Original post: http://amoore2600.wordpress.com/2007/07/27...kype-with-linux

Edit (Aug. 7, 2007) : This how to should now work for any Linux distro that supports Firefox and the 1.4 version of Skype. Please leave a comment if these instructions don't work!!!!

Development for the Linux version of Skype has always been slow and one of the greatest addition to Skype, “The Skype Tool Bar” is not available for Linux. So I decided to implement my own version of it. What makes the The Skype Tool Bar so great is that it turn any 10 digit phone number on a web page into a Skype link. My own implantation looks for phone numbers in web pages and makes hyper links out of them. When clicking on the link, Skype will ring and will be dialing the number / link you clicked on.

No more copying and pasting phone numbers to Skype. SkypeOut directly from your online contact list (say Gmail contacts) without any manual synchronization or addition to your Skype contact list.

My own implantation consists of a easy five step process and requires a Skype out account.

Step One:

Download and install the latest version of Skype 1.4*** for Linux, you can get it here. http://www.skype.com/download/skype/linux/

Step two:

Install the GreaseMonkey FireFox extension.

GreaseMonkey allows you to customize the way a webpage displays using small bits of JavaScript. This ability to customize the way a webpage display allows us to create the Skype link but, we need a script to do this.

Step Three:

Install the skypelinkify for linux GreaseMonky script.

Step Four:


Install Philipp Kolmann’s action_handler_0.6.py script.

download this script to your home directory (right mouse click "save link as") http://www.kolmann.at/philipp/linux/skype_..._handler_0.6.py

In a terminal type these codes one line at a time.






Step Five:

Configure FireFox to use Skype’s network.protocol-handler.app.skype.

* Open Mozilla (Firefox)
* Type about:config in the address-bar to open the configuration editor.
* Use the scroll bar to navigate to the network.protocol… section.
* Check if the network protocol section includes a network.protocol-handler.app.skype key.
* If a key exists, edit it. If no key exists, create a key by right-clicking on any key and selecting New -> String from the pull-down menu.
* Enter network.protocol-handler.app.skype as the key name.
* Enter /usr/local/bin/action_handler_0.6.py as the key value.

Restart FireFox and lets give it a try!
The phone number below should now be a hyper link that will use Skype to call the number.

1-800-466-4411 This is the number to Google’s FREE 411 phone service.

You will get a security warning in Firefox asking if its ok for Fire fox to allow Skype to dial out (this is normal).

Thanks for the link, this looks great! I've pinned this topic so others can do the same.

Great! But where is skype-action-handler in 1.4.0.74? It's not found in the static and dynamic packages...

Thanks for the tip!

Amauri

The binary version currently doesn't work. I have put together a perl and a python version:

http://www.kolmann.at/philipp/linux/skype_action_handler/

Hope that suits your needs.
Philipp

I think that I saw some where that the skype-action-handler in 1.4.0.74 has not been added yet but will be in the future. Skype 1.4.0.74 is a beta version which means not all the features are stable or up to speed. I would recommend you use a older version of Skype that has the skype-action-handler. Any version greater than 1.3**** and less than 1.4 should work fine.

Well 1.3 is not supported anymore. Where's your problem to install a python script. You can look into it and will (really) see, that there is nothing bad in.

Problem is, that 1.4 doesn't know how to handle "skype:username?action" internally, so you need a program, that know's how to handle.

Therefore I wrote those little scripts.

Philipp

Philipp, No Problem, as a matter of fact I'm very glad that wrote a new action handler. Do you think that your new action handler will be included in the final version of 1.4XXX? Keep up the good work.

On a side note does anyone know someone good at javascript so that I can make some improvements to the greasemonkey script.

I would really like these features added:

Right mouse click, add to contacts

and

make the links look more like the links for the skype toolbar.

Add currently does not work via API calls

sorry
Philipp

PS: Client fault.

Thank you for this feature!

Living in Denmark, I have come up with the following string for the regex to better fit my needs:



Dates here are often written like 24.12.2007, so I no more allow "." in phone numbers.
And phone numbers are not written in three "chunks", more often in two (e.g. +45 1234 5678), so the middle group of numbers have become optional.

pkolmann, I need some help installing the new python script for the action hander. how do I use it and where does it go?

