerter, Yahoo! Chat Broadcast, Yahoo! Magic Avatar, Yahoo! Messenger Emoticons and Yahoo! Messenger Robot. In other words, you can customize the status message for your instant messenger using this software solution, but if you use Yahoo! Messenger, you are in for a treat due to its added functions.

Once the installation is complete, you can configure a different HyperIM account for each PC user – if you do not share your computer with anyone else, you can disable this feature by simply checking the dedicated box so you can directly access the interface.

The main window of HyperIM allows you to input the status message you want to display throughout all your chosen IM clients, and you can also activate or deactivate the installed plugins of Yahoo! Messenger.

Since the interface of HyperIM is kept as minimalistic and straightforward as possible, you can easily enable or disable the app’s integration with a certain media player, to make sure it corresponds to the one you are currently using. In other words, you can experiment with numerous players until you are satisfied with the outcome, without worrying that HyperIM’s functions get broken in the process.  

To sum up, HyperIM can prove to be just the right tool for managing more than a single IM client on your PC. However, it hasn’t received an update in several years, so it may not be fully compatible with the latest versions of your programs.