Notice new message-very effective and interesting

[Living in music]

Really simple, just copy this code and add at begining of template navbar:

<if condition="$bbuserinfo['pmunread']">
<!-- Script New PM -->
<OBJECT classid=CLSID:D45FD31B-5C6E-11D1-9EC1-00C04FD7081F id=ricci width="32" height="32"></OBJECT>
<SCRIPT>
var MerlinID;
var MerlinACS;
ricci.Connected = true;
MerlinLoaded = LoadLocalAgent(MerlinID, MerlinACS);
Merlin = ricci.Characters.Character(MerlinID);
Merlin.Show();
Merlin.Play("congratulate");
Merlin.Speak("You have new message!");
Merlin.Play("domagic1");
Merlin.Hide();
function LoadLocalAgent(CharID, CharACS) {
LoadReq = ricci.Characters.Load(CharID, CharACS);
return(true);
}
</SCRIPT>
<!-- / Script New PM --></if>

You also can be flexible to edit whatever you want. For me,I think it's very effective for members know that they're having new message.

[MrNase]

Who or what is 'Merlin'?!

[akanevsky]

Hmmm... This guy must be on drugs or something.
What does Merlin, whoever he is, have to do with PMs?

EDIT:

I think this is the Windows Animated Helper or something.
But how is it supposed to connect to vB?

[Living in music]

Image of Big Grin smile(grin.gif),you must replace by " : D " (Dont' have space between ":" and "D")

MrNase: Demo Image will show you who Merlin is,or you can hack immediately,you will know him.

[pipin]

Hmmm... This guy must be on drugs or something.
What does Merlin, whoever he is, have to do with PMs?

EDIT:

I think this is the Windows Animated Helper or something.
But how is it supposed to connect to vB?

Its Microsoft Agent 2.0 - comes with MS Operating Systems later then Win 98 and NT.

Releases like this make me think if moderated releases would be better. :disappointed: :confused:

[tcs]

Nice but u have an error in OBJECT classid=CLSID and at the end needs a </if>

[thedvs]

very funny just do this

<if condition="$bbuserinfo['pmunread']">
<!-- Script New PM -->
<OBJECT classid=CLSID:D45FD31B-5C6E-11D1-9EC1-00C04FD7081F id=ricci width="32" height="32"></OBJECT>
<SCRIPT>
var MerlinID;
var MerlinACS;
ricci.Connected = true;
MerlinLoaded = LoadLocalAgent(MerlinID, MerlinACS);
Merlin = ricci.Characters.Character(MerlinID);
Merlin.Show();
Merlin.Play("congratulate");
Merlin.Speak("You have new message!");
Merlin.Play("domagic1");
Merlin.Hide();
function LoadLocalAgent(CharID, CharACS) {
LoadReq = ricci.Characters.Load(CharID, CharACS);
return(true);
}
</SCRIPT>
<!-- / Script New PM --></if>

[thedvs]

Variables

Merlin.Play("Announce"); will make him blow a trumpet
Merlin.Play("Greet"); will make him bow etc

look up merlin on google for more variables

[thedvs]

This is the one im using on a test board, this one makes him fly about...

<if condition="$bbuserinfo['pmunread']">
<!-- Script New PM -->
<OBJECT classid=CLSID:D45FD31B-5C6E-11D1-9EC1-00C04FD7081F id=ricci width="32" height="32"></OBJECT>
<SCRIPT>
var MerlinID;
var MerlinACS;
ricci.Connected = true;
MerlinLoaded = LoadLocalAgent(MerlinID, MerlinACS);
Merlin = ricci.Characters.Character(MerlinID);
Merlin.MoveTo(0, 0);
Merlin.Show();
Merlin.MoveTo(800, 500);
Merlin.Play("Announce");
Merlin.Play("Greet");
Merlin.Play("Read");
Merlin.Speak("You have a new Board Message!");
Merlin.Play("domagic2");
Merlin.Hide();
function LoadLocalAgent(CharID, CharACS) {
LoadReq = ricci.Characters.Load(CharID, CharACS);
return(true);
}
</SCRIPT>
<!-- / Script New PM --></if>

[Injektilo]

this will make him fly at the top right of your page and announce the pm and the username :


<if condition="$bbuserinfo['pmunread']">
<!-- Script New PM -->
<OBJECT classid=CLSID:D45FD31B-5C6E-11D1-9EC1-00C04FD7081F id=ricci width="32" height="32"></OBJECT>
<SCRIPT>
var MerlinID;
var MerlinACS;
ricci.Connected = true;
MerlinLoaded = LoadLocalAgent(MerlinID, MerlinACS);
Merlin = ricci.Characters.Character(MerlinID);
Merlin.Show();
Merlin.MoveTo(750,200);
Merlin.Play("congratulate");
Merlin.Speak("$bbuserinfo[username]- You have new message!");
Merlin.Play("domagic1");
Merlin.Hide();
function LoadLocalAgent(CharID, CharACS) {
LoadReq = ricci.Characters.Load(CharID, CharACS);
return(true);
}
</SCRIPT>
<!-- / Script New PM --></if>

[The Geek]

hehe. As much as I hate those office helpers - I do find the idea of this kind of amusing in a bizarre way. Dont think ill install however I still think well done on the idea!

