Open MSN Messenger files in your browser
The conversations Messenger saved, an XML file a contact, read back as chats. Drop the History folder right here. Nothing leaves your device.
Or drop it anywhere on this page
What you'll see
Your chat opens as its conversation, each message in a bubble in its sender's color, with the days, replies, reactions and calls, and the photos and voice notes the export holds.
- Every conversation • Each person in a color of their own
- Search • Every match counted, and a date jumps to its day
- Stats • Who wrote how much, by hour, weekday and month
- Export • Save as PDF, CSV or text
About MSN Messenger
MSN Messenger and Windows Live Messenger saved every conversation once Keep a history of my conversations was on, as an XML file a contact in the History folder of My Received Files, with MessageLog.xsl beside it. Microsoft closed Messenger in 2013 and moved its users to Skype, so these files are all that's left of the chats.
Each file holds a contact's sessions, each message with its date and time, From and To by the friendly names people wore, which changed with their moods, and the files sent. Internet Explorer once showed it through MessageLog.xsl, and browsers now show it as code.
Filepeek reads the files into conversations, a contact each, every message under the person who wrote it however many names they wore, with files sent and people joining and leaving, and works out whose history it is from the files dropped together. Search counts every match, Stats shows who wrote how much and when, and Export saves the chat as PDF, CSV or text.
Windows Live Messenger history
.xml
Format
- MIME type
- text/xml
- Made by
- MSN Messenger and Windows Live Messenger
Inside the file
- Kept as
- An XML file a contact
- Folder
- History, in My Received Files
- Names
- Friendly names, as they changed
- Written by
- MSN and Windows Live Messenger
Opens in every browser
Filepeek opens Messenger's history in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari, however long it is. On their own, browsers show its XML as code.
- YouChromeOpens through Filepeek
- YouEdgeOpens through Filepeek
- YouFirefoxOpens through Filepeek
- YouSafariOpens through Filepeek
Apps that open MSN Messenger
- WindowsMessenger is gone • A text editor shows its XML
- MacNo app reads it
- iPhone and iPadNo app opens it
- AndroidNo app opens it
Questions
Where is my Messenger history?
In My Received Files under Documents, a folder named for your account and a number, then History. Copy it from the old computer or a backup, and drop it here.
Why did people have several names?
Messenger saved each message under the friendly name its writer wore that day. Filepeek keeps each person as one, named by the name they wore most.
Which side is me?
Drop the whole History folder: the name in every file is yours. A file on its own still opens, with both people shown.
Can I save a chat as a PDF?
Yes. Choose Export, then Save as PDF. Save as CSV gives a row for each message.