Requires WordPress Version: 2.8.4 or higher
Compatible up to: 3.3.2
The plugin Skype Online Status allows you to add one or multiple, highly customizable and accessible (!) Skype buttons to your blog. You can pick any of the available Skype button themes that will show your online status and place them in your pages and posts content (with a neat little Skype quicktag button in the WYSIWYG editor), in your sidebar via widgets (unlimited number) or anywhere in your theme template files.
The Skype Status admin page and Skype Widget options are adequately annotated but there is also a Quick Guide section with lots of information on all the possible ways to get you blog Skyped. If you still cannot get it working the way you want to, find a Skype link to the developer on the Notes & Live Support section.
Button themes are mostly based on the themes you can find on Skype’s button wizard page but more feature rich, like showing your online status in the alt text of the image, more accessible (!) and much more customizable, like setting your own Status texts in your blogs language. Even a button to invoke normal phone calls or multichats or conference calls is possible!
Which version?
Older versions have been developed for WordPress 2.0+, 2.1+ and 2.3+ but with versions 2.6.x the main development focus was on WordPress 2.6. From version 2.6.9, WordPress 2.7+ is supported but support for below WordPress 2.2 has been dropped.
This plugin also has been tested and working fine on WPMU 2.7+.
Translations
Since version 2.6.4.0, Skype Online Status is ready for internationalization. Anyone who wants to contribute can do so by making a transation. Read translation instructions (also included in the latest package) for more info.
- Belorussian * Author: M. Comfi (version 2.7)
- Danish * Author: Georg S. Adamsen (version 2.8.2)
- Dutch * Author: R.A. van Hagen (version 2.8.2)
- Estonian * Author: Iflexion Design (version 2.7)
- Finnish * Author: Jani Alha (version 2.8.2)
- French * Author: Emmanuelle Traduction (version 2.8.2)
- German * Author: Fabian Schulz (version 2.7)
- Italian * Author: Gianni Diurno (version 2.6.9)
- Japanese * Author: Ryuei Sasaki (version 2.8.2)
- Lithuanian * Author: Vincent G (version 2.8.2)
- Portuguese * Author: Miguel Angelo Patricio (version 2.8.2)
- Russian * Author: Leonid Jack (version 2.7)
- Spanish * Authors: Rodolfo Castro & Rocio Moreno (version 2.7)
- Ukrainian * Author: Michael Svystun (version 2.7)
New translations and their Authors will be mentioned here.
Donations
Top donators making my continued work possible:
- Claudio Cosmaro SocialHosting.net
- G. Pelzer Life is a journey. Life Coaching
- Yamisi Daniel, USA What could you do with more time? inTouch Virtual Assistance
- Michelle Vandepas, USA Live Your life’s Purpose. Divine Purpose unleashed
Example
Go to the Skype Online Status plugin page to see a Skype button in action (right side) or go and test a button on Skype’s button page. The button templates used there — and more — are available in this plugin.
Installation Instructions
Quick installation: Install now !
… OR …
Search for “skype online status” and install with that slick Plugins > Add New back-end page.
… OR …
Follow these steps:
Note: When upgrading from version 2.5.x or previous: please deactivate plugin and remove the old directories and files before uploading!
- Download archive and unpack.
- Upload (and overwrite) the /skype-online-status/ folder and its content to the /plugins/ folder.
- Activate plugin on the Plug-ins page
- Configure (or update) your SkypeID and settings on the Options > Skype Status page
- Activate the widget or put
<?php if (function_exists(get_skype_status)) { get_skype_status(''); } ?>in your sidebar.php or any other template file or use the Skype quicktag button to insert the [skype-status] shortcode in your posts/pages to display the Skype button anywhere on your website.
Read more on usage in the Quick Guide section of the Options > Skype Status page, available after installation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my Skype button showing Offline even when I am online?
First, you have to change an option in your Skype client settings to make your online status publicly visible:
- Open your Skype client on your computer and go to ‘Options > Privacy’ or ‘Advanced’ (depending on your client version).
- Find the option ‘Allow my status to be shown on the web’ and place a checkmark beside it.
- Close the Options window and change your Skype status to Offline and back Online again to update the Skype server.
If your online status is still incorrect, type in your webbrowser http://mystatus.skype.com/yourskypeid (replace that last part with your Skype ID) and check what is shown there. The plugin takes your status directly from the Skype server and should correspond with your status shown on the above URL (using your Skype ID obviously). If your status is not correct on that URL, it basically is out of your/my hands. You can wait for the Skype server to get ‘up to date’ or browse the Skype forums for fixes suggested by others…
I have found a bug. Where do I report it?
For bug reports, go to WordPress Support » Skype Online Status and describe what is happening there. Please provide as much related info as you can but at least give me your plugin and WordPress version number.
