Chat

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Chat 1.1.5

Chat 1.1.5 is compatible with Telligent Community Server.

Stay in contact with your community friends real-time in Telligent's Chat add-on module. Chat adds immediacy to your friendships and community experience with instant messages and presence. Your chat history gets retained with your private messages.

Chat user experience features

• Users can instant message one another within Telligent Community Server.
  • Users can have one-on-one chats with other community members by clicking them on the online friend list.
    • A sound can be played when a chat message is received.
  • Users can drag and drop other members into a one-on-one chat to turn it into a group conversation.

   

• Chat sessions follow the user throughout the site.
  
  • As you navigate to different places in the community to perform different functions such as forum posting or blogging, the online friend list ("buddy list") and chat windows remain displayed in the browser window.
  • Conversations can be minimized or closed altogether and resumed later by clicking that user in the online friend list again.
    
    
• Chat maintains an intelligent online buddy list.
  
  • The list automatically displays online friends you've recently chatted with.
  • You can use the search window in the list to find other members who are online or offline.

   

• Chat enables the community to display presence.
  
  • Users can set their online or offline status to show availability for receiving chats.
    
    • When online, a user can receive chats.
    • When offline, he/she can instead be sent a private message.
  • Presence status indicators update in real time.
    
    
• Chat sessions are logged to private message threads.
  
  • Private message threads update in real time in sync with open chat threads.
  • Replying to a chat thread via private messaging also replies directly to the chat session.

Instant messaging with Chat

You can instant message one or several of your friends using Chat.

One-on-one chats

To chat with a friend, simply click their name in the online users list. A chat window appears for you to type your message.

A friend can contact you in this way, as well, if you are online. Your online presence is shown by a green or grey circle in the online friends list. You can click "Online" to go offline (the circle will turn grey), or click "Offline" to go online (the grey circle will turn green). Your chat makes a record in your private messages.

A speaker button on the online friend list lets you enable or disable the sound alert function on chat. Click the button to enable it or disable it. 

Drag and drop group chats

You can easily add someone to your two-party chat by simply dragging their avatar into it from your online list.  The third person will not be able to see the conversation that was previously occurring. In your inbox, you'll see one chat conversation with the single partner (e.g., Anna), and a second chat conversation with the third party (e.g., Miles). When you bring the third person into the chat, he/she has the conversation history from that point on in the conversation list.

See also: Chat with a friend.

Chat from anywhere on the site

Chat remains available to you anywhere in the community. You can open or minimize the chat and friend windows.

Friend list and chats remain displayed

No matter where you go in your community, you can easily access friends for chat. Your online friend list and any ongoing chats remain available in the browser window whether you are, for example, responding to a forum thread or adding an image to a wiki page.

Conversations can be minimized or closed

You can minimize the chat window or online friend list by clicking the minus in the task bar. Even minimized, the task bars will remain visible in the browser.

Chat from the user profile

When you are friends with another member, you'll see a chat option on their user profile if they are online, and a private message option if they are offline.

Online friend list

The online friend displays presence indicators and lets you know in real time who's available for chat.

Automatically see your friends online

The online friend list automatically displays which of your friends is online. The green circle beside the name indicates the person is online. A greyed-out circle next to the member's name indicates he/she is offline.

Send private messages to offline members

You can use the search box at the bottom of the online friends list to search for any other non-friend community members who might be offline or online. When you click the person's name, a private message window will open.

Presence display

It's easy to choose how you want your presence to be displayed and how you want to receive messages.

Set your presence display

 The circle displayed at the top of the online friends list indicates your presence (green is online, grey is offline). Online or offline presence is displayed in real time. You can click this circle to change your presence status. By default, this circle is green when you sign on.

Online can receive chat messages

Your presence determines whether you appear in friends' online friends list, just as they appear on yours. When your presence is on, you can receive real-time chat messages from friends.

Offline can receive private messages

Offline friends are not listed in the online friends list. However, you can search them using the search window at the bottom of the online friends list. If you click the offline name, you can send them a private message. Likewise, a friend can find you in search and send you a private message that will appear in the Inbox.

See also: Member presence

Conversation list

Community Server has a conversation list containing both private messages and records of chat messages which are synced in real time.

Chats appear in the conversation list

When you chat with a friend, the chat creates a record in the conversation list. The first few words of the chat are displayed in the conversation list, and under the header "Chat," each individual message appears in the conversation detail. 

Similarly, if you respond to a private message that was part of a chat, the chat window is updated with this message in real time.

Both the conversation list and conversation detail display an infinite scrolling history. 

Chat plugin

Community Server uses the Chat plugin.

Widget

Chat widget

The User - Chat widget gives you the capabilities to:

• Have single or multiple chats, as described above.
• See other friends' online presence.
• Change your own presence.
• Hear a sound notification when you receive a new message.
• Minimize or open a chat window.
• Close a chat window.

Changed widget

The Conversation List widget supports chat history. While the simple view configuration of the widget remains the same, the standard view can display:

• Chat summary
• Chat detail
• Write a reply field

Removed widget

The User - Banner with Presence widget has been removed.

Development APIs

For APIs, see the developer documentation.

See also: Private messages