Facebook Releases Messenger Application for Windows

After the project was leaked, Facebook made a Help page regarding a new application that Facebook would be releasing to Windows users. The Messenger App brings Facebook to the Windows desktop in a minimalist design.

 

The app is in trial (beta) mode and will change throughout the process. It will self-update and Facebook developers encourage you to give feedback.

 

The app will let you chat with your Facebook friends, see your ticker feed and get quick notifications from the comfort of your desktop.

 

Download Facebook’s Messenger For Windows

Messenger for Windows

 

When you download and install the program, you will be greeted with this window where you will be prompted to log into your Facebook account.

 

When you log into the Facebook app, it will keep you logged in until you sign out. If you close the Window, it will hide in your notifications area.

 

 

The log in process will open your default browser to Facebook to log in.

You will then get a notification in the taskbar which when you clock will present you with your desktop version of Facebook.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From first testing it, the app is buggy, resizing the window can make your contacts vanish.

 

The interface is a windowed version of Facebook’s right hand bar which features ticker and your contact list along with the 3 default notification areas and a link to your profile on top.

 

Each of the notification icons on top, when activated will take a bit of the space that ticker takes and contains a scrollbar. It always stays confined to its window size.

 

Chatting with people opens a new window with a tab for each person. Unfortunately, if you are running Windows 7, each tab will not be individually displayed in the preview icons of your taskbar – as is the case with Windows Live Messenger or MSN.

 

 

If you are very addicted to Facebook, there is a feature which lets you dock it to the right of your screen. No Window will come on top of it and it will act just like it does on the Facebook website.

 

This feature and whether or not you want it to notify you when new messages arrive can be found in its icon in the notification area.

 

You can also toggle its dock mode with the bottom right button – next to the search bar.

 

Overall, the app is handy for those who don’t want to keep a browser open, but  it is still in trial and with time, most will likely prefer to keep Facebook in the browser.

 

So, feel free to give it a try. What do you think of this program? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.