VolanoChatPro Personal Chat Room Customization

To customize the appearance of your chat room, simply edit the properties that will be used by the applet directly on your Web page as HTML parameter tags.

Note: We provide the following information as a reference for you to customize your VolanoChatPro Personal Chat Room. Volano does not provide any customization, administration, or consulting services to assist you beyond the information provided below. Please be sure to follow all the conventions listed below when writing your applet tags, as simple omissions of characters may affect the behavior of the applet. When in doubt, start over from scratch with the applet parameters recommended by your hosting provider.

Property names and values

All of the applet properties are defined below, showing the default value for each property. In cases where the internal default differs from the default value in the properties file, the internal default is also noted so that you will know the result of commenting out or removing that property.

The parameters listed are for those customers whose hosting providers are using VolanoChat version 2.5 or 2.6. If your hosting providers is using an earlier version, many of the properties may not be available. For more information, please see the Applet Properties in our Administrator Guides for the properties available.

Recommended Applet Parameters

The MyVolanoChat applet allows VolanoChatPro customers to offer personal chat rooms to their Web hosting customers or affiliate sites. The MyVolanoChat applet entrance looks like this:

Figure 1: MyVolanoChat applet entrance.

The minimum applet HTML tags required for the Personal Chat Room are the following. Your Web hosting provider will provide you with the correct URL for the codebase parameter.

     <applet codebase="[see your hosting provider's instructions]"
                archive="COM/volano/MyVolanoChat.jar"
                code="COM.volano.MyVolanoChat.class"
                width="500" height="100">
     <param name="cabbase"     value="COM/volano/MyVolanoChat.cab">
     <param name="color"       value="#FFFFFF">
     <param name="foreground"  value="#000000">
     <param name="group"       value="Your Chat Room Name">
     <param name="text"        value="english.txt">
     </applet>

codebase=: the location of the VolanoChat client applet and all of its files. Your Web hosting provider will provide you with the correct URL for this parameter.
archive=: the location of the JAR applet archive, relative to the applet codebase. You should not modify this parameter.
code=: the name of the applet's main Java class file. You should not modify this parameter.
width=: the width in pixels of the applet on the Web page. Changing this parameter may affect the display of the applet on your Web page.
height=: the height in pixels of the applet on the Web page. Changing this parameter may affect the display of the applet on your Web page.

<param name="cabbase" value="COM/volano/MyVolanoChat.cab">: the location of the CAB applet archive, relative to the applet codebase. CAB archives are used by Microsoft browsers. You should not modify this parameter.
<param name="color" value="#FFFFFF">: the color you want for the background of the area occupied by the applet on the Web page. You will most likely want to choose a color to match the background of your Web page. Use the same notation of #RRGGBB as the bgcolor attribute of the Web page body tag, where RR is the red hexadecimal value, GG is the green hexadecimal value, and BB is the blue hexadecimal value. The default color is the default defined by the Web browser.
<param name="foreground" value="#000000">: the color you want for the foreground text of the area occupied by the applet on the Web page. You will most likely want to choose a color to match the text color of your Web page. Use the same notation of #RRGGBB as the color attribute of your Web page font tag, where RR is the red hexadecimal value, GG is the green hexadecimal value, and BB is the blue hexadecimal value. The default color is the default defined by the Web browser.
<param name="group" value="Your Chat Room Name">: the name of the chat room you want displayed at the top of the applet.
<param name="text" value="english.txt">: the translated text and properties for the applet. The default language is English, specified by english.txt. Instead of English, you can also specify french.txt, german.txt, italian.txt, portuguese.txt, spanish.txt, or any other property file you define. The only modification you should make to this parameter is to choose a different language file.

Common Applet Parameter Settings

All of the following parameters can be added to the applet's HTML tags on the Web page to modify the appearance and behavior of the Personal Chat Room (MyVolanoChat applet). Below is a sample of the Personal Chat Room applet interface.

Figure 2: MyVolanoChat applet chat room.

Colors

All colors are specified in standard web notation #RRGGBB, where RR is the red hexadecimal value, GG is the green hexadecimal value, and BB is the blue hexadecimal value.

Background colors

Background colors are those that are behind text such as the windows and list areas.

