Google chat on Windows 8 Release Preview Messaging app

I have connected my Windows Live account (Microsoft account), Facebook account and Google account with Windows 8.

In the "People" Windows 8 app it shows as connected to Microsoft, Facebook, Google, but in the "Messaging" app it's connected only to Microsoft and Facebook.

While I can chat with Facebook online contacts and in Messaging, I can't find my Google online contacts in the Messaging app.

Seems like Google supports only sharing of contacts and not chat as of now. Does anyone knows how to get Google chat on Windows 8 Messaging?

Lakshminarayanan Guptha

Posted 2012-09-02T09:10:10.987

Reputation: 183

Answers

Here's what i do as a work around:

Download the Win 8 Chrome app (the one that runs full screen as it's own application, not within desktop
Open up Google+ or Gmail, somewhere where your Google chat messages will pop up
Click the Pop-out button, which will open the chat in a new tab
Use the recent apps menu (by moving your mouse to the top left of the screen, then down) to move your Desktop app to the main portion of the screen, side by side with Chrome, and as long as you're still in the chat tab:
Profit.

Screenshot attached.

google chat by desktop

jlehenbauer

Posted 2012-09-02T09:10:10.987

Reputation: 176

and then how do you get chrome to also run on your desktop? windows (or chrome) seems to only want me to use one at a time. – jaminto – 2013-01-29T22:04:54.510

they have since changed this on windows 8 chrome versions. I now use the IM+ app. Don't like the format as much, but it does the same thing.

– jlehenbauer – 2013-02-19T23:44:06.690

TL;DR: You can only import contacts to e-mail them -- chat is no longer possible.

Windows axed support for that, not only in Windows 8, but in Messenger too on the pretext of "Shutting down services that are not used actively" or something like that. If you check the new website (you know, the one with the Windows 8 UI), it only mentions importing contact's e-mails. In the previous one, they had a page where you could add functionality to chat also...

Yatharth Agarwal

Posted 2012-09-02T09:10:10.987

Reputation: 562

IM+ now available on Windows 8, supports many IM protocols including Google Talk and is a metro style app. Not sure if/when Microsoft will update their native app to support google talk, but it is very simple if they wanted to as google uses open protocol jabber I believe.

Marcos

Posted 2012-09-02T09:10:10.987

Reputation: 11

Use Internet Explorer to snap the chat to the side from Gmail. That has a full screen version too.

Phoenix Logan

Posted 2012-09-02T09:10:10.987

Reputation: 1 307