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.

[Bonjax]

Andrew, you have people on your website that are listed as using your chat system but they are no longer use it. You list Lacuna Expanse on your home page as using envolve but when I go to your site they aren't using your product.

Then when checking out your blog where you have an article on how Envolve has been upgraded for vBulletin you have StarHawkCenter who tried out your system but when I go to their site they aren't using envolve.

Another concern is that there are no links to vBulletin installations on your vBulletin blog article.

In fact, I can't find any successful forum installations on your web page. Perhaps you have been busy and haven't updated your web page but I'd be interested to see links to successful vBulletin instllations.

Btw, we are migrating to vBulletin are interested in purchasing the product but would like to see installations that have been working and have some longevity. I don't want to be adding and subtracting features to the site as they isn't fair to our members. I want to find something that works and stay with it.

Thank You

[andrew.lee]

Bonjax - the majority of our customers use our chat inside their login walls, so you won't see the chat unless you have an account (in many cases for vBulletin, you not only need an account, but you have to be in certain user groups to have it active).

Both the sites you listed actually are still using it and are quite happy. Here are some examples:
1) http://www.gatheringstatic.com/forums/ (does not require login)
2) Lacuna Expanse: http://us1.lacunaexpanse.com/ (does not require login)
3) StarHawkCenter: http://www.starhawkcenter.net/ (requires login)
4) http://www.benzoexodus.com/forum/ (requires login)
5) http://forums.phoenixrising.me/ (requires login)

You can take a look at many of the forums in people from this thread as well, as a good chunk of them are using it on their sites.

[Bonjax]

Andrew, thanks for the reply on your user base.

You may want to update your website to reflect that information as it looks like you are touting users that you either don't have or have tried your product and left. Just a thought..

I'm surprised that folks are using Envolve behind a user wall. What is the thinking and or the positives in not letting guests see the chat? It seems like one of the best features of your product is that folks can see it and when they want to join in they have to register on your site which results in new members.

I'm interested to hear your feedback as well as anyone who is using the product in that manner.

Keep up the good work Andrew, I look forward to ordering your product soon for our launch on August 1.

[BirdOPrey5]

Originally Posted by Bonjax

Andrew, thanks for the reply on your user base.

You may want to update your website to reflect that information as it looks like you are touting users that you either don't have or have tried your product and left. Just a thought..

I'm surprised that folks are using Envolve behind a user wall. What is the thinking and or the positives in not letting guests see the chat? It seems like one of the best features of your product is that folks can see it and when they want to join in they have to register on your site which results in new members.

I'm interested to hear your feedback as well as anyone who is using the product in that manner.

Keep up the good work Andrew, I look forward to ordering your product soon for our launch on August 1.

We use envolve as an "opt-in" system from the User CP- the reason being many members complain any chat software on the site will get the whole site blocked at their jobs that have firewalls in to detect and block real-time chat sites.

[Bonjax]

Originally Posted by BirdOPrey5

We use envolve as an "opt-in" system from the User CP- the reason being many members complain any chat software on the site will get the whole site blocked at their jobs that have firewalls in to detect and block real-time chat sites.

Thanks for that feedback, wasn't aware of that. That would be a concern although I wonder how many new members are gained by having an open system. Would they more than offset the current users that can't access the site?

If the chat box is enabled for everybody some now may be blocked at work but many have cellphones and they can access the forum when not at work.

Wish I had more data to make the call, guess it would be trial and error.

How do you make it an "opt-in" system? is there a page where people can click on something to "opt in"? Or do you use another method?

Appreciate your feedback.

[BirdOPrey5]

Originally Posted by Bonjax

Thanks for that feedback, wasn't aware of that. That would be a concern although I wonder how many new members are gained by having an open system. Would they more than offset the current users that can't access the site?

If the chat box is enabled for everybody some now may be blocked at work but many have cellphones and they can access the forum when not at work.

Wish I had more data to make the call, guess it would be trial and error.

How do you make it an "opt-in" system? is there a page where people can click on something to "opt in"? Or do you use another method?

Appreciate your feedback.

I made a custom user profile field in the Admin CP, User Profile Field Manager.

Make a single selection radio box.

Options:
Yes
No

Not required.

Then edit this plugin in Plugin Manager...

Put the ENTIRE code of the plugin inside a conditional like:

if ($vbulletin->userinfo['field5'] == "Yes")
{

  // all original code here

}

where "field5" is whatever field number vbulletin assigns to your new field:
field5, field6, field7, whatever...

Note: Check carefully because the field number is not always the same as the display order- you don't care about the display order, just the field number.

[Bonjax]

Originally Posted by BirdOPrey5

I made a custom user profile field in the Admin CP, User Profile Field Manager.

Make a single selection radio box.

Options:
Yes
No

Not required.

Then edit this plugin in Plugin Manager...

Put the ENTIRE code of the plugin inside a conditional like:

if ($vbulletin->userinfo['field5'] == "Yes")
{

  // all original code here

}

where "field5" is whatever field number vbulletin assigns to your new field:
field5, field6, field7, whatever...

Note: Check carefully because the field number is not always the same as the display order- you don't care about the display order, just the field number.

BOP, thanks for the feedback! Is it easy to turn Envolve off and on? Looking at the user panel I can't see where there's an on/off button. Is there another way? What would probably work for me is to have it on before 8 AM and after 6 PM. That is when 95% of folks are at work in offices and are in front of computers.

Thanks again for your great feedback.

[BirdOPrey5]

Originally Posted by Bonjax

BOP, thanks for the feedback! Is it easy to turn Envolve off and on? Looking at the user panel I can't see where there's an on/off button. Is there another way? What would probably work for me is to have it on before 8 AM and after 6 PM. That is when 95% of folks are at work in offices and are in front of computers.

Thanks again for your great feedback.

The Single Selection Radio Box, you name the options. I use "Yes" and "No" because my question is: Enable Real-time chat?

But if you want to ask "Turn chat on or off" you could name your options on and off.

All the work turning it on and off is done by the conditional in the plugin code. That chat only uses 1 plugin so it's just 1 edit to turn it on and off.

Doing it by time would be a lot harder (relatively speaking) plus you'd have to account for timezones- assuming you have users all around the country or even the world.

Much better IMO to let users turn it on or off. Plus many might be on home/school networks who don't care.

[Bonjax]

Thanks for the input, BOP. I've decided keep the chat up all day long. For those folks who have sites with chat on them blocked at work, that is what cellphones are for.

Speaking of cellphones, does Envolve work with the vBulletin Apps or TapaTalk?

[andrew.lee]

Thanks so much BirdOfPrey for all the info. Bonjax, you might also want to try adding this to the footer of your page:

<script type="text/javascript">
envoOptions={defaultToOff: true};
</script>

This will turn it off by default as well, but allow your users an easy way to turn it back on (it'll put a little button in the corner.

Unfortunately I'm not familiar with TapaTalk, but please do give it a shot and let us know how it goes!