Chat Aliases

Shorter, cleaner chat channel names. Chat Aliases turns long channel prefixes like [2. Trade - English] into whatever you like, e.g. [2. Trade], [2. T], [2:T] or (2) T. Your chat window has more room for the messages that matter.

Before

[2. Trade - English] [Victor Nefarius]: Your victory shall be short lived!
[1. General - Icecrown] [Arthas Menethil]: I see... only darkness before me.

After

[2:T] [Victor Nefarius]: Your victory shall be short lived!
[1:G] [Arthas Menethil]: I see... only darkness before me.

Features

1. Remove the location suffix: drop the - English or - Orgrimmar part, so [2. Trade - English] becomes [2. Trade].

2. Channel aliases: give any channel a short name, e.g. Trade -> T, General -> G or LookingForGroup -> LFG.

   • Boxes are ready for General, Trade, LocalDefense, LookingForGroup, WorldDefense and GuildRecruitment.
   • Use first letters fills in every empty box with the channel's initials in one click.
   • Add any custom channel under Other channels, one Name = Alias per line.

3. Chat type aliases: shorten Guild, Officer, Party, Party Leader, Raid, Raid Leader, Raid Warning, Instance and Instance Leader too, e.g. [Guild] -> [G].

4. Your own format: decide exactly how channels look using {number} and {name}:

   Format	Result
   [{number}. {name}]	[2. Trade]
   [{number}:{name}]	[2:T]
   ({number}) {name}	(2) Trade
   {name}	Trade

   Chat types such as Guild and Party have their own format, e.g. ({name}) for (Guild).

5. Timestamp colour: by default, chat timestamps take the colour of the message, such as orange for Trade. Give them one fixed colour instead, such as a subtle grey, so they stay out of the way.

6. Live preview: see the result in the options panel as you type.

7. Clickable links still work: only the visible text changes, so clicking a channel name still opens chat to that channel.

How to use

Open the settings from Options -> AddOns -> Chat Aliases, or type /chataliases in chat.

• General tab: turn the addon on or off, remove location suffixes, set the channel and chat type formats, and choose a timestamp colour.
• Aliases tab: type a short name next to any channel or chat type. Leave a box empty to keep the original name.

Timestamps themselves are turned on in the game's own settings (Options -> Social). Chat Aliases only changes their colour.

Notes

• Chat Aliases changes what you see in your chat window only. Other players see nothing different.
• Settings are shared across all your characters, and can be reset to their defaults at any time.