VolanoChat™

Now you can add LIVE CHAT to your web site easier than you ever imagined. The VolanoChat system is a combination of server and client side Java programs. The client side Java applet (39k to 93k depending on browser) is downloaded by the browser and then executed on the user's local machine. The client applet then communicates with the software located on the server to create a live real-time chat environment.

Note that the downloading of the chat applet and any custom images you create for the applet are counted as data transfer. To implement the chat applet on your site follow these two simple steps:

Step 1:

Create an HTML file called chat.html in your root directory with the MyVolanoChat applet tag below in it and save it in the root directory of your site. Make sure you edit the applet tag to replace http://www.your-domain.com with your full domain name.

Parameter Definitions:

<param name="color" value="#FFFFFF">
This parameter changes the color of the space on your chat.html Web page, that appears behind the enter button. The color values are defined in the format #RRGGBB. The default is white, #FFFFFF.

<param name="group" value="Chat Room Name">
This parameter changes the name of your chat room. It is displayed at the top of your chat room.

<param name="text" value="english.txt">
This parameter changes the user interface language of the chat room applet. The language value can be any of the following: english.txt, french.txt, german.txt, italian.txt, portuguese.txt, or spanish.txt. For example, to change the language to spanish, replace english.txt with spanish.txt.

Step 2:

Add a link on your home page to point to chat.html. For example:

Note: You must reference your full domain name for your account, including the www., or the chat will not work. You also cannot reference the chat using a machine name or a domain pointer. Users are only allowed one chat room per account. Also, the chat.html page with the above applet code in it must be located in the root directory of your account and must be named chat.html.

You're done!

That's all it takes to add LIVE CHAT to your site!

Customizing VolanoChat

Note: VolanoChat is a third party product and, as such, we do not provide support for the product. Also, don't worry too much about making mistakes; you can always start over.

Step 1:

Customizing VolanoChat involves modifying and adding parameters to the applet tag on your chat.html Web page. You can modify the default parameters to change just about everything including the room color, the font color, the font type, and the banner ads. Modify the parameters you wish to change or add new parameters inside the MyVolanoChat applet tag. If you are not sure about what you are doing, it may be best not to change or add any new parameters to the applet tag. Other parameters are listed in the chat room customization chapter of the VolanoChat Administrator Guide.

Parameter Definitions:

<param name="color.background" value="#C0C0C0">
This parameter changes color of the chat room window, with color values defined in the format #RRGGBB. The default is gray, #C0C0C0.

<param name="color.foreground" value="#000000">
This parameter changes the color of the chat text and the chat room borders, with color values defined in the format #RRGGBB. The default is black, #000000.

<param name="font.default" value="TimesRoman-15">
This parameter changes the font type and font size. The font specification is in the format name-style-size. For the best cross platform support, the name should be limited to Helvetica, TimesRoman, Courier, or Dialog. The style is one of italic, bold, or bolditalic, and should be omitted for a plain style. The size is the font point size. For example, you could specify: Helvetica-bold-13 or Helvetica-italic-14. Be sure to use the correct cases as shown in this example.

<param name="banner.code" value="COM.volano.BannerPlayer.class">
This parameter points to the ad banner player applet that rotates banner ads in your chat room. To turn your banner ads off, add this parameter and leave it blank. For example: <param name="banner.code" value=>

<param name="banner.param.banner.1" value="60 welcome.gif http://www.volano.com/">
This parameter changes the first banner ad that shows up in your chat room. Ads can be GIFs, standard GIFs or JPEG images. The numeric suffix on each property (banner.param.banner.1, banner.param.banner.2,..., banner.param.banner.n) must be sequential and start with the number 1. This suffix gives the sequence of the advertisement banners.

You must define at least 3 banner ads in order to override each of the 3 default Volano banner ads. For instance, if you only define banner.param.banner.1 and banner.param.banner.2, then users will see the default Volano banner ad banner.param.banner.3. If you want to have only 1 banner ad, just list that one banner three times. Each banner must have three items, separated by spaces or tabs. The first item is the time (in seconds) to display the ad. The second item is the path to the image file (relative to the applet codebase or URL). The third item is the location of the Web page to display when the user clicks on the ad.

<param name="banner.param.banner.2" value="60 help.gif help.html">
This parameter changes the second banner ad that shows up in your chat room.

<param name="banner.param.banner.3" value="60 chatwithme.gif null">
This parameter changes the third banner ad that shows up in your chat room.

<param name="image.button.width" value="88">
This parameter defines the width in pixels of the button image that appears on your chat.html Web page to allow entry into your chat room.

<param name="image.button.height" value="31">
This parameter defines the height in pixels of the button image that appears on your chat.html Web page to allow entry into your chat room.

<param name="image.button1" value="button2.gif">
This parameter defines the button image that appears on your chat.html Web page when you move your mouse cursor over the button. The image may be in GIF or JPEG format. This image should have the same dimensions as image.button.1.

Step 2:

After making your desired changes, upload the HTML file called chat.html in your root directory with the customized applet tag on it and save it in the root directory of your site.

Step 3:

To make sure that you are viewing your most recent chat room changes. Hold your 'shift' key and then choose the 'reload' or 'refresh' option on your browser to ensure that you download the latest applet when you reenter your your chat room. You may even need to clear your browser cache/temp files or restart your computer.

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