UBB.Developers Forums UBB.threads 6 V6 Modifications Beta-[6.2-6.3] Popup Free Integrated Chat Room 1.0

Mod Name / Version: Popup Free Integrated Chat Room 1.0

Description: This integrates a java based chatroom (like JPilot or RaiderSoft)
with your UBB.Threads, and updates the who's online information WITHOUT the use of a pop up window (as my other mod used). This uses a page with iFrames - in which the header refreshes every 9 minutes (before the user drops off who's online).

Features:
- Uses a Template for the Chatroom
- Allows the option for a link if their browser does not support iFrames
- Allows you to limit chat to Registered Users only if you wish
- Allows you to temporarily "close" the chatroom
- Automatically fills in their Forum Username as their Chat Nickname.

Working Under: UBB.Threads 6.2-6.3

Mod Status: Beta

Any pre-requisites: JPilot, RaiderSoft Chat or similar

Author(s): JoshPet

Date: 06/08/03

Credits: Dalantech for Template

Files Altered: ubbt.inc.php, /templates/default/ubbt_registerednav.tmpl, ubbt_unregisterednav.tmpl, /languages/english/online.php

New Files: chat.php, chatheader.php, chatroom.php, /templates/default/chat.tmpl

Database Altered: none

Info/Instructions: Typical Chat Integrations allow you to drop off of the who's online screen after 10 minutes, as you are no longer refreshing a page. This uses iFrames and refreshes the header every 9 minutes, keeping the who's online status accurate of who is in the chat room.
A free (or paid) Raidersoft Chatroom can be obtained at www.RaiderSoft.com.
JPilot may be purchased from www.jpilot.com.

This is tested under UBB.Threads 6.3, but I believe it will work for 6.2 as well.

Demo: https://www.ubbdev.com/beta/chat.php


[:"red"]UPDATE[/]: If you are going to use the RaiderSoft Chat Service - see this new modification for some expanded/improved RaiderSoft specific Features.

Disclaimer: Please backup every file that you intend to modify.
If the modification modifies the database, it's a good idea to backup your database before doing so.

Note: If you modify your UBB.Threads code, you may be giving up your right for "official" support from Infopop.If you need official support, you'll need to restore unmodified files.

!

I'll be using this one with 6.3

Nice one Josh. I already know where this will become handy

Nice mod but a couple issues with this. I have my original current chat room still in place but trying this one out and it is killing me.

I have adjusted the header size chat size etc. My header will still not display. The chat room even though you have the tablewrappers called for are not there. Might just be an issue on sites like Dal's and mine where we use the tablewrappers mod.

http://www.reeftalk.com/ubbthreads/chat.php

Your mod above

and my regular chat

http://www.reeftalk.com/ubbthreads/chat/chat.php

As you can see you know which one I am going to use to I get this ironed out

Hmmm... let me ponder it a bit -
That's really odd. The only difference is that we aren't sending the header.

It's odd - because $tbopen clearly opens some kind of table - I wonder where it gets that from?

Let me look at what might not be getting set if I'm not sending the header and see if I can figure this out.

Those table wrappers get me every time. I need to setup a test site for tablewrappers so that I can test stuff. Although you are a good tester too.

Yeah I am looking into it also. Just got done eating dinner so off too see what I can find out. I solved the spacing problem. Weird but finally got that to work. The tablewrappers though do not load without the header function it looks like.

I dunno - anyone else with table wrappers having trouble? viewing the source of your page - there's wrappers there. If the wrappers weren't getting called - it'd be missing the <table> tags. So it's odd.

The table_wrapper function is freestanding and not part of the send_header function.

Josh, I was checking out the chat here last night and when I logged off I pressed Main Index. I was stuck - it looked like the top frame was freshing, but not the body. I think you need a "_top" tag in your ubbt_(un)registered templates to compensate for possible frame use on your pages.

haha ya they know about it .
I was checking I out also .

Hey Josh.. got this working great on my site. Although.. I was wondering what hack, or how you have it here on threadsdev display a box under the menu telling you how many people are in the chat? I don't have that on mine

Jeremy - I need to write that up. But I will soon.

Michael - I thought I did add top tags to everything. But some people claim it didn't work. Maybe I missed one somewhere.