<param name="color.background" value="#A0B8C8">: The background color of the chat room. If undefined, the internal default is #FFFFFF.
<param name="color.background.list" value="#DCDCDC">: The background color the list of users. If undefined, the internal default is #FFFFFF.
<param name="color.background.text" value="#DCDCDC">: The background color of any non-editable text areas. If undefined, the internal default is #FFFFFF.
<param name="color.background.text.editable" value="#FFFFFF">: The background color of any editable text area.

Foreground colors

Foreground colors are the color of the text displayed in the chat applet as well as some window borders.

<param name="color.foreground" value="#000000">: The foreground color of the chat room. The foreground color defines the color of the text and window borders.
<param name="color.foreground.list" value="#000000">: The text color of the list of users.
<param name="color.foreground.text" value="#000000">: The actual text color of any non-editable text field.
<param name="color.foreground.text.editable" value="#000000">: The standard text color in all editable fields.
<param name="color.foreground.text.editable.inactive" value="#FF0000">: When someone is sending in messages faster than the configured rate, the text color changes to this color.
<param name="color.foreground.text.link" value="#0000FF">: The color of any link text in the status areas below the chat window.

Fonts

<param name="font.default" value="SansSerif-13">: the default font for all user interface text. The font specification is in the format "name[-style][-size]". For the best cross platform support, the name should be specified as Serif, SansSerif, Monospaced, Dialog, and DialogInput. 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 the font "Helvetica-bold-13".

Alerts

Defaults

<param name="alert.entrance.default" value="false">: defines the initial state of the entrance alerts option of the VolanoChat applets. A value of true makes the entrance alerts enabled by default. A value of false makes the entrance alerts initially disabled. The setting of the entrance alerts can be modified by the user regardless of the initial setting, unless this item is omitted from the options menu.
<param name="alert.audio.default" value="false">: defines the initial state of the audio alerts option of the VolanoChat applets. A value of true makes the audio alerts enabled by default, playing a sound any time a new user enters the room or another user rings them. A value of false makes the audio alerts initially disabled. The setting of the audio alerts can be modified by the user regardless of the initial setting, unless this item is omitted from the options menu.
<param name="alert.count.default" value="false>: defines the initial state of the room count alerts option of the VolanoChat applets. A value of true makes the count alerts enabled by default, displaying a count of the total number of people in a room each time the count changes. A value of false makes the count alerts initially disabled. The setting of the room count alerts can be modified by the user regardless of the initial setting, unless this item is omitted from the options menu.

Text Messages

These text strings appear in the chat room text area as system messages. In each message, the date can be removed or replaced with a different prefix string. You may want to add a special prefix to these messages, such as the string "***", so that they can be distinguished from the normal chat messages in the chat rooms.

<param name="text.system.entrance" value="[%0] %1">: If entrance alerts are enabled, this text appears when a new visitor enters the room. %0 is the date and %1 is the new visitor's name and profile.
<param name="text.system.audio" value="[%0] Audio alert from %1.">: If audio alerts are enabled, this text appears when receiving an audio alert. %0 is the date and %1 is sender's name.
<param name="text.system.partnerleft" value="[%0] %1 left private chat.">: the message when your private chat partner leaves the private chat session, where %0 is the date and %1 is the name of the private chat partner.
<param name="text.system.disconnected" value="[%0] Disconnected. Close VolanoChat and restart.">: the message when disconnected from the chat server, where %0 is the date.

Audio/Sounds

The sound files called by the following parameters are relative to the applet codebase. (Depending upon your hosting company, you may or may not be able to use sounds from your own Web site. See the note about replacing graphics and sounds below.)

VolanoChat comes with the default sound, "drip.au" which can be used for the value. Sound is disabled if no sound URL is defined. Sound files must be encoded in the Next/Sun 8000 Hz mono 8-bit µ-law format (usually with the file extension ".au").

<param name="sound.enter" value="">: is played when the visitor enters a chat room.
<param name="sound.exit" value="">: is played when the visitor leaves a chat room.
<param name="sound.profile" value="">: is played when the visitor selects a user name to view the profile.
<param name="sound.alert" value="drip.au">: is played when an audio alert is received and audio alerts are enabled by the visitor.

Buttons

The images defined for the buttons of the applet may be in GIF or JPEG format. Make sure you set the size properties to match the actual image sizes or they may appear distorted. (Depending upon your hosting company, you may or may not be able to replace graphics from your own Web site. See the note about replacing graphics and sounds below.)

