Room and User Creation Guide

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Overview


  1. Using the Test Room As a Guide
  2. Creating A New ParaChat Group
  3. Creating A New ParaChat Room
  4. Admin User Creation
  5. Adding A Room To Your Web Page


Using the Test Room As a Guide

  • Use the sample HTML applet code that is found on the testroom.html page (..\ParaChat\ParaChat550\httpd\testroom.html) that comes with your server software as a foundation for creating new rooms
  • Here is the what the HTML applet code looks like for the #TestRoom that comes with your server software:
    <applet codebase=pchat/classes archive=pchat.zip code=ParaChat.class HEIGHT=400 WIDTH=600>
    <param name="ServerPort" value="7777">
    <param name="HTTPPort" value="7877">
    <param name="roam.Group" value="community">
    <param name="Channel" value="#TestRoom">
    <param name="roam.TopRooms" value="#TestRoom">
    <param name="ui.BgColor" value="CCCC99">
    <param name="net.Heartbeat" value="true">
    <param name="net.Protocol" value="true">
    If you see this message you do not have a Java
    enabled browser. Visit <a href="http://www.parachat.com/faq/java.html">
    ParaChat Support</a> for more information on how to upgrade your browser!
    </applet>

     
  • The sample HTML applet code uses the relative path to the server's class files (see codebase=pchat/classes).  If you are placing HTML applet code for new rooms on web pages that reside on a different host from where your ParaChat Server is running, than you will need to use the absolute path to the class files instead of the relative path.

    Example:  If your chat server host is called mydomain.com, but you are placing HTML applet code on a page served by chatmadness.com, the absolute path to the ParaChat Server class files on mydomain.com would be included as indicated in red below:

    <applet codebase="http://www.mydomain.com:7877/pchat/classes" archive=pchat.zip code=ParaChat.class HEIGHT=400 WIDTH=600>
    <param name="ServerPort" value="7777">
    <param name="HTTPPort" value="7877">
    <param name="roam.Group" value="group">
    <param name="Channel" value="#TestRoom">
    <param name="roam.TopRooms" value="#TestRoom">
    <param name="ui.BgColor" value="CCCC99">
    <param name="net.Heartbeat" value="true">
    <param name="net.Protocol" value="true">
    If you see this message you do not have a Java
    enabled browser. Visit <a href="http://www.parachat.com/faq/java.html">
    ParaChat Support</a> for more information on how to upgrade your browser!
    </applet>

     
  • The sample above assumes that you are not using an external web server, and includes the default port number (7877) of the web server that comes with ParaChat Server.  If you include this port number in the absolute path to the class files, there is no need to include the parameter <param name="HTTPPort" value="7877">.
 HINT:  The net.Heartbeat parameter is not a required parameter, and can be completely removed.  When included, the HEARTBEAT parameter sends a pulse to the chat server every 5 minutes to keep even idle connections alive.  This parameter is ideal for moderated events when users tend to view the chat without submitting text themselves.  The default time-out for user connections to ParaChatServer is 10 minutes.  If you elect to remove the HEARTBEAT parameter, user connections that are idle for 10 minutes will be automatically severed.


Creating A New Group


Log in to your ParaChat Server's Administration pages:

    http://<your-host-name>:7877/plynx/parachat/index.lhtml
    Start >>> Programs >>> ParaChat v5.5 >>> Admin Pages

Step 1. Enter the Server Admin name and password you selected during installation, and click the 'Sign In' button.

Step 2. You will arrive at the ParaChat Server Administration Main Menu (see image below).

Step 3. To start creating your chat community you will need to create your chat Group. Click on the group icon in the top navigation bar. You will be brought to the group admin page.

Enter the name of your new group into the 'Create New Group' text field and press the create button.

Step 4. After you are successful in creating a new group you will be brought to a page similar to this one.

In order to customize the setting in your new group, click on the edit <groupname> link.

The Group Settings pages is broken up into subgroups . A description of each can be found below:

General Group Settings

Group Name:
The name of the Group that you have licensed.

Max Number of Users in Group:
The number of concurrent users you have licensed.

Topic:
Enter a standard default topic for all rooms with your Group. The topic you enter here will appear each time a user logs into admin created or dynamic (user created) chat rooms. You will have an opportunity to change this later and you can set each individual room with their own topic. You can also make changes to the topic from the ParaChat room itself using the GUI admin console or text based admin commands. This field is not required.

Rooms in Group:
This is a list of Rooms belonging to this Group and can only be modified by adding and deleting rooms.

