Chat Modifications - MGC Chatbox (with AJAX)

Last version - MGC Chatbox Evo available : here

Description

When I had left the vBulletin world, I was in the past the co-author of a little chatbox (shoutbox), very well known in the vBulletin world.
This chatbox had been developed by Svaliotti (known as Poseidon on vb.org) for vB2 in the past and I had made the porterage (with is authorisation as we were both members of the same french non-official support forum) and the improvement for vB3.

It is thus normal that in my return in the vBulletin world, I begin by getting down to this hack. Even if several versions of chatbox are already present in the vBulletin world, I said to myself that it would be a good thing to make a made in France.

Naturally, I don't deal with a "copy" version of the other chatbox, I have any coded at the beginning (it was preferable because the front code wasn't so clean any more), and I integrated a good quantity of very interesting features.

New version features

The new version contains all the features from the previous version. Description of these versions can be found in Sofia's post hereabove (https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showpost.php?p=1257510&postcount=3).

Modifications from previous version are the following :

• 1.5 :
  • Fixed bugs :
    • Chatbox is shown two times in full page mode when the Display on all pages under the navbar option is selected.
    • "Fermer" is not in a sentence.
    • Overflow problem with Netscape.
    • Uppercase transformed to lowercase in the PM channel.
    • The ban cron debans user indefinitly banned.
    • Chatbox continuously loading on some forums.
    • Inactivity and guests problem.
    • Team icon blinking is not working properly.
    • Coma error in the who is online.
    • 2 spaces instead of one between the date and the time.
  • New functionnalities :
    • Option to deactivate the random smilies.
    • Option to deactivate the automatic PM sending when banning a user.
    • New permission to allow or not the downloading of shouts.
    • Option to specify the name under which unregistered users shouts appear.
    • Syntax change for the /ban, /ignore, /del, /pm commands : Possibility to use them with the username or the userid (For more information about the new syntax, check the help button in the chatbox).
  • Removed functionnalities :
    • vBAdvanced integration [TEMPORARLY] => See this for integration with this version https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=163628

This hack is very light in term of queries : only one for every recharging / refreshment of the chatbox and 5 for the statistics in the load of the page if you actiate them. If you don't activate advanced options of course as stated aside each in the acp

Installation

Read the file "Installation" in the pack.

Once the installation is ended, go in usergroups and edit permissions to see the Chatbox.

By default, no group has access to the chatbox.

Screenshots

The screenshots are in french as I have made it on an online website which is in french. Don't hesitate to give me new one if you want in english

They are up to date of 1.3 version.

See the following post : https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showpost.php?p=1292136&postcount=559

User manual

Coming soon ...

Copyright

This hack is under copyright MGC (Mtor&Grog Corporation) 2007-forever and was developed for vBulletin-Resources.com & vb-hacks.org. Its redistribution on another forum that vbulletin-ressources.com, vb-hacks.org or vbulletin.org are prohibited without aggreement of the authors!

Evolutions and improvements

This sixth version of the chatbox is already very complete, but like each product, its evolution depends on all. Then don't hesitate especially to share your ideas of improvements so that we can improve even more this chatbox.

Languages

Actually available :

1. French
2. English
3. Arabic [Translator : alessai]
4. German [Translator : captainslater]
5. Vietnamese [Translator : Anhyeu12000]
6. Turkish [Translator : neutralizer and bocek]
7. Spanish [Translator : obmob] [TO BE UPDATED FOR 1.5]

To be available [Translation in progress] :

1. Bosnian [Translator : Benjaminbih]

[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']For the translators : phrases with version number 1.5 in the English language file are the one that have been modified or added in the new version so you should probably find the modification for your language file easily.[/font]

Contact me if you want to participate and add your own country language file

Support

Several possible problems are explained in the file "Read Me"
Chatbox in iBProarcade and vBadvanced CMPS

See the readme file for iBProarcade.

For vbadvanced, a module is available here : https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=163628.

FAQ

Q: I installed the chatbox but it doesn't display
R: Check if you have allowed users (permissions in usergroups)

Q: I see shouts but in the collapsed chatbox
R: You can specify number of shouts in the collapsed chatbox. If you don't want to see it, put "0" for this option.

Q: The chatbox doesn't display below or in the top of one of the pages while in the other position it displays
R: You use a style and it's possible that variables used in templates aren't present. (Read the file "Read Me")

Q: I have a problem with accents in the Chatbox
R: Read the file "Read Me"

Q: How to change the value of color for date and for command /me?
R: When you add additionnal CSS for each style, you can change color in class CSS.

Thanks to Sofia for her earlier help on the chatbox.

You can donate if you want to show your support

Last version - MGC Chatbox Evo available : here

[pedrovazquez10]

I unintall this product and i have trouble with the database when im going to the admin group sorry i dont speak good english
i reinstall the XML files and disable it to work my database well
thanks

[VBDev]

Hello all !

I am just back from holidays.

I'll be looking at all the messages since I left tomorrow, an update correcting the loading problem will be available in the upcoming weeks.

