Index of /Vanilla/extensions/PFC

	Name	Last modified	Size	Description
	Parent Directory		-
	AUTHORS.txt	2015-11-12 11:51	174
	COPYING.txt	2015-11-12 11:52	788
	SetList.ini	2015-11-12 11:52	2.6K
	default.php	2015-11-12 11:51	9.0K
	phpfreechat-1.2/	2015-11-12 11:52	-

PFC

PFC is a Vanilla extension that integrates phpFreeChat with a Vanilla forum. This is surprisingly easy thanks to the simple design of phpFreeChat. There are no database modifications necessary, you really can just unzip and go.

Table of Contents

• What PFC Does
• Installing and Enabling PFC
• Configuration Settings
• Using the Chat Room
• Uninstalling PFC
• Development

What PFC Does

PFC integrates your Vanilla forum with a phpFreeChat chat room running on your own server. The phpFreeChat library is a decent AJAX-based chat room that plays quite nicely with Vanilla, even down to the look of the default theme. phpFreeChat uses flat files for storage which makes it drop-dead easy to set up, though it might not scale well for very busy forums. And, like any PHP chat script, it could greatly increase the load on your server. Your mileage may vary.

This version of PFC should be pretty capable but it has not been tested much. Not only that, it relies on phpFreeChat version 1.2 which may have its own bugs. It works for me but it might not work for you. If not, I probably can't help. Good luck.

Installing and Enabling PFC

In order for Vanilla to recognize an extension, it must be contained within its own directory within the extensions directory. So, once you have downloaded and unzipped the PFC files, you can then place the folder containing the default.php file into your installation of Vanilla. The path to PFC's default.php file should look like this:

/path/to/vanilla/extensions/PFC/default.php

You may also need to make the following directories world-writable (using chmod 777 or chmod o+rw or similar):

/path/to/vanilla/extensions/PFC/phpfreechat-1.0-final/data/private/


Once this is complete, you can enable PFC through the "Manage Extensions" form on the settings tab in Vanilla.

Configuration Settings

If you haven't installed the Set List extension, I highly recommend you do so now. It's not required, but if you install Set List you can then go to the Vanilla settings page and see a nice, easy form for PFC settings in the panel under "Extension Options".

There are two parts to the PFC configuration. First, you will notice two new permissions in your permissions list: "Use chat room" and "Chat room administrator". Roles without "Use chat room" can not use the chat room, obviously. Any role with the "Chat room administrator" permission can become an admin in the chat room by using the phpFreeChat command /identify with no additional password necessary.

If you don't use Set List, you can change the following PFC settings by editing Vanilla's conf/settings.php file:

$Configuration['PfcHidePanelLink']

Boolean (0 or 1)

If this value is true, the link to chat in the panel will not be displayed.

$Configuration['PfcPageTitle']

String

This will be used for the text of the chat link in your Panel. It will be added to the name of your forum in the chat page title.

$Configuration['PfcHeight']

Integer

The height of the phpFreeChat client. 230px should fit comfortably in a maximized Firefox browser on a 1024x768 screen.

$Configuration['PfcLanguage']

String

The language of buttons and control text in your chat client. This will be the same for all chat users.

$Configuration['PfcTheme']

String

Customizes the look of your chat room. This will be the same for all chat users.

$Configuration['PfcChannels']

String

The channels a user will see when first entering chat. This should be a comma-separated list.

$Configuration['PfcNotice']

String

A notice that appears at the top of the chat page. If this string is empty, no notice will appear.

Using the Chat Room

After you enable PFC and give yourself the "Use chat room" permission, you should see a "Chat Room" link appear in your panel. Click on the link and you are chatting.

Uninstalling PFC

Had enough? Just disable the PFC extension in Vanilla and delete the PFC directory from the extensions directory. That's all.

Development

PFC was written by squirrel. Updates are available at the Vanilla add-ons site. Part of the Vanilla Friends project.

phpFreeChat was written by Stephane Gully <stephane.gully@gmail.com>