The add on to show the number of people in chat is now posted Here.

This chat is great! Just what threads need! Great work!!!! I would love to see some chat goodies for the users. Like when typing a full url to an image in the chat, the text should at least be formated into a html link, but really super would be if the image was hotlinked into the chat, maybe even cropped to fit the users window size. This and a "view images on/off" button would just rock! Urls that dont lead to an image should just be formated into normal links. Another nice thing is if users could reach each others presentation pages from within the chat.... like open a pop up window when highlighting a name in the user list?! Edit Oh! Just realized that this is "just" an integration mod and not a full chat system. Darn!

LOL
Yeah, but you get alot more features with the Paid Raidersoft. The demo is the free version.

I want people to be able to chat only with their registered names. Unfortunately there is a command to change the nick name. Can that be disabled? no way to circumvent and log in directly?

This is very very important, otherwise all people will be impostors of others. Very bad to tell your private secrets to the wrong person!!!!!

What software are you using for the chat?

I am talking about the chat I experimented here on ubbdev.com

https://www.ubbdev.com/forum/chat.php?Cat=

Problem is you are at the mercy of an external piece of software. That is running raidersoft, so you would need to establish with them, if there was a way to restrict name changes. http://www.raidersoft.com is their URL.

With the paid version - there is a control panel option at the raidersoft chat to disable the "nick" command so they can't change names. Also with the paid version there are loads more parameters you can pass in the applet. (like you can disable the float or the logout button etc....)

Hey Josh.. my new header I use for my site has links to other areas of the site. But when you click on one of the links, the new page only loads in the top iframe, not the whole page.

Those need to have

target="_top"

as well.

[pirate] Arrrrrrrgh! [/pirate]

Thanks, again, I skipped over the details that have already been covered in this thread. Screw this giving up coffee stuff, I need to get back to drinking it.

LOL

This causes an error with users that have spaces in their usernames.

To fix....

In chatroom.php need to find

$Username = $user['U_Username'];

and add below...

$ircnick = str_replace(' ','_',$Username);

And in chat.tmpl

Find

<param name="nickname" value="$Username" />

Replace with

<param name="nickname" value="$ircnick" />

I don't know about RaiderSoft, but I use JPilot and use this parameter in my template file:



This prevents users that are accessing the room via my website (the java applet) from using IRC commands.

Also, you can do a /whois on a user and see if they're using the java applet on your site or a program like mIRC. Also, you can see their IP and host name. If you have a list of members:IPs then you can use that just to be sure.

This is exactly what I have been looking for. My users have been complaining that with my current chat program, people impersonate each other.

I am thinking of using it with the RaiderSoft chat rooms. Does it matter which of their services you pick?

Their Platinum Service Features talks about 'various free 3rd party integration and/or authentication scripts for... UBB.threads.' Are they talking about this mod, or is something else so that you can get this functionality without modifying ubb.threads?

Thanks

Advanced users will still be able to impersonate. If they know how to find out your server and channel, all they have to do is use a program like mIRC and logon as they wish. But, depending on the mission statement of your site, this will keep most people honest.

Their platnum service thing has an integration script.... I downloaded it. It doesn't work with the current version - but you wont' need it with this.

In my opinion you don't need higher than the profesional service plan.

Raidersoft is not IRC - so they can't impersonate easily. Jpilot is IRC so they can use an IRC client there and use whatever name they want.

With raidersoft if you disable the ability for them to change names (obviously) and disable the float button - you can lock it down. (For some reason if you float - you can logout and login as a different name - because it's not a threads page.)

<i>Those need to have

target="_top"

as well.</i>

Where do I make that change?

I also don't have my 'Main Index | Search ...' menu either showing in the top header of the chat page. Is there an easy way to add that to my chat template?

Works great though. I am waiting for my upgrade to the premium services to take effect to play with it some more and before I go public with it.

I uses the headers in threads - so the menu should be there if the header is being sent correctly.

Do you have a link?

I don't have that menubar as part of my header. Aren't they called from ubbt_unregisterednav.tmpl and ubbt_registerednav.tmpl?

I made all of the changes per your instructions, but it doesn't show up.