Admin user(s):
Enter the user name(s) of the Room Admin user(s). You may enter multiple names here separated only by a comma. There is no need to place a comma and a space between Admin user names, just a comma. If you leave this field blank, only the Server Admin User will have admin powers in this Group.

    HINT: Room Admin user names should be password protected. If you list a user name(s) in this field, it is suggested that you have a User Profile for each user created. If a user profile is not create for a user name, any person who logs into the chat room using that admin name will have admin privileges in the room. Contact ParaChat Support to add aditional admin usre to your account.

Security Settings

Banned IPs:
You may manually add user IP addresses in this location that you wish to ban from all your chat rooms in this Group. IP addresses should be separated by a comma only, and not a comma and a space. If you wish to remove an IP address that is on the list, simply highlight the IP address and delete it, remembering not to leave 2 commas separating any remaining IP addresses. You do not need to add data to this field during room creation.

     HINT: When an IP address appears on this list (i.e. 111.222.333.444), any user who attempts to access your ParaChat room from the IP address will be prevented from doing so. If a Class C IP address is banned (i.e. 111.222.333), any user whose IP address contains the Class C range will be prevented from entering. In extreme cases, you may also ban users from entire ISPs by adding the Class B range (i.e. 111.222) of an IP address, or even the Class A range (i.e. 111) of an IP address to your list of IP addresses. Be aware that when you add the Class B and Class A ranges, you are preventing a greater number of potential users from accessing your ParaChat room.

Allowed URLs:
ParaChat's unique URL enforcement system allows you to limit the way applet code for a particular room can be distributed onto other web pages on the Internet. By indicating the EXACT URL(s) where you wish your room HTML applet code to run, you may limit people from taking the code from your HTML page and running your chat room on their own web page without your permission. List all URLs where you wish to run your applet code in this field. There is no need to place a comma and a space between allowed URLs, just a comma.

     HINT:  It is important to note that users sometimes access domains without the www suffix before your domain name. Therefore, if your chat page is http://www.domain-name.com/chat.html, you may also wish to include http://domain-name.com/chat.html - without the www suffix -  as an allowed URL.  It is best to use the complete URL structure here, so be certain to include the http:// as well.  It is also important to note that if you designate an allowed URL as http://www.domain-name.com, for example, the server will permit the ParaChat room to run on any web page within that domain, and not just on a specific page within that domain.

Enforce URLs:
ParaChat Server will enforce the URLs you provide for each room by either:

  • allow - allows all user connections regardless of URL
  • warn - warns users that a ParaChat room is running on a web page that is not allowed
  • deny - warns users that a ParaChat room is running on a web page that is not allowed and does not allow a connection to the chat room

    Users will be able to connect and enter a room with the URL enforcement set to both allow and warn. However, a user will not be able to enter a room if the URL enforcement is set to deny and the room is not placed on the correct URL.

    Here is a list of error messages that a user will see if the URL of the room does not match the Allowed URL settings:

    • allow
      no error message will be displayed
    • warn
      "**URGENT SECURITY WARNING**
      The web page for this chat room does not match the registered URL. Please contact the web site owner to verify that this room has been properly registered.

      After the user receives this message they will stay in the room and will be able to chat.

    • deny
      "**URGENT SECURITY WARNING**
      The web page for this chat room does not match the registered URL. Please contact the web site owner to verify that this room has been properly registered.

      After the user receives this message they will be kicked out of the room.

    Room and Group admins will always be able to enter a room no matter what the URL enforcement is set to or what page the chat room resides on.

Profanity Filter:

  • On: text in rooms within this Group will be filtered for profanity using the words in the profanity filter list
  • Off: text in rooms within this Group will not be filtered for profanity

     HINT: ParaChat Server's profanity filter is pre-populated with a select listing of words.

Private Messaging

Allow Private Messaging :

  • On: this is the default setting and users are allowed to send private messages.
  • Off: this will prohibit users from sending private messages to one another.
Allow Remote Private Messaging :
  • On: this is the default setting and users are allowed to send private messages from room to room.
  • Off: this will prohibit users from sending private messages to one another from room to room.

In-room Text Message

Activate Text Ad Message :

  • On: turns on the text ad message
  • Off: turns off the text ad message
Text Message :
  • This message will be displayed in the chat room at a set interval set under "Refreshing Text Message in Minutes". You can include a URL if you wish. HTML commands cannot be used.
Refreshing Text Message in Minutes :
  • Set the refresh time from the pulldown menu.
 HINT: This message is only sent when the room is active. If the room remains inactive no text is sent to the room.

Open/Close Group

Open or Close Entire Group:

  • Open: this option allows all rooms to remain open
  • Close: if you close your Group, all rooms will also be closed and users will not be able to enter any room within the Group.