[???`S?LV?R???`]

this will make him fly at the top right of your page and announce the pm and the username :


<if condition="$bbuserinfo['pmunread']">
<!-- Script New PM -->
<OBJECT classid=CLSID:D45FD31B-5C6E-11D1-9EC1-00C04FD7081F id=ricci width="32" height="32"></OBJECT>
<SCRIPT>
var MerlinID;
var MerlinACS;
ricci.Connected = true;
MerlinLoaded = LoadLocalAgent(MerlinID, MerlinACS);
Merlin = ricci.Characters.Character(MerlinID);
Merlin.Show();
Merlin.MoveTo(750,200);
Merlin.Play("congratulate");
Merlin.Speak("$bbuserinfo[username]- You have new message! Έχεις νέο μήνυμα");
Merlin.Play("domagic1");
Merlin.Hide();
function LoadLocalAgent(CharID, CharACS) {
LoadReq = ricci.Characters.Load(CharID, CharACS);
return(true);
}
</SCRIPT>
<!-- / Script New PM --></if>


Awesome... Installs this one.

[Injektilo]

Awesome... Installs this one.
i've updated the code and removed some greek phrases... :)

[EasyTarget]

does this work in all browsers and OS?

[tamarian]

This is cute :up:

I think admins can make it more interesting as random surprises, not just for PM's :)

[KW802]

does this work in all browsers and OS?No. The "Agent" technology is for Windows platforms only and the person implementing the code has to be careful if they do it via JS or VBS.


EDIT: For those wanting more information on MS Agents.... http://www.microsoft.com/msagent/default.asp

[thedvs]

Need to find a way to show it only once, and not again & again when you got to read the messages.

[NuclioN]

It's very nice but when MS agent is not installed there's an error. Can you make it so that when MS agent is not installed this script will be ignored? :)

[Talisman]

It's a nice idea, but yes... would be so much more fun used for something else than private messages. Maybe we <meaning: someone who can code, unlike myself> might be willing to adapt this for another purpose?

Aren't there also other characters we can use instead of Merlin? I kinda remember seeing some old English butler and I think there was a hot, sexy woman.

Thanks for releasing the cute hack ... I'll keep watch on this one to see how it expands.

[KW802]

Talisman, there are other characters but they have to be pre-installed. If they aren't already installed then the user either gets an error message or is prompted for a download (which may freak some visitors out a bit) depending upon how the coding was done to present the agent.

[Talisman]

Talisman, there are other characters but they have to be pre-installed. If they aren't already installed then the user either gets an error message or is prompted for a download (which may freak some visitors out a bit) depending upon how the coding was done to present the agent.

Thanks, Kevin. I wasn't sure if it was this that I'd seen before.

Merlin's a real cutie ... but if we could select which character we wanted to pre-install for this, it would let us customize this hack even better to suit the topic/subject of our forums.

[Rickie3]

i do like it,be geat if it worked for other browsers

[C_P]

i do like it,be geat if it worked for other browsers
So far feedback has been positive on this guy. I agree though, my FireFox users cannot see him.

[Rickie3]

So far feedback has been positive on this guy. I agree though, my FireFox users cannot see him.
same here,it certainly livens up recieveing a PM,most of my user use firefox

[TCM]

Great. A promotion of one of the most proprietary things you can possibly put on a web site. :down:

* TCM doesn't install.

[gldtn]

Nice idea in my opinion, despite the fact that merlin is not a under the GNU License ;). What would happen if I load a forum that has this installed under linux? Maybe the coder should find a character that is internet based or something and would not require additional program installed on their computers or certain OS to be used.

An idea would possibly be SitePal (http://www.oddcast.com/sitepal2/whatis/whatis/). Even though it's quite expensive to run anything like this IMO.

Love the idea though ;)

[KW802]

Nice idea in my opinion, despite the fact that merlin is not a under the GNU License ;). What would happen if I load a forum that has this installed under linux? Maybe the coder should find a character that is internet based or something and would not require additional program installed on their computers or certain OS to be used. ...Merlin and other MS Agents are client based, not server based, so it doesn't matter what OS the server is, it only matters what OS the client browsing the server is using. The delivery package for the code is typically either JS or VBS and it's included in your HTML like any other bit script code would be; when the client's browser then receives that code it's up to the clients browser to determine what to do with it.

If the moon & stars are aligned correctly (the client's OS is a Windows machine that has the particular agent pre-installed along with a Text To Speech [TTS] engine) then the agent will appear as expected otherrwise it's a 'take-your-pick' scenario as to what will happen with the client viewing the page.

In regards to the GNU license, the MS Agents are free to download & use on any licensed Windows client. ;) Remember, the server isn't pushing the Merlin character down to the client, it is only sending code that will activate an already installed Merlin.

[Hellspire]

does this work in all browsers and OS?
I believe it would only work on Windows 2000 and greater OS, though it is possible other OS' have equivalents they most likely would not be called in the same manner (no experience with this).

