How to View iChat Transcripts

By Joshua Phillips

An instant messaging program, iChat enables Mac users to chat with not only other Mac users but also with other IM users on different services, such as AIM and Google Talk. For a business owner or employee, saving your conversations with other employees or clients in a transcript makes it possible to review the information at a later date, helpful if you are looking for a specific piece of information. Once you have set your iChat settings to automatically save your conversations, you can view them at any time in your Documents folder on your Mac.

Launch iChat.

Click "iChat" followed by "Preferences" in the drop-down menu.

Click the "Messages" tab.

Click the check box next to Automatically Save Chat Transcripts.

View your iChat transcripts by opening the iChat folder located in your Documents folder. Double-click any chat transcript to read it.

Tips

You can also view your transcripts by clicking "Open Folder" next to Automatically Save Chat Transcripts in the Messages tab.

For a network administrator, it is possible to set up your server to record all iChat messages (see Resources).

Warnings

Any conversations held before turning on the transcript feature are not recorded in iChat and there is no way to access them.

References

Resources

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