<param name="image.button.border" value="true">: indicates whether to create a shaded, interactive, 3-dimensional border around the image that appears on the applet's Web page.
<param name="image.button1" value="button1.gif">: the image that appears on the applet's Web page to allow entry into the chat rooms.
<param name="image.button2" value="button2.gif">: the image that appears when you move your mouse cursor over the button.
<param name="image.button.width" value="88">: the width in pixels of the button image.
<param name="image.button.height" value="31">: the height in pixels of the button image.

Advanced Applet Parameter Settings

Web Touring Default

<param name="webtouring.default" value="false">: defines the initial state of the Web touring option of the VolanoChat applets. A value of true makes the Web touring option enabled by default, opening a Web page when its URL is displayed in a chat message. A value of false makes the Web touring option initially disabled. The setting of the Web touring option can be modified by the user regardless of the initial setting, unless this item is omitted from the options menu.

Private chats

These properties affect the number and behavior of private chats.

<param name="accept.private.default" value="true">: defines the initial state of the option to accept incoming private chats. A value of true allows incoming private chats by default, while a value of false prevents incoming private chats. This setting can be modified by the user regardless of the initial setting, unless this item is omitted from the options menu.
<param name="limit.private" value="5">: limits the number of private chat sessions any one person connecting to your VolanoChat server may create and the number of private chat requests any one person can receive. A value of zero allows no private chat sessions at all. A value of -1 allows an unlimited number of private chat sessions for each person. Monitors and administrators can initiate an unlimited number of private chat sessions.
<param name="send.private.disable" value="false">: When true, this property disables the initiation of private chat sessions from the applet. Otherwise, it allows the initiation of private chat sessions.

Function keys

The function keys act as macro hot keys so that predefined phrases can be automatically filled into the chat message text field. Each property below defines a template in which words in the chat text field are filled into the template as the variables %0 through %9. For example, if we define:

<param name="text.f1" value="Hello, %0! Welcome to my chat room.">

we can simply type John and press F1 to get the chat message string:

Hello, John! Welcome to my chat room.

<param name="text.f1" value="">: the macro template for function key F1.
<param name="text.f2" value="">: the macro template for function key F2.
<param name="text.f3" value="">: the macro template for function key F3.
<param name="text.f4" value="">: the macro template for function key F4.
<param name="text.f5" value="">: the macro template for function key F5.
<param name="text.f6" value="">: the macro template for function key F6.
<param name="text.f7" value="">: the macro template for function key F7.
<param name="text.f8" value="">: the macro template for function key F8.
<param name="text.f9" value="">: the macro template for function key F9.
<param name="text.f10" value="">: the macro template for function key F10. Note that F10 is often reserved by Windows and UNIX systems for windowing functions, such as accessing the menu bar.
<param name="text.f11" value="">: the macro template for function key F11.
<param name="text.f12" value="">: the macro template for function key F12.

Web page text

These text strings appear on the Web page containing the applet or in the Web browser status area.

<param name="text.main.username" value="Your name:">: the label for the user nickname text field on the Web page.
<param name="text.main.profile" value="Your profile:">: the label for the user profile text field on the Web page.

Chat room window text

These text strings appear in the chat rooms.

<param name="text.chat.status" value="Select a name for the profile. Double click a name for private chat.">: the text displayed in the chat room status area when a user first enters a chat room.

Banner applet

These properties set the display parameters for the Banner Player Applet that appears at the top of your chat room. Please note that your hosting provider may not allow access to changes in the Banner Player or the use of your own Java applets. (See the note about replacing graphics and sounds below.) The default values are listed below.

<param name="banner.code" value="COM.volano.BannerPlayer.class">

the name of the Java applet to be embedded in the banner area above each chat room. Any Java applet class file may be defined. The applet must be placed in the same codebase as the VolanoChat applet. To remove the banner player above the chat room, set this property to nothing.

<param name="banner.parameters" value="BannerPlayer.txt">

the Java properties file containing the parameters of the banner player Java applet, specified as name and value pairs. The parameters you define are specific to the Java applet embedded in the chat rooms.

<param name="banner.param.banner.width" value="468">

the width in pixels to reserve for the Java applet above the chat room. The default is 468 pixels.

