Skype Extras Tips

How to select the best plugins from a huge heap in no time? First, Skype Extras (extras.skype.com) are well-sorted. Select “All extras” to move the best, newest, or most popular to the top (Good, New, Popular). Second, some plugins are labeled. “Skype Certified” means that a plugin has been tested and works smoothly with Skype.

How to Install Plugins

No need to waste your time, just open Extras Manager and install what you need! Doing that from Manager is much easier as you only need to select Open from the plugin menu. To find a plugin, enter part of its name into the search field. Unlike the web site catalog, Extras Manager also has the “Skype presents” section, which shows the plugins most recommended by Skype. The installed ones will be added to the My Extras section and will be available in the Skype main menu, the context menu, or both menus (depending on the Extras Manager settings for each plugin).

What You Should Know about Plugins

Actually, plugins are sorted by categories in Extras Manager rather arbitrarily. Moreover, some popular plugins may be present in several categories, which may mislead you into thinking that Extras Manager provides access to more plugins than the Skype Extras web site does. Therefore, I'll be categorizing plugins differently. Anyway, you can always use the search feature to find what you need.

Before starting to try out plugins, please note that Skype eagerly lets other programs use its protocols, but that's all. And the Skype application must be present too, otherwise its protocols will be unusable. That is, there are no plugins that can implement Skype's protocols without the need to install Skype.