One thing I’ve really been looking for in Tweetdeck, my preferred Twitter desktop client, is a way to just write a Tweet to someone, either a direct message or an @ reply. Ideally I’d be able to search for my Twitter pals in the client, either by real name or Twitter user name. However, we are now one step closer to this with the release today of TweetDeck’s handy new feature – username auto-complete. When you start typing an @ or direct message (or typing “@” anywhere in a tweet) the autocomplete window is triggered and Tweetdeck brings up a list of your friends as you type. Here’s a video to explain how it works:
Tweetdeck is pushing out the update to all users shortly but it’s also available here on their blog for manual install or here is the direct download URL. Not that the update has not been extensively tested so installation is at your own risk. If you are unsure then hold off until the next full TweetDeck update.