<param name="banner.param.banner.height" value="60">

the height in pixels to reserve for the Java applet above the chat room. The default is 60 pixels.

<param name="banner.param.background" value="#FFFFFF">

the background color of the applet, specified in the format #RRGGBB, where RR is the red hexadecimal value, GG is the green hexadecimal value, and BB is the blue hexadecimal value. The background is visible when displaying transparent images or when the images are smaller than the applet size. The default is the background color of the window.

<param name="banner.param.foreground" value="#000000">

the foreground color of the applet, specified in the format #RRGGBB, where RR is the red hexadecimal value, GG is the green hexadecimal value, and BB is the blue hexadecimal value. The foreground color is the color of the text used to display error messages when the applet is unable to load an image. The default is the foreground color of the window.

<param name="banner.param.banner.n" value="time src href">

the image specifications, where n is a positive integer that defines the sequence number of the banner image. The numbers must be sequential and start with the number 1. For example, the default value is:

<param name="banner.param.banner.1"
      value="30 welcome.gif http://www.volano.com">

which displays the graphic welcome.gif for 30 seconds, and when clicked, will open a new browser window to http://www.volano.com.

Image specification consists of three elements separated by spaces or tabs:

     time src href

where:

time: is the time in seconds for the image to be displayed. A time of zero means to display the image until the applet is stopped.
src: is the absolute or relative image source URL. A relative URL is normally assumed to be relative to the applet code base. When the BannerPlayer applet is embedded into the VolanoChat applet, a relative URL is assumed to be relative to the location of the BannerPlayer's properties file.
href: is the absolute or relative URL to which this image is linked, or the keyword null if the image has no link. A relative URL is normally assumed to be relative to the applet code base. When the BannerPlayer applet is embedded into the VolanoChat applet, a relative URL is assumed to be relative to the location of the BannerPlayer's properties file.

Images can be animated GIF files, standard GIF files, or JPEG files. Specify a time of zero to display an image indefinitely. For example, you could specify the last image in a series to be displayed indefinitely in order to prevent the sequence from being repeated.

Removing properties

To remove a property value, set it equal to nothing, like this example:

     <param name="banner.param.banner.code" value="">

This example removes the rotating banner player at the top of the chat window. If you delete the property definition, or comment it out by putting the character "#" at the beginning of the line, the VolanoChat applet will use the internal default value for the property. By setting the property value to nothing, you can make sure to override the default value and disable the property.

Graphics, images, and sound files

All resources (graphics, images, sound files, etc.) must come from the same machine running the VolanoChat server. This is a security restriction imposed by Web browsers. As such, Java applets will only load resources from the same machine that they came from.

You can only replace images, graphics, and sound files in your Personal Chat Room if you know that your Web site is on the same physical machine that is also running the VolanoChat server. Verio customers have VolanoChat servers running on the same machines as their Web sites and are thus able to replace graphics, images, and sound files with their own using an absolute path.

You can tell if your Web site is running on the same machine as a VolanoChat server by the applet codebase parameter that they instruct you to use. If it matches your Web site name exactly, then they are running on the same machine.

For example, Verio customers are instructed to use the following string for the applet's HTML tags on their Web page:

     <applet codebase="http://www.yourdomain.com/cgi-image/vcclient"
             archive="COM/volano/MyVolanoChat.zip"
             code="COM.volano.MyVolanoChat.class"
             width="500" height="125">

In this case, you could replace resources because the codebase URL exactly matches your domain name. For example, to replace the default button logo displayed on your Web page where visitors click to enter your chat room (button1.gif with width=88 and height=31), you could replace this image with your own (yourbutton1.gif with width=100 and height=50) from your Web root directory as follows:

     <param name="image.button1" value="/yourbutton1.gif">
     <param name="image.button.width" value="100">
     <param name="image.button.height" value="50">

Be sure to use the "/" to indicate an absolute path to your Web directory.

Using XHTML 1.0 or later

If you have designed your Web site using XHTML 1.0 or later, all HTML tags must have an open and close tag, or a trailing "/" for those tags which do not have a close tag such as img, hr, br, and param. For the applet parameter tags, include a trailing "/" as in the following:

     <param name="group" value="Your Personal Chat Room" />