Closed Group Message :

  • The message displayed to a user trying to access a closed Group.

Require Valid User Name and Password

Allow Registered Users Only :

  • On: this option will only allowed registered admin users into a Group.
  • Off: this option allows all users into your Group.

Edit / Add / Delete Rooms

Edit a Room of this Group:

  • Edit a particular room

Add a Room for this Group:

  • Add a particular room to this Group

Delete a Room from this Group:

  • Delete a particular room from your Group list

Here is an example of what your completed Group settings might look like:


Creating A New Room


Log in to your ParaChat Server's Administration pages:

    http://<your-host-name>:7877/plynx/parachat/index.lhtml
Step 1. Enter the Server Admin name and password you selected during the registration process, and click the 'Sign In' button.

Step 2. You will arrive at the ParaChat Administration Main Menu (see image below).

Step 3. Click on the Groups icon in the top navigation bar and enter your registered Group name.

Step 4.  Welcome to your Group settings page. This page will allow you to access all of your rooms from the pulldown menu toward the bottom of the page. To edit any of your rooms, select the room from the pulldown menu and click on the 'Edit' button..

Step 5. To create a new room, enter the room name in the 'Add a Room to Group' field and select 'Add'.

     HINT:  ParaChat room names must begin with the "#" symbol to be recognized by the server. By default, the "#" symbol is auto-filled in the Add a Room to Group field.

Step 6. You will see that your room has been created. To complete this creation process, you must now customize your new room settings. To customize your new room, click on the new roomname link. In the example below you would click on 'Edit #Test_Room.'

Step 7. You will arrive at the Room Parameters page for the ParaChat room you are creating (see image below).

There are 9 input fields on the Room Parameters page.  A description of each follows:

General Room Settings

Room Name:
The name of the Room belonging to the Group you have licensed.

Group Name:
The name of the Group that you have licensed.

Internal Title:
This is for internal use only and is not displayed in the room.

Topic:
Enter a standard default topic for this room. The topic you enter here will appear each time a user logs into created chat rooms or dynamic (user created) chat rooms, and will override any group setting. You will have an opportunity to change this later and you can set each individual room with their own topic. You can also make changes to the topic from the ParaChat room itself using the GUI Admin Console or admin commands. This field is not required.

Admin user(s):
Enter the user name(s) of the Room Admin user(s). You may enter multiple names here separated only by a comma. There is no need to place a comma and a space between Admin user names, just a comma. If you leave this field blank, only the Server Admin User will have admin powers in this room.

    HINT: Room Admin user names should be password protected. If you list a user name(s) in this field, it is suggested that you have a User Profile for each user created. If a user profile is not create for a user name, any person who logs into the chat room using that admin name will have admin privileges in the room. Contact ParaChat Support to add aditional admin usre to your account.

Security Settings

Banned IPs:
You may manually add user IP addresses in this location that you wish to ban in your chat room. IP addresses should be separated by a comma only, and not a comma and a space. If you wish to remove an IP address that is on the list, simply highlight the IP address and delete it, remembering not to leave 2 commas separating any remaining IP addresses. You do not need to add data to this field during room creation.

     HINT: When an IP address appears on this list (i.e. 111.222.333.444), any user who attempts to access your ParaChat room from the IP address will be prevented from doing so. If a Class C IP address is banned (i.e. 111.222.333), any user whose IP address contains the Class C range will be prevented from entering. In extreme cases, you may also ban users from entire ISPs by adding the Class B range (i.e. 111.222) of an IP address, or even the Class A range (i.e. 111) of an IP address to your list of IP addresses. Be aware that you when you add the Class B and Class A ranges, you are preventing a greater number of potential users from accessing your ParaChat room.

Allowed URLs:
ParaChat's unique URL enforcement system allows you to limit the way applet code for a particular room can be distributed onto other web pages on the Internet. By indicating the EXACT URL(s) where you wish your room HTML applet code to run, you may limit people from taking the code from your HTML page and running your chat room on their own web page without your permission. List all URLs where you wish to run your applet code in this field. There is no need to place a comma and a space between allowed URLs, just a comma.

     HINT:  It is important to note that users sometimes access domains without the www suffix before your domain name. Therefore, if your chat page is http://www.domain-name.com/chat.html, you may also wish to include http://domain-name.com/chat.html - without the www suffix -  as an allowed URL.  It is best to use the complete URL structure here, so be certain to include the http:// as well.  It is also important to note that if you designate an allowed URL as http://www.domain-name.com, for example, the server will permit the ParaChat room to run on any web page within that domain, and not just on a specific page within that domain.

