Chatter (Modified)

A feature-rich chat addon for World of Warcraft WotLK 3.3.5a with enhanced copy functionality and bug fixes.

Overview

Chatter is a popular chat enhancement addon that provides powerful utilities for managing and organizing in-game chat. This fork includes critical bug fixes and a major enhancement to the chat copy feature to support full chat history capture.

Features

Core Features

• Chat Frame Management - Customize your chat frames with various options
• Alt Linking - Track character names and alternate accounts with guild note scanning
• Copy Chat - Export full chat history to a scrollable window for easy reading and copying
• Chat Highlighting - Enhanced text visibility with various formatting options
• Chat Links - Improved link handling and URL extraction
• Channel Management - Custom channel colors and naming options
• Chat History - Scroll back through chat history with configurable buffer size

Recent Enhancements

• Full Chat History Capture - The copy window now captures and displays complete chat history without limits
• Large Buffer Support - Supports up to 1MB of chat text in the copy window
• Bugfix: AltNames nil error - Fixed crash on character login when guild notes are empty

Installation

1. Download the addon folder
2. Extract to your World of Warcraft Addons directory:

   World of Warcraft\Interface\AddOns\Chatter\
   

3. Restart World of Warcraft or run /reload
4. Enable the addon in the AddOns menu

Usage

Copy Chat History

1. Click the blue copy icon in your chat frame (bottom-right corner)
2. A new window opens showing the complete chat history
3. Scroll through, select, and copy any text
4. Press ESC or click the close button to dismiss the window

Access Copy Function via Menu

• Right-click on any chat tab
• Select "Copy Text" from the context menu

Configure Scrollback Length

• Open Chatter options: /chatter
• Navigate to "Scrollback" section
• Adjust per-frame history size (250-2500 lines)

What Changed in This Fork

Bug Fixes

• Fixed AltNames.lua line 331 error: Added nil checks for guild notes and rank fields
  • Error: bad argument #1 to 'strlower' (string expected, got nil)
  • Solution: Properly initialize note and rank variables before string operations

Enhancements

• Expanded Copy Buffer: Increased EditBox max letters from 99,999 to 1,048,576 characters
• Full History Capture: Implemented message history buffering system
  • Hooks into AddMessage to capture every chat message in real-time
  • Maintains per-frame history buffers (up to 10,000 lines per frame)
  • Copy window now displays complete accumulated chat history since addon load
  • No more truncation when copying large chat sessions

Technical Details

Modified Files

1. Modules/AltNames.lua

-- Line 328-331: Added nil checks
note = note or ""
rank = rank or ""

Impact: Prevents nil reference crashes when guild roster contains empty notes or ranks

2. Modules/CopyChat.lua

-- New: Per-frame message history buffers
local frameHistories = setmetatable({}, {__mode = "k"})

-- Enhanced: Copy() function uses full history
function mod:Copy(frame)
    if frameHistories[frame] and #frameHistories[frame] > 0 then
        local text = table_concat(frameHistories[frame], "\n")
        -- ... display in copy window
    end
end

-- New: Hook AddMessage to capture messages
function mod:HookChatFrame(frame)
    self:SecureHook(frame, "AddMessage", function(f, text, ...)
        if text and frameHistories[f] then
            tinsert(frameHistories[f], tostring(text))
            if #frameHistories[f] > 10000 then
                table.remove(frameHistories[f], 1)
            end
        end
    end)
end

Impact: Every message is captured as it appears; copy window shows full history

Performance Considerations

• Memory: Each frame maintains up to 10,000 line history (~5-10MB depending on message length)
• Weak references: Frame histories use weak table keys to prevent memory leaks
• Automatic cleanup: Oldest messages are removed when buffer exceeds 10,000 lines

Compatibility

• WoW Version: World of Warcraft 3.3.5a (Wrath of the Lich King)
• Dependencies: Ace3 libraries (included)
• Performance: Minimal overhead; uses efficient string buffering

Troubleshooting

Copy window shows empty text

• Ensure messages have been sent in the chat frame after addon loads
• Check that frame history buffer has been initialized
• Try scrolling the main chat frame to refresh captured history

Memory issues with large histories

• Reduce scrollback size in Chatter options (lower = less memory)
• Use /reload to clear session history
• Consider limiting to fewer chat frames with full history

AltNames error on login

• Ensure this version is installed (line 328 should have nil checks)
• Check /reload if recently updated
• Run /gquit and rejoin guild if issue persists

Version History

Version	Date	Changes
1.2.11-Modified	2026-08-19	Fixed AltNames nil error; Enhanced copy buffer to 1MB; Implemented full history capture
1.2.11	Original	Base Chatter addon

License

See LICENSE file for details. This fork maintains compatibility with the original Chatter license.

Contributing

If you find bugs or want to suggest improvements, please create an issue or pull request.

Credits

• Original Addon: Chatter by Shul and contributors
• Modifications: Bug fixes and enhancement to copy functionality
• Libraries: Ace3 framework and dependencies

Support

For issues or questions:

1. Check the Troubleshooting section above
2. Review the changelog for recent changes
3. Test with a clean WoW session (/reload)
4. Create an issue on this repository

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Note: This is a modified version of Chatter optimized for full chat history capture and stability on 3.3.5a private servers.