Ubuntu / Linux news and application reviews.


SkypeTab-NG (NG stands for Next Generation) is a tool that adds tabs to Skype for Linux. Besides providing a tabbed chat window, the SkypeTab-NG also embeds both the conversation and the main Skype windows in a single window.

SkypeTab is not new, but it was recently rewritten, fixing most bugs from the previous SkypeTab, like the annoying laggy window movement bug. Also, SkypeTab used to only work with Compiz, Openbox and Xfwm but the new version should work with other window managers too, like Kwin, etc (I've actually tested it under Kubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot and it worked just fine).


The main Skype window can be collapsed by dragging the separator between the main Skype window and the tabbed chat window, to the left. You can get the main Skype window back by simply dragging the separator to the right:



To get tabs for the Skype chat window, install SkypeTab-NG in Ubuntu (available for Ubuntu Oneiric, Natty or Lucid but I've only tested it on Oneiric!) using the commands below:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:keks9n/skypetab
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install skypetab-ng

Arch Linux users: SkypeTab-NG is available in AUR. For other Linux distributions, get SkypeTab-NG from HERE.

To use it, start SkypeTab from the menu instead of Skype!


If you encounter bugs, report them to the Skype Tab GitHub page.