Chat Modifications - Envolve Chat Integration Module

About the Envolve Chat Plugin
This module will connect your vBulletin forum to Envolve chat. Envolve is a chat toolbar similar to Facebook's chat bar that allows your users to have group and one-on-one chats with each other while browsing your forums.

This mod requires an API key from Envolve in order to function. Visit http://www.envolve.com to get one. A free version is available that provides a full feature set for up to 25 concurrent users. Higher numbers of chatters require a paid account.

This mod integrates your forum's account system with Envolve so that when users are logged into your vBulletin site it also logs them into the chat. In addition, it integrates your profile pictures / avatars and profile information. With the 2.0 release of the mod, other users can now view your profile information and get a link to your profile simply by placing their mouse over your name.

The Envolve chat system is a rich solution for community chat. Some of its features include group chat (both public and private), one-on-one chat, the ability to pop chats out into their own windows, moderation controls (boot / block / ban / timed ban), chat message translation, resizable chat windows, chat sharing, and drag-and-drop chat invitations. As a hosted solution, all chat traffic is handled by Envolve's servers and will not place any additional load on your server.

Installation:
Detailed installation instructions can be found here:
https://www.envolve.com/docs/vbulletin-chat-plugin.html. They are also provided in the Readme.txt file.
You can see and try out the chat at http://www.envolve.com.

This version of the mod will work for both vBulletin 4.x and vBulletin 3.8.x.

Screenshots:
Here the "People List" can be seen open in the lower right hand corner of the page. This shows all users who are currently viewing the forum. This site owner has chosen to only allow logged-in users to chat.


Here a public group chat has been opened, and the user has moused-over another user to see his profile information.


Here a user is creating a new group chat that will be shown to the other users on the site. He has also "popped-out" the "General" chat into its own window.

[andrew.lee]

That's correct. Did you make sure to upload the files that came with the plugin? There are instructions in the Readme file that explain how to install it.

[BirdOPrey5]

Yes, I'm sure they are in the right place.

In the debug info I can confirm the 3 envolve php files are being included:
./includes/plugins/envolve_parse_templates.php
./includes/plugins/envolve_util.php
./includes/plugins/envolve_api_client.php

But no envolve javascript is being added to the page.

[andrew.lee]

Can you shoot us an email at support@envolve.com and we'll try to help you out? Let us know the URL of the site and any error messages you're seeing in apache logs. Also make sure you have the chat module enabled and it is not restricted from the user group for which you are logged in.

[BirdOPrey5]

I will email when I have some time, thanks. It's on my test site at the moment. I'm curious does anyone have version 2.0 working? The only one I've seen comment is navarro with the same problem I'm having.

[andrew.lee]

Hey All - I just posted an update that both simplifies installation and makes it work properly on vB 3.8.x. Sorry to everyone for the inconvenience before! If you had trouble before please give it another shot and let us know if you have any troubles.

[BirdOPrey5]

I can confirm 2.01 now works!

[andrew.lee]

Awesome. Thanks for giving it another shot!

[markopete]

Not sure if the following has been suggested yet:

An "away" mode would be handy, I have missed chat calls because I was busy at the time.

Also, perhaps a chat request might be made to be more visible, or varying options to do so perhaps.

I love this module, 5/5 for me

Pete

[andrew.lee]

@markopete - Thanks for the suggestion. It's on our todo list! Glad you like it.

[Lee G]

I have just downloaded and installed this.
Very easy to do
But where are the customisation areas or how do you customise the colour etc
The only option I see is one part where you add your key, set user groups etc
I have tried it with three browsers and it seems to make Opera hang, never completing loading a page