Home URL:
Internal reference to the website that this room belongs to.

Enforce URLs:
ParaChat Server will enforce the URLs you provide for each room by either:

  • allow - allows all user connections regardless of URL
  • warn - warns users that a ParaChat room is running on a web page that is not allowed
  • deny - warns users that a ParaChat room is running on a web page that is not allowed and does not allow a connection to the chat room

    Users will be able to connect and enter a room with the URL enforcement set to both allow and warn. However, a user will not be able to enter a room if the URL enforcement is set to deny and the room is not placed on the correct URL.

    Here is a list of error messages that a user will see if the URL of the room does not match the Allowed URL settings:

    • allow
      no error message will be displayed
    • warn
      "**URGENT SECURITY WARNING**
      The web page for this chat room does not match the registered URL. Please contact the web site owner to verify that this room has been properly registered.

      After the user receives this message they will stay in the room and will be able to chat.

    • deny
      "**URGENT SECURITY WARNING**
      The web page for this chat room does not match the registered URL. Please contact the web site owner to verify that this room has been properly registered.

      After the user receives this message they will be kicked out of the room.

    Room and Group admins will always be able to enter a room no matter what the URL enforment and what page the chat room resides on.

Profanity Filter:

  • On: text in room will be filtered for profanity using the words in the profanity filter
  • Off: text in room will not be filtered for profanity

     HINT: ParaChat Server's profanity filter is pre-populated with a select listing of words.

Private Messaging

Allow Private Messaging :

  • On: this is the default setting and users are allowed to send private messages.
  • Off: this will prohibit users from sending private messages to one another.
Allow Remote Private Messaging :
  • On: this is the default setting and users are allowed to send private messages from room to room.
  • Off: this will prohibit users from sending private messages to one another from room to room.

Moderation Settings

Moderators:

  • A list of moderators set for a moderated event
Speakers:
  • A list of speakers set for a moderated event

Moderation State:

  • Whether moderation is currently turned on or off for the room.

Show User Names During Event:

  • On: show all users in the user list during an event.
  • Off: hide users during an event and only display moderators, speakers and admin users.

New Questions Before Notification:

  • A set number of questions before a notification is sent to the moderation console

Transcript Settings

Timestamp All Messages:

  • On: enable timestamp for all messages in the transcripts.
  • Off: no timestamp will be recorded in the transcripts.
Log Private Chat:
  • On: log all private (IM) chat messages.
  • Off: do not log private (IM) messages.

Rotate Transcripts:

  • On: rotates transcripts when they have reached 4mb in size.
  • Off: does not rotate transcripts and will stop after it reaches 4mb in size.

In-room Text Message

Activate Text Ad Message :

  • On: turns on the text ad message
  • Off: turns off the text ad message
Text Message :
  • This message will be displayed in the chat room at a set interval set under "Refreshing Text Message in Minutes". You can include a URL if you wish. HTML commands cannot be used.
Refreshing Text Message in Minutes :
  • Set the refresh time from the pulldown menu.
 HINT: This message is only sent when the room is active. If the room remains inactive no text is sent to the room.

Open/Close Room

Open or Close Room:

  • Open: this option allows the room to remain open
  • Close: this option will close your room.

Closed Room Message :

  • The message displayed to a user trying to access a closed room.

Password Protect Room

Use Room Password:

  • On: a password will be required to enter the room.
  • Off: no password is required to enter the room.

Room Password:

  • Password to be used to enter room.
Password Failed Message:
  • Message recieved if a user tries to log into the room and does not have a valid password.

Require Valid User Name and Password

Allow Registered Users Only :

  • On: this option will only allowed registered admin users into a room.
  • Off: this option allows all users into your room.


Admin User Creation

Log in to your ParaChat Server's Administration pages:


Step 1. Log into your ParaChat Administration Page. The link to the ParaChat Administration Page is found within your original order confirmation email. Enter the registered Room Admin name and password that you provided during the placement of your order, and click the 'Sign In' button.

Step 2. You will arrive at the ParaChat Server Administration Main Menu (see image below).

Step 3. To modify your user profile, click on the Users icon in the top navigation bar and click on "Edit My Profile".

You can edit the following data for your room admin account:

    Email:
    First Name:
    Last Name:
    Password:
    Verify Password:
    On Connect Commands
    Max Idle Time

On Connect Command Options:

ParaChat includes the option to set specific chat room and chat window configuration options for each room administrator. When set in their user profile, these "on connect" commands will execute when the room administrator logs into the ParaChat room using their admin user name and password. The commands will execute only for the room administrator, and are not set for the entire room.