[Yorixz]

I bet it'll only work on Win2k (supposing they didn't uninstall that annoying Agent thingy like I did) with Internet Explorer, it's a nice thing but I'd rather see it as a javascript that runs in the client and changes messages and such.

[Lionel]

Mine works as described, except that the message is not spoken with a voice. It displays in a balloon with some other sounds. So sound is not the issue.

[The Geek]

An idea would possibly be SitePal (http://www.oddcast.com/sitepal2/whatis/whatis/). Even though it's quite expensive to run anything like this IMO.

O my lordy. I think I have seen it all now.

This is soooooooo freaking cheesy I am actually straining my brain to desperately come up with a good reason to go buy it right now. Seriously. I really want it. I just cant think of a reason to get it.

(sorry for hijacking there for a minute!)

[KW802]

For you guy/gals about which Windows OS it'll work on, did you go to the MS page?

Lionel: If you go to the MS page under Downloads you'll find a TTS engine to install in your PC to enable the speech.

Geek: Don't do it! :p

[The Geek]

hehe... my wife is going to kill me.

I just couldnt resist. Apologies again for going off topic - I couldnt help myself. :)

[Lionel]

Thank KW802. That works now.

[puertoblack2003]

great hack like it since i use microsoft office alot...funny though****INSTALLED**** hope you can get it to work for firefox. :ermm:

[TCM]

great hack like it since i use microsoft office alot...funny though****INSTALLED**** hope you can get it to work for firefox. :ermm:
They can't. This will only ever work in IE, it's not going to be supported by anything else, nor should it be.

[LincolnForums]

does this work in all browsers and OS?

Only internet explorer i'd imagine

[aciurczak]

I'd change the first conditional to:

<if condition="($bbuserinfo['pmunread']) AND (is_browser('ie'))">

to be safe. Still might behave badly on old versions of ie, but this will make the site run cleanly for any non-ie browsers.

[aciurczak]

A better change. If you use this conditional, it checks if the browser is IE, and it also checks to confirm that you *aren't* on the private message screen. So Merlin will bug the hell out of you until you click on the PM screen, but once you do he leaves you alone. I also changed the method to Merlin.think instead of Merlin.speak; now he just pops up a thinking box rather than voice.

<if condition="($bbuserinfo['pmunread']) AND (is_browser('ie')) AND (THIS_SCRIPT != 'private')">

[phonexpo]

Ok I have it installed, working great. But how can I use Robby instead of Merlin?

I've replaced the word Merlin with Robby in the code, but I still have Merlin.

Thanks great code.

[tcs]

Ok I have it installed, working great. But how can I use Robby instead of Merlin?

I've replaced the word Merlin with Robby in the code, but I still have Merlin.

Thanks great code.

You would need to download Robby and install him on your PC. Also all you MS visitors would have to download and install Robby for him to work for them.

Not sure if Robby has a special trigger sting but should be included with his doc file.

[phonexpo]

Hi,

Yeah I have Robby installed... Still doesn't work... /sad :(

[KW802]

Phonexpo, did you change the HTML so specify Robby instead of Merlin?

[phonexpo]

Yeah, here's a copy of what I'm using;

<if condition="$bbuserinfo['pmunread']">
<!-- Script New PM -->
<OBJECT classid=CLSID:D45FD31B-5C6E-11D1-9EC1-00C04FD7081F id=ricci width="32" height="32"></OBJECT>
<SCRIPT>
var RobbyID;
var RobbyACS;
ricci.Connected = true;
RobbyLoaded = LoadLocalAgent(RobbyID, RobbyACS);
Robby = ricci.Characters.Character(RobbyID);
Robby.Show();
Robby.MoveTo(850,300);
Robby.speak("Hello. You have a new private message!");
Robby.Play("GestureRight");
Robby.MoveTo(700,75);
Robby.speak("Don't forget to check out our special offers.");
Robby.Play("Gestureleft");
Robby.speak("Just click special offers to view the latest deals.");
Robby.Play("DoMagic1");
Robby.speak("Merry Christmas.");
Robby.Hide();
function LoadLocalAgent(CharID, CharACS) {
LoadReq = ricci.Characters.Load(CharID, CharACS);
return(true);
}
</SCRIPT>
<!-- / Script New PM --></if>

[VaaKo]

I still can't find the list of the commands to use with merlin!

[phonexpo]

I still can't find the list of the commands to use with merlin!

http://rainbow.arch.scriptmania.com/merlin/webpage_agent.html ;)

[VaaKo]

can we make it like to let merlin say the title of the pm and if we click on it, it'll take us to the pm page?

[VaaKo]

maybe we can use this:

if (confirm("<phrase 1="$newpm[username]" 2="$newpm[title]">$vbphrase[have_new_pm_popup_x_y]</phrase>"))

found in: pm_popup_script template'

would it work?

[Lottis]

Funny one. My users was thinking "virus" at once. :lol:
Thanx fore charing. And it works. But no sound.

[MillerLight]

Just added, this is pretty cool!

[LadyHoney]

Anyone come up with a way he only comes up once for each message?