Clément

[silvermerc]

i have a new problem. Certain people cant see the shoutbox anymore, they could see it before a few days ago and it works fine for most people but tere about 3 people that cant see it at all. They havnt been banned or anything, there usergroup setting are correct also so now i dont know what to try

[chariotdriver]

We just installed this and I noticed that when the Box is minimized, the box collapses then the previous shouts pop back open even though the text entry field is hidden properly.
Is this how it is supposed to work, or is everything supposed to collapse like other boxes?
Thanks,
Phil

[Hendrizius]

Hello. Could you implent this mod into VBadvanced?

[VBDev]

2 weeks away is too much to handle carefully all the problems that have been encountered while I was away. So I?ll do my possible to answer to all the questions.

All my personal problems are solved now so you shouldn?t worry anymore, I am back !

The version 1.4 is quite unstable I know it and you should stop asking about loading problem coz they all come from that point

Anyway the 1.5 version development will start soon. I?ll try to release a bug fixing version as soon as possible but this will take a little bit more time as my girlfriend is coming to live with me J I?ll try to release it quickly.

Here are my answers, I hope you?ll not get too lost but this was a real pain to manage.

@chillingcafe : Regarding your style problem, I don?t think that it?s a chatbox issue. I suppose you encounter that problem even if you do a small modification in the css ? You should rather ask for help on that part on vbulletin.com as it?s more general than a chatbox problem.

@lolo?: Ok that?s an issue, I put it in the bugs? list

@silvermerc: the color and text types can be saved from within the usercp in all versions since the 1.1

@nymith: yes I add it the <unregistered> thing to the todo list

@Jackfrosted : the chatbox background is linked to the forum background as there are no specified chatbox background color, this is pure html modification I think, I?ll add something to the todo list to see if I can do a vb option for that or a css option.

@Henry187: yes thanks for the bug notification; this is noted in the todo list J

@Henry187 and lucky51: Regarding the fact that the chatbox doesn?t appear for some of your members, you should check if you have done the modification in the modifyoption template. Coz if it?s not the case then any modifications of their options by the users would lead to that kind of strange thing.

@Ba$im: You should use a merge and compare utility for that purpose.

@Terminot: Did you get the same error with the 1.3 version ?

@gforce75: this should be the same problem as for Henry187 and lucky51, if the modifyoptions template is not modified and your users modify their options then the hide chatbox option will be set to 1 as this option won?t be present (coming with the template modification).

@dellow: Not sure as I don?t have my computer there but I think I hardcoded it in the online hooks (yes I know that?s bad)

@catmandoes: Yes I know, but as I do it for free during my spare time I didn?t find the time for it yet

@godarium: The error is in the readme French file don?t worry J , the correction is planned for the upcoming version

@baghdad4ever : I am not author for the Arabic language file so I can?t help sorry, regarding the search thing, this is not possible but that could be interesting yes, I put it in the todo list.

@angy82: What do you mean by not working ?

@WhyDoesItMatter: I haven?t personnaly tried to sorry as IBproarcade was the most used arcade mod.

@Za4a Tuner: yes I know I have to do that xhtml validation too

@Ohiosweetheart : the command is not /prune but /del look at the help in the chatbox

@theOzer: this is due to all buttons in the 1.2 version, this is why I did smaller button for the new versions, you?ll have to wait till the next version

@Traxdata: I think you made the modifyoptions template modification wrongly.

@silvermerc: and the option in their usercp is correctly set ?

@chariotdrived: this is normal functioning, set the number of shouts in collapsed mode to 0 to hide completely the shouts J

@Hendrizius: read the thread post, it?s already done

[adnedarn]

Going about the information above, I checked my second (default but modified by me) skin and the template changes hadn't merged over to it.. So even though we could all see the chatbox, the template changes were not made and we didn't have the options in our CP and that's why saving in the CP booted us from the box. That's my fault.

So now statistics show and everything, except I can't figure out this "mgc box" to the right of my top advertisement... What did I do wrong please Thanks!
Andrew


EDIT: got it, in my skin the navbar code is actually in the header template. I found the spot, put the code in and it's working fine!

OH and welcome back, I'm glad everything has worked out for you at home

[Hendrizius]

Works like a charm!

Another suggestion: you should make this shoutbox integrateable into the left or right columns of the VBadvanced index. That were another awesome addon for portal Users : ).

[Ohiosweetheart]

Originally Posted by VBDev

@Ohiosweetheart : the command is not /prune but /del look at the help in the chatbox

I did and got the help, thank you. However I still have a problem a few posts back that you must have missed. And that is -

The chatbox continues to get hungup on the forumhome. the round refresh image between the text line and the OK button just keeps going round and round and round. The only way to break the cycle is to click on the Archives link, be taken to the Chat archives, then go back to forumhome, where the chatbox will then load.

We have to do this almost every time we open forumhome.

Any ideas what to do?

[gforce75]

thanks man. i have my faith restored with you