Chat Modifications - Dream's Chatbox

This adds a simple Chatbox in your forum home page for your members to chat.

The Chatbox is like a thread, members leave small messages in it for others to see. Think of it as an off-topic thread that never ends. The Chatbox can also help keep chatting out of the threads.

This mod is light on the server, uses little server resources to work. The default refresh rate is set to 5 minutes. You can disable automatic refreshing entirely in the options.

What's the refresh rate? The chatbox updates the messages shown every given seconds, that's the refresh rate. It sends a request to the server asking for new messages every X seconds, that you choose in the options.

Warning: If you set your refresh rate to 10 seconds this mod stops being so server friendly. You can do it, but be sure your server can handle it.


Features:
- Ajax (no page refreshes)
- Pages
- Set refresh rate in seconds
- Hide Chatbox contents from certain user groups
- Set user groups that can't send messages but can view chatbox
- Moderator user groups that can delete messages
- Disable auto refresh for guests
- Prune messages by user ID, user name, days old or all
- Enable/disable smilies, bbcode and [ img ]
- Automatic URL parsing
- Users can delete their own messages
- Smilies popup with all smilies you can use in messages
- Who's Online Support
- Show message dates or not
- User names linked and colored with their user group colors
- Banned Users
- Hide refresh button
- /me code
- Optional message colors
- Bunch of options in the Admin Control Panel

Live Demos: (leave your live demo in this thread!)
http://www.fliz.ru/ (russian)
http://www.sustainabilityforum.com/forum
http://www.virtualorbit.com/
http://www.bowlandcentral.com/forum


VERSION HISTORY



This mod is now final. It has all the features I think a chatbox should have, so I won't be adding more features to it. Anyone has my permission to use this as a base for another mod. It will still be updated for bugs though.

[eurofunny]

Now is it ok

[Dream]

Yes it is ok. You don't need the global line though.

[DementedMindz]

would be nice to see the smilies in a button rather then a image think it looks a little nicer but all in all great mod. also why when you shut off refresh from admincp since im using ajax version dont it remove the button since it wouldnt be needed with ajax?

[Dream]

If you disable refresh the user should have some way of refreshing it manually. (not sure I got your question)

[arco]

I guess he means that since it uses Ajax the refresh shouldn't be needed. That's how the shoutbox I used in Joomla worked. It did an automatic refresh by itself whenever a user sent a message. There was no need to press or wait for the refresh, since the message appeared instantly when the user pressed send.

[DementedMindz]

exactly what I mean there really should be no need for a refresh button at all with the ajax version.

[Dream]

Arco, there is no way to refresh a page exactly when the user posts a new message, I think your last shoutbox had a low refresh interval instead.

I can add a hide refresh button option in the next version.

[DementedMindz]

another feature would be to put the smilies on a button where the refresh would be instead of the smilie image.

[Dream]

A button written "smilies"? Same as the refresh button?

[DementedMindz]

well the refresh button removed on the ajax version... but yes a smilies button that will open the smilies instead having the image