MSN Messenger-style chat maker
Build a mid-2000s messenger window with two display pictures, a status line and a transcript that reads name says. Edit the sample and export an image.
Try it: start from this sample
The mid-2000s window, piece by piece
The MSN Messenger-style look has a bright blue title bar, then a banner with two square display pictures and the contact's name with a status in brackets. The transcript beneath is written as the name followed by says, in gray, with the message indented under it. A toolbar with Nudge, Font and Send file sits above a text box, and a line like Marcus is writing a message appears when someone is typing.
Setting up your sample
Pick names and a status for each person. The bracketed status in the banner is a good place for a mood, such as Busy or Away, and a viewer will read it before the first message. Keep the dialogue casual. Lowercase, lol, u for you, and a text smiley match the period, but keep the text legible, since the transcript is smaller than a modern bubble.
Where it fits
Good scenes are plans for the evening, homework help, gossip about a gig, or a quiet goodbye before someone logs off. Our sample is a cinema plan: a time, a seat and a joke. Light mode is the authentic choice. Dark mode is there when the picture sits on a dark video.
Plan and not-affiliated line
The look is on the Standard plan; Free loads the first four messages and exports a PNG with a visible watermark. ChatsRat is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the original service, which has ended or changed. Everything is original artwork with no logos, mascots or sounds.
Tips
- Use the bracketed status in the banner to set a mood before any message appears.
- Write in lowercase with u, lol and a single smiley, but keep it readable.
- Turn on the writing line for a frame just before an important reply.
- Pick two display pictures with different colours so the speakers separate clearly.
- Prefer evening-plan scenes, which this window handled best.
Questions
Does it include the nudge?
The toolbar shows a Nudge button as part of the look. The shake itself is a story device. Write it into the dialogue or see the nudge prank story page.
Can I show who is typing?
Yes. The look supports a line such as the contact is writing a message. It does not draw read receipts or reactions.
Which plan is it on?
The MSN Messenger-style look is on the Standard plan. Free loads the first four messages of any sample and exports a PNG.
Is it the real program?
No. ChatsRat draws its own window in a similar general style, and the original service has ended or changed. We are not affiliated with it.
Can I make a video?
Video export needs the Creator plan. Standard exports still images such as PNG and JPG.
Use it for simulated, labelled content. ChatsRat makes mock-ups and fictional conversations for creators, designers and teachers. Do not use it to pass off a made-up conversation as a real one, to impersonate a real person, or as proof of anything. See the Acceptable Use policy.
About the watermark. Exports on the Free plan carry a visible ChatsRat watermark, and every export carries an invisible mark that the verify page can read. Plans list what changes on paid plans.
ChatsRat is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any messaging app. App names on this page describe a style only.