PureChat Setup
instructions
Setting Up Purechat Installation Instructions
To install PureChat for either testing or production:
- Copy the contents of the PureChat zip file to a directory of your choosing.
- Create a virtual directory in IIS pointing to that directory (show details)
- Copy your license file "purechat.licx" to the \bin folder of the PureChat installation. If you do not have a license file, visit Axosoft.com.
- You should be able to browse to [YOURINSTALLATIONPATH]/operator/PureChatOperator.aspx to log in to the operator console.
- You can log in using the following information:
- Login Id: [ANY NAME]
- Password: [INITIALLY BLANK] (This can be changed in the PureChat
Settings)
- Only one operator with a given name can be logged on at once. Once there is someone logged in to the console, PureChat will start allowing people to request chats.
- If you want your operators to be able to add their own shortcuts from the operator console, you will need to make sure that the IIS user has write and modify permissions to the purechat.config file. If you want PureChat to be able to persist chat logs and user data to disk, the IIS user will need write and modify permissions to the \Logs folder inside the \PureChat folder.
Your installation of PureChat is now complete but will still need to be configured. In addition to the operator console, you can also browse to the test page ([INTALLATIONPATH]/default.htm) as well as embed a javascript and html code snippet into your web pages where you'd like a PureChat image to be displayed. Users can then click on that image to initiate a chat with an operator if one is available.
License File
To obtain a license file, go to Axosoft.com. From there, you can purchase a licene for the full version of the product, a free single-user version or a 30 day 5-operator trial. Rename the desired license file to "purechat.licx" and place it in the PureChat \bin folder.
Configuring PureChat Settings show details
Once PureChat has been installed, it will need to be configured by modifying the purechat.config file. There are two methods for configuring PureChat: manually editing the purechat.config or by using the configuration tool (PureChatConfig.exe) located in the \config folder. If you are using a hosted web service that does not allow you to run the configuration tool, you can use your favorite text editor to configure the same options that are available in the configuration tool. If your application is running under full trust, any changes you make to this file will be detected automatically. If your application is not running under full trust, you will need to restart your application for any changes made to the shortcuts or settings to be detected. At a minimum, you will need to configure the values listed in bold to enable a secure password as well as email functionality.
| Configuration Tool Value |
Description |
purechat.config value |
| Chat Pool Interval |
How frequently the PureChat Application polls the server for data (in
seconds) |
ChatPollInterval |
| Chat Wait Delay |
How long to keep a user waiting for a chat before asking them if they
want to continue waiting (in seconds) |
ChatPollWaitDelay |
| Operator Password |
The password all operators will use for PureChat Operator Login |
OperatorPassword |
| Chat Available Image URL |
URL for an image to show when an Operator is available for chat |
ChatAvailableImageUrl |
| Chat Unavailable Image URL |
URL for an image to show when no Operators are available for chat.
Leave blank to show no image when an operator is not available. |
ChatUnavailableImageUrl |
| Header Image URL |
Relative URL to an image to use for a header. Note that certain
styles may need to be updated if this value is changed. |
HeaderImageURL |
| Chat Request Control Poll Interval |
How frequently, in seconds, the client code will poll PureChat to see if
an operator is available for chat. Set this value to 0 to not poll at
all. |
ChatRequestPoll |
| Clear Chats After |
How long to keep chat data in the application memory (in days) |
ClearChatsAfter |
| Unavailable URL |
Location to the user when they click on the unavailable chat image.
