Chat from member menu?

Ok this is something that has been bugging me for a while now.

Why do users have to go to a users profile to start a chat?

Is there a way to change it so that if a user click on their friends name (from the online friends menu) it opens the Simple Messenger instead of sending them to the users profile?

actually you don't !

 If you hover the cursor over a user avatar after some seconds a pop up appears and  if the user is online you can 'simple chat' and 'video messenger' the person without visiting the profile at all via the options in the pop up ....

It would still be nice to just click a friend name and start chatting. (Like Facebook, Cometchat etc)

any ideas on how to implement this?

Yes I agree with this too. Its too much effort to go the the profile and then to figure out that there is chat available and click on it and chat.

I could swear  that it used to be at the bottom on the menu!

No one knows its there.

Thanks

MeMe

Please, any idea for this? I have been wondering how to make this for a while,but finally i decided to use cometchat. If anyone knows how to do it, i'll be grateful.

I actually edited the "member menu" links in my database  to include the "chat Option

I'm not sure yet as to how or if it has been beneficial to users but it doe add the Chat image and a small pop up

which right now just opens to the main chat home page, but I am working to include "online" friends (members) in the pop up, I will keep you updated on progress.

One problem I haven't solved is whe using the status update  or chat box that is on the member menu  it forces users to login  into Facebook, why?  Is this a problem for anyone else?

Ok her is how to (what) to add to Database under   member_menu 

Select the member menu and INSERT

Caption   _Chat

Name   Chat

Icon     modules/boonex/chat/|bx_chat.png

Link    modules/?r=chat/home/|modules/?r=chat/

PopupMenu   bx_import( 'BxDolFriendsPageView' );
return BxDolFriendsPageView::get_member_menu_friends_list({ID});

Position     top

Type    link

Parent 0

Bubble    bx_import( 'BxDolFriendsPageView' );
$aRetEval = BxDolFriendsPageView::get_member_menu_bubble_online_friends( {ID}, {iOldCount});

Description    _Chat

well this is annoying..after 3 years no progress for a simple click to open the chat popup