Here is my chat room:

http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/ubbthreads/chat.php

The menubar that does show here is part of my header, but it doesn't show the full menubar with ubbthreads functions, like 'Admin | Main Index | Search | My Home | Who's Online | FAQ | Logout | Mark all read'

Here is my forum:

http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php

It's there - but the graphic in your header is too big - so it's being chopped off. The page uses iFrames so it's actually behind the lower frame.

Open the chat.php file and adjust the "topsize" to allow room for your large header.

I think the default is "150". Try 200 and play with it from there.

[]JoshPet said:
It's there - but the graphic in your header is too big - so it's being chopped off. The page uses iFrames so it's actually behind the lower frame.

Open the chat.php file and adjust the "topsize" to allow room for your large header.

I think the default is "150". Try 200 and play with it from there. [/]

OK. That worked.

Last thing (I hope). If a user isn't logged in, the ubbthreads menubar opens in the top iframe only and not in a full page. I added all of the mods in the instructions. Is there another target="_top" that needs to be added? It wasn't clear to me from reading everything above.

Yeah, add target="_top" to every link in the ubbt_unregisterednav.tmpl so that when the links are clicked - they will come out of the iframe. Otherwise they open in that top part and you don't see the page below the menu.

[]JoshPet said:
Yeah, add target="_top" to every link in the ubbt_unregisterednav.tmpl so that when the links are clicked - they will come out of the iframe. Otherwise they open in that top part and you don't see the page below the menu. [/]

That worked. Thanks.

How soon should the 'Who's Online' update once someone leaves chat?

I have noticed that 'Who's Online' even after I refresh the page manually will show people in chat, but when I enter the chat room they are gone. And if I check my chat transcript, it shows that they had logged out 5-8 minutes earlier.

raiderSoft does let you link directly to your chat room, so even if you try to 'lock' down your forum, someone could use that link, if they can figure it out, to get into your chat room and bypass the whole ubb.threads login procedure...

You need the room number to do that, which you can get by looking at the source code for that iframe (chat.tmpl). I was thinking that it might be a good idea to hide that code, so someone can't easily get your room number, by having it print out by php or something. Is that possible?

But you can also get the room number by just clicking the help button, so I might have to disable that too, in addition to the logout and float buttons.

Who's online will keep user's names for 10 minutes. The top header refreshes every 9 mintues, so that they don't "fall off" the list when they stop clicking links on your site (when they are in chat - they remain on the same page).

The threads who's online system works just by what script they are viewing. So if they are on the chat.php page - it'll show them in chat. If they "logout" of the room, yet stay on that chat page - then who's online will show them in chat. Likewise (just like on any threads page) if they simply close their browser window (or go to a different site) threads who's online will show them where they were last, until the 10 minutes has passed, then they will be purged.

<i>Who's online will keep user's names for 10 minutes. The top header refreshes every 9 mintues, so that they don't "fall off" the list when they stop clicking links on your site (when they are in chat - they remain on the same page).</i>

Oh. okay. I thought if I refreshed the page, then it would update and not wait the 10 mintues.

I think I'm done asking questions. This is a nice mod and it is my first.

However, is there any way you can 'fix' their raidersoft authenicator script for threads? I noticed raidersoft doesn't list one any more. I think that if the chat room itself registered users and compared it to my forum users, then I wouldn't have to worry about impersonators anymore.

Oh I think you can limit people loading the chat directly - accounting to their help file there's a place to limit it to only load from your site.
[]
How can I make sure my chat room is only loaded from my web site?

From the My Account Page, you may specify a web page that is to be the only page allowed to hold your chat room. Anyone attempting to copy your chat room code into their own website will find that the chat room will not load.
[/]


I have the authentication script - My confusion was the way they tell you to test it does not account for the paasword being encrypted. However, I remember now. I wasn't able to test it. The client only had "professional" version - and you need the higher one to have the ability for that to work. So I couldn't get it sorted out live.

My Raidersoft chat account is only Professional as well... so I don't really have a means to test it. Do you have the "Platinum" service? If so I'll give it to you to test.

Still tablewrappers do not work with this mod. Just thought I would point that out again. I guess it has to do with the iframe.