I hope that skype will add this to the final 1.4 version.

by the way: 1.4.0.94 added support for skype:skypename?action-links. See the changelog here: https://developer.skype.com/LinuxSkype/

Does this mean that skype 1.4.0.94 now has a action-handler included with it?

No, this was in reference to links within chats.

Andrew.

OK, sorry.

First you need to download the script and place it to a place where it can stay (/usr/local/bin or ~/bin).

Then

With this, you can test it, if it works from the command line:



If everything works, you should get a chatbox with echo123.

For registration in the browser, check out Berkus blog:

http://nodalpoint.madfire.net/articles/200...kype-links-work

HTH
Philipp

Hi,

first of all thank you so MUCH for this great addition to Skype!

I just installed it on my system (Ubuntu 7.04, Skype 1.4.0.118) and have a question.

Numeric links (skype:+800112233?call) on the web page works and the Greasemonkey+Py system wakes up Skype to place the call.

Buttons however (skype:username?call) fails, at least on my system, to work. Clicking on a button it pop up a window asking me to install Skype.

How can I fix this?
Thank you,

Hi,
it runs well ONLY if skype is UP.
Could be a script authoritative problem ?

Best regards

I edited the regular expression in the Greasemonkey script (Tools>Greasemonkey>Manage User Scripts) so that it matches more telephone number formats, including many European formats:

Thanks, works great from websites, but does not work from my gmail account, does anyone have any ideas why?

thank you so much TastyJuice, it looks like it works as expected now!

I've created a perl module Net::DBus::Skype, this will install two scripts skype-action-handler (optional), and skype-simple-dialer (automatic). This permits a direct OO API into Skype for Perl developers without knowing DBus. And, it permits the rest of you to get a more feature-full skype-action-handler. The skype-simple-dialer just takes a phone number for developers that want the convenience of not having to prefix skype:. It also prevents a non-call action. I'll see about packaging it for Debian. It was originally based off of Philipp's code base, with a make system, and a division between module/script and has since grown a good bit.

Evan Carroll

Hi, is there anyway to make this work with 2.0? Great idea, just can't seem to get it to work on the new version. I get to the point of making hyperlinks, but when I click them it fails to open anything in Skype.

Also - in gmail numbers do not even show up as links.

- I should also add that I use Fedora 9.

More tinkering: I'm at the point where I have hyperlinks. Previously when I clicked the hyperlink I was told that nothing was associated with the protocol "skype". After working a bit, I am beyond that problem, but when I click a phone number link a message pops up asking me what I want to associate with; the only option offered is "Skype Action Handler", although I can manually add other associations. However, Firefox will not let me select the action handler. Does this mean I have it located in the wrong place? It is in /usr/local/bin/action~.py .

Anyone get this to work in Skype 2.0?

This 'solution' is now obsolete

I had just had to cut + paste to order pizza. Bummer.

:[

-Alan

This is my first post so I have to say I like Skype 2, but pleeease. Windows version is 4. com on, skype!!!

I used the same method getting this to work as in 1.4 without problems! The guide is still valid.

But I'm having regex problems. I live in Norway and we use pone numbers this way:
Ordinary phone main notation: 35 35 35 35.
Ordinary phone secondary notation: 35353535.
Mobile main notation; 999 99 999.
Mobile secondary notation: 99 99 99 99.
Mobile third notation; 99999999.

There is always 8 digits and seldom +47.

I use this regex string:
/(\d\d\d?)?[\-\s\/]?[\(]?(\d){2,4}[\)]?[\-\s\/]?(\d\d\d)?[\-\s\/]?(\d){3,5}\b/ig;

Can anybody please help me modify it?

Works great now, except with the same complaint as another user that it does not work in Gmail, at least in Firefox 3.0.9 on Ubuntu 8.04.

Edit - doesn't seem to work in other google programs either. ie, maps.google.com used to look up a restaurant, gmail contacts, gmail emails, etc.

I tried your instructions and this is what I get when I click on the phone number:

"Firefox doesn't know how to open this address, because the protocol isn't associated with any program."

Any ideas?

I will really appreciate it.

Thank you,
Theo