Auto-record iChat A/V chats

May 21, '09 07:30:00AM

Contributed by: mr.quinn

On my last project, we made extensive use of iChat's video, audio and screen conferencing features. I found myself wishing I could record our sessions, as some of our discussions were extremely complex.

It took me a surprisingly long time to realise that there is a Record Chat item in the Video menu of iChat. Activate this, and the other party is asked if they mind if a recording is made. If they accept, each party then ends up with their own recording, copied to iTunes.

If, however, you are as lazy and forgetful etc. as I am, you may find this simple AppleScript handy:

-- automatically turn on AV Recording in iChat
using terms from application "iChat" -- enable iChat's on event handlers
  on av chat started theChat -- activated when the chat starts (iChat's "A/V Chat Started" Event)
    tell application "iChat"
      request recording theChat -- ask the other parties if they'll allow recording
    end tell
  end av chat started
  on av chat ended theChat -- activated when the chat ends (iChat's "A/V Chat Ended" Event)
    stop recording theChat -- turn off recording
  end av chat ended
end using terms from
That script will automatically turn on recording in iChat for AV Chats (audio, video, document share). To make it work, copy the above into a new document in Script Editor.app, and save it as AVRecorder.scpt in your user's Library » Scripts » iChat folder. You now need to attach the script for it to work.

If you want it activated for all buddies, attach the script in iChat Preferences; if you only want this for specific buddies, attach the script for just those Buddies, in their Info window. To attach the script, open the relevant window (Preferences or a specific buddy's Info window), and then choose the Alerts tab in that window.

Click the Event pop-up menu and select A/V Chat Started. Check the Run AppleScript box, then choose the script you just created in the adjacent pop-up menu. Now repeat the process for the "A/V Ended" event.

Now whenever an AV Chat commences, the other parties will be asked if it's OK to record the chat; if they accept, recording will automatically start. Unfortunately, I was unable to make this work for Screen Sharing sessions.

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