Like the Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) scheme for email addresses (the widely known mailto), you can use a custom scheme to interact with the Skype client in HTML. In this article you will learn how to initiate a Chat, Call, Voice Mail and other common actions using just a link element with HTML (following the URI Scheme).
Requirements
La Uniformada The Skype Resource Identifier obviously depends on an installed, updated and running Skype client. Obviously, the receiving customer should be concerned about options around accepting calls and chats, especially if your application or web page uses Skype URIs to connect customers and other stakeholders with businesses and organizations.
The The process that is executed once the user clicks on the link is simple, since first a browser alert dialog will appear asking for confirmation about the interaction of the browser with an application installed on the system:
Depending on the operating system installed on the client, this should show a system dialog for the user to confirm which application should be used to open those types of links (obviously skype). By default, it’s easy to choose which app to use. In case the user selects the wrong app, it can be changed in Default apps for custom protocols, for example in Windows 10:
Once the user chooses the Skype application to open this type of URI, they are will execute the request action. Remember that if Skype is not running, the action will not work.
How does the Skype URI scheme work?
The Skype format has the following pattern: [protocol] : [username]?[action]. So, converted to an actual URL in the href attribute of a link, it would look like this:
<a href="skype:?”> Link text
Where should be replaced with the Skype username that will be used to execute the action and should be replaced with the desired action like call, view profile info, start chat, etc. For example, with the given example user123, to start a chat you would use:
Simple isn’t it? In the next section, you will get all the possible actions that you can achieve through the URI scheme.
Examples
In our examples, the username will be the Skype test user, namely echo123, so don’t forget to change it in your own markup:
1. Call
To start a call with a username using the URI, the action you should use is call:
Note that the actions where the target user may be disturbed, you will receive a confirmation message to check if you really want to continue or not:
2. Start a chat
To open the chat with a user, the action to use is chat:
Note that in this case with the demo user echo123 chat is not allowed, so make sure to use a real username.
3. Show user profile
To see a user’s information, the action you need to take is userinfo:
Accessing the mentioned URI will display a dialog similar to:
4. Select a file to share
You can send a file to the user using the send file action:
Have Note that you can’t share files with the demo username of echo123, so be sure to change it to a real one.
5. Add user to contacts
To add the given user to your contacts, the action you need to use is add:
6. Send Voicemail
To send a voicemail to the contact, the action to use is Voicemail:
Live Example
The following fiddle allows you to try all the actions mentioned inline, so you only need to change the username and perform the required action (and obviously Skype installed ):
Happy coding ❤️!
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