The list of "on connect" commands should begin with a percent sign (%), with each command separated by a semi-colon (no spaces!). For example, if you wanted the following actions to take place when a room administrator logs into the chat room -- launch GUI Admin Console, play audio notification tone when a new user enters the room, and increase the font size to 14 point -- you would enter the following list of "on connect" commands in this field using the following format:

    %admin;beep enter on;chat fontsize 14

%help
Prints available commands
%admin
Opens gui admin console. This requires room admin privileges
%beep play ‹soundfile.au›
Play audio sound in room when using gui admin console ( Sounds List )
%beep enter on
Play audio when a user joins room
%beep enter off
Do not play audio when a user joins room
%beep leave on
Play audio when a user leaves room
%beep leave off
Do not play audio when a user leaves room
%blockprivate
Block all private chat messages
%chat bgcolor ‹color›
Changes the back ground color of the main chat text area
%chat colors
Gives you a full list of available colors
%chat fgcolor ‹color›
Changes the foreground color of the main chat text area
%chat fontsize ‹integer›
Changes the fontsize in the main chat text area
%chat fontstyle [plain | bold | italic | bolditalic]
Changes the font style in the main chat text area
%chat float ‹on|off›
Floats the chat window
%chat nl ‹on | off›
Adds a blank line in between chat messages
%ding audio ‹soundfile.au›
Turn on text tone, and specify an audio file to play ( Sounds List )
%ding beep
turn on text tone: beep
%ding off
Turn off text tone
%ding on
Turn on text tone
%heartbeat
Keep the connection to server alive
%heartbeat off
Turns the hearbeat off
%ignore
Ignores a user
%moderate
Opens the moderation console
%mycolor ‹color selection›
Change this user's color. ( Colors List )
%mystyle [plain | bold | italic | bolditalic]
Sets the default font style
%nojoin
turn off join/leave messages
%page
Sends a message to room admin that a user needs assistance
%sound ‹audiofile.au›
A command by admin to send a sound to the entire room
%timestamp
Timestamp every chat message
%update profile off
turn off profile on single click on a user name
%update profile on
turn on profile on single click on a user name
%update timestamp off
do not timestamp every chat message
%update timestamp on
same as "%timestamp", timestamp every chat message


How To Create New Room Applet Code


We highly recommend using our Customization Tool to generate your new room code. However, the following is an example on how to create new room applet code from your current ParaChat Room code.

    Current "room1" code:

      <!-- Begin ParaChat v5.5 Applet Code -->
      <applet codebase="http://www.mydomain.com:7877/pchat/classes" archive=pchat.zip code=ParaChat.class HEIGHT=400 WIDTH=600>
      <param name="ServerPort" value="7777">
      <param name="HTTPPort" value="7877">
      <param name="roam.Group" value="group">
      <param name="Channel" value="#Test_Room">
      <param name="roam.TopRooms" value="#Test_Room">
      Sorry, but your browser is not Java enabled, and you will not be able to chat
      </applet>
      <!-- End ParaChat v5.5 Applet Code -->

If you created a new room called room2 you would need to change the following value:
    <param name="Channel" value="#room2">
You would also need to add this room to the Top Rooms list in both your old and new room code. Thisnippetit of code 'param name="roam.TopRooms"' forces your admin created rooms to the top of the rooms list.


This is what your new code for both rooms should look like at the end of the process. The values that have been modified are highlighted in red.

Original - room1

    <!-- Begin ParaChat v5.5 Applet Code -->
    <applet codebase="http://www.mydoamin.com:7877/pchat/classes" archive=pchat.zip code=ParaChat.class HEIGHT=400 WIDTH=600>
    <param name="ServerPort" value="7777">
    <param name="HTTPPort" value="7877">
    <param name="roam.Group" value="group">
    <param name="Channel" value="#Test_Room">
    <param name="roam.TopRooms" value="#Test_Room,#room2">
    Sorry, but your browser is not Java enabled, and you will not be able to chat
    </applet>
    <!-- End ParaChat v5.5 Applet Code -->

Newly Created - room2

    <!-- Begin ParaChat v5.5 Applet Code -->
    <applet codebase="http://www.mydomain.com:7877/pchat/classes" archive=pchat.zip code=ParaChat.class HEIGHT=400 WIDTH=600>
    <param name="ServerPort" value="7777">
    <param name="HTTPPort" value="7877">
    <param name="roam.Group" value="group">
    <param name="Channel" value="#room2">
    <param name="roam.TopRooms" value="#Test_Room,#room2">
    Sorry, but your browser is not Java enabled, and you will not be able to chat
    </applet>
    <!-- End ParaChat v5.5 Applet Code -->

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