I have a feature request. Where do I ask?
For all ‘normal’ feature requests and suggestions go to WordPress Support » Skype Online Status but if you want custom development, please contact me directly from the Notes & Live Support section on the Skype Online Status options page or browse to my website 4Visions. I will gladly consider any proposal.
I have trouble setting up a Skype button on my blog. Where do I get help?
Have you read the Quick Guide section of your WordPress Options > Skype Status page, available after installation already? For all remaining questions, post them on WordPress Support » Skype Online Status or go for Live Support via Skype Chat to the Support section on the Skype Online Status Options page after installation. I will be happy to respond 
I have installed the plugin, fiddled with the settings, added a widget/quicktag, there is no error message but I see no button!
This usually happens when the plugin cannot find a Skype ID to work with. You can set a different Skype ID for each widget but be sure to set a Skype ID on your Skype options page so the plugin as at least one to fall back on. If you still see no Skype button, reset all options using the Reset button or the Remove button to remove-uninstall-reinstall and start completely fresh.
I have installed the plugin and it is working fine, but now there is a ad link below my Skype button. What’s with that?
By default, the plugin displays a link below each Skype button that allows visitors without Skype to download it. This link goes via the plugin creators Skype Affiliate account so with each new Skype install there will be some small revenue for maintenance and support of this plugin. If you object to that, you can either disable the link, change is to a direct link or replace it with your own affiliate link on the Skype Online Status options page.
I would like to contribute. Is that possible?
Ofcource! What did you have in mind? Monetary funding is always appreciated but if you can help me out in development, that’s cool too Right now, translation (.mo) files are MORE then welcome! Read translation instructions (also included in the latest package) for more info.
Any small donation via PayPal to keep me developing is VERY welcome. Thanks!
Read more on usage in the Quick Guide section of your WordPress Options > Skype Status page, available after installation.
Changelog
Really? Ok then… Read the full Skype Online Status changelog
Download
Latest version: Download Skype Online Status 2.8.4 [zip]
Downloaded 65515 times.
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13 Comments
Hi,
are there no shortcode params (skype id, username) to override defaults on a single button generated by RTE-button-insert?
Cheers
Ralf
No, with the shortcode in post/page content you can only insert the default Skype button.I ‘ve been thinking about such a feature before but never had the time to implement it…Since version 2.8 this is possible
hitandrun hitandrun
Love it! Unfortunaltely it doens’t yet seem to work with the Skype andoid app. I think that is a problem with the app not this plugin
Do you mean the button does not open Skype on Android when clicked? It is probably related to the Javascript that is designed by Skype. You might search for / report that issue on the Skype Android forum on http://forum.skype.com/index.php?showforum=303 to see if they are working on it
Oh no i didn’t even try that. I meant that I am online on my andoid and that the status on my website said offline. However I now see it is online! Must have been some kind of delay.
Ok, I see… that is indeed either a delay in the Skype server or due to the cache of your browser… not directly related to Android in particular.
tried activing the plugin but got this error message: The plugin generated 367 characters of unexpected output during activation. If you notice “headers already sent” messages, problems with syndication feeds or other issues, try deactivating or removing this plugin.
using 3.0.1
Did you get this error on the admin section or the front-end? And after that error, did the plugin work or not? Or was the whole site inaccessible?
I have not seen this happen before but I wonder if it is the heavy Atahualpa theme…
Hello mate, I got the error below straight after activating the plugin. The site is still accessible and things are working, but there seems to be some conflict so I’ve disabled the plugin again.
Alvast bedankt voor je hulp
“The plugin generated 399 characters of unexpected output during activation. If you notice “headers already sent” messages, problems with syndication feeds or other issues, try deactivating or removing this plugin.”
Ha Arnaud,
Do you have access to error logs on the server or hosting account? If so, I’d be interested to know what errors are listed upon plugin activation. Else, could you switch the plugin on at a certain time, and place a skype button on a page somewhere so I can take a look at the front end of the site where this is happening?
Oh, en op welke PHP versie draait de site?
Allard
hi, I just downloaded the plugin, and everything seems fine, just that when I hover the mouse over the ‘my status’ icon, this shows up: call me! ‘username’: my status is error.
How do I get rid of ‘my status is error’?
Thank you!
The hover text output is dynamically created for accessibility. The part ‘username’ should not be like that. It should display your screen name as you have filled it out in the Skype settings. The status ‘error’ might indicate an issue with reading the remote Skype status server. Do you have a link for me so I can take a look?
If you really want to, you can completely remove any hover text by removing the corresponding tags in the template (choose Custom… and edit it in the Advanced section) but as an alternative, you can choose to clear all Status fields that contain texts (like “error”) that you do not want to be showing.