Windows Live Messenger Web Toolkit Overview

Dd570154.note(en-us,MSDN.10).gifNote: This topic's contents describe functionality that will be unavailable in the future.

You can use the Windows Live Messenger Web Toolkit to integrate Windows Live Messenger presence, instant messaging, and contact information on application Web sites. You can use these APIs to rapidly add or enrich existing social functionality.

Presence, instant messaging, and contact information are provided by using one or more sets of developer interfaces, including the following:

The following diagram provides an architectural overview of these technologies.

Architectural overview of Messenger Web Toolkit.

The Windows Live Messenger UI Controls make use of the Windows Live Messenger Library. You can use the provided UI Controls or you can build your own custom controls that interface directly with the Windows Live Messenger Library.

With these options, you can get up and running quickly and can write custom implementations to provide deeper integration within sites. By using the Windows Live Messenger IM Control and Windows Live Presence API, Web site users can publish their presence and allow Web site visitors to send messages to a Web site user when he or she is online in Windows Live Messenger.

Data Flow

The following diagram shows the high-level data flow when using the Windows Live Messenger Web Toolkit.

High-level view of the data flow.
  1. A user requests content from the Web application provider.
  2. The Web application provider responds with content that references the UI Controls or the Windows Live Messenger Library, or both.
  3. The UI Controls or the Windows Live Messenger Library, or both, are loaded from the Windows Live Messenger Web content server.
  4. The user receives the Windows Live Messenger script code required to perform Windows Live Messenger activities.
  5. The user signs in to the Windows Live Messenger service.
  6. The Messenger service authenticates the user successfully.

The Windows Live Messenger UI Controls provide easy and rapid integration of Messenger functionality. You can use an easy XHTML markup scheme to insert controls and can provide your own CSS to customize the style. To view the available UI Controls, see UI Controls.

Windows Live Messenger Web Bar

To help you enable Messenger functionality on your site with little effort, Microsoft provides the Windows Live Messenger Web Bar control. This control combines the individual pieces of functionality, such as a contact list, list of conversations, and user profile area, to provide a complete Messenger experience. You can add the Web bar to your site by adding a script include and inserting a tag on your XHTML pages. The bar floats on the page and can be positioned on the bottom of pages within the site, as shown in the following illustration.

Messenger Web Bar Control.

For more information, see Messenger Web Bar Control.

Other UI Controls

You can use other Windows Live Messenger UI Controls to provide individual pieces of Messenger functionality. For example, Microsoft provides controls, such as a display name control, display picture control, presence status control, and contact list control. You can arrange or combine these individual controls in a way that makes sense for your application Web site. For more information, see Windows Live Messenger UI Controls.

The Windows Live Messenger Library is a client-side library that provides an extensive set of APIs that expose Messenger functionality. This functionality includes contact management, presence, and instant messaging. If you are coding in Microsoft Silverlight, Macromedia Flash, or JavaScript, you should consider using the Windows Live Messenger Library. The Windows Live Messenger Library also enables you to integrate the Messenger functionality more deeply into your application Web site than can be done with the Windows Live Messenger UI Controls. For more information, see Windows Live Messenger Library.

The Windows Live Messenger IM Control can be inserted on application Web pages to easily provide instant messaging integration. The Windows Live Messenger IM Control supports Delegated Authentication, Windows Live ID authentication, and anonymous instant messaging. For more information, see Windows Live Messenger IM Control.

The Windows Live Presence API enables you to obtain presence information for users. The Windows Live Presence API can be used in tandem with the Windows Live Messenger IM Control to provide a rich integrated experience. For more information, see Windows Live Presence API.

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