Leave this blank to not redirect the user anywhere. If the
ChatUnavailableImageUrl setting is blank, this value is ignored. |
UnavailableUrl |
| Allow Delayed Chat Mail |
Set this to true to allow users the option of sending an email when
their requested chat has not been picked up by an operator. |
AllowDelayedChatMail |
| Require User Rating |
Set this to true to allow users to rate their chat sessions from 1 to 5
after the chat is completed. |
AllowUserRating |
| Require User Information |
Set this to true to require the user to enter their name and a question
before they start a chat. Setting it to false will immediately take them
to a chat session. |
RequireUserInformation |
| Greeting Message |
The greeting displayed to a user when their chat session begins. |
GreetingMessage |
| Allowed Domains |
A list of domains allowed to use the client javascript. Enter one
domain per line or leave blank to allow access to all domains. |
AllowedDomains |
| |
|
|
| SMTP Server |
The
email server for to be used by PureChat to send
emails |
SmtpServer |
| SMTP Port |
The port for use with your SMTP Server |
SmtpPort |
| SMTP User |
The username to be used for SMTP Authentication (leave blank if SMTP
authentication is disabled) |
SmtpUser |
| SMTP Password |
The password to be used for SMTP Authentication (leave blank if SMTP authentication is disabled) | SmtpPassword |
| Notify Email Address |
The email address to send chat logs and summary emails to. |
NotifyEmail |
| From Email Address |
The email address to send chat logs and summary emails from. |
NotifyEmailFrom |
| Send Summary Emails |
Set this to true to send the daily chat summary emails. |
SendSummaryEmails |
| Chat Summary Email Time |
The time of day to send out the chat summary emails. |
ChatSummaryTime |
PureChat shortcuts allow you to type a simple phrase within an Operator's Chat window that replaces with a commonly used greeting, expression, or phrase. For example, if an operator types "[q]", that text will be replaced with "Hello, this is {operator}. How can I help you?" (minus the quotes). The tags {operator} and {user} can be used in shortcuts and will be replaced with the current operator name or user name respectively. This can help save time for operators by creating easy to type shortcuts for frequently used questions or phrases. If your application is running under full trust, any changes you make to this file will be detected automatically. If your application is not running under full trust, you will need to restart your application for any changes made to the shortcuts or settings to be detected. There are three ways to configure shortcuts:
- Edit shortcuts directly from the Operator Console (requires IIS Process account to have write access to the purechat.config file)
- Configure shortcuts using Shortcuts tab within the PureChat Configuration tool (/config/purechatconfig.exe)
- If you do not have the ability to update permissions to the purechat.config
file and cannot run the configuration tool, you can also edit the
purechat.config file using your favorite text editor. Under the
Shortcuts block within the purechat.config file, you can add additional
shortcut entries.
Example: <shortcut hotkey="g" text="Hello, this is {operator}. How can I help you?" /> - hotkey is the
shortcut value and will be used by wrapping the value in brackets: [g]
- text is the phrase that will replace the shortcut value.
- If you'd like to use the [ character in your shortcuts, you will need to escape it by typing [[.
Client Code for Web Sites
Add the following HTML/Javascript code snippet to any web page that you'd like to use your installation of PureChat. Be sure to replace [YOURINSTALLATIONPATH] with the appopriate value (for example, if you installed PureChat to http://www.mywebsite.com/PureChat, replace [YOURINSTALLATIONPATH] with http://www.mywebsite.com/PureChat).
<div id="pc_I_d"
style="cursor:
pointer"></div>
<div id="pc_S_d" style="display: none"></div>
<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">
var o_h = '';
function pc_a_s()
{
var t_u = window.location.host;
var pc_b = '[YOURINSTALLATIONPATH]/';
var s_d = document.getElementById("pc_S_d");
if(!s_d)
return;
var st = document.createElement('script');
st.src = pc_b + 'PureChatResourceHandler.ashx?h=' + escape(t_u) + '&zzz=' + new Date().getTime().toString();
st.type = "text/javascript";
while(s_d.childNodes.length > 0)
{
s_d.removeChild(s_d.childNodes[0]);
}
s_d.appendChild(st);
}
window.setTimeout('pc_a_s();', 1);
</script>
<div id="pc_S_d" style="display: none"></div>
<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">
var o_h = '';
function pc_a_s()
{
var t_u = window.location.host;
var pc_b = '[YOURINSTALLATIONPATH]/';
var s_d = document.getElementById("pc_S_d");
if(!s_d)
return;
var st = document.createElement('script');
st.src = pc_b + 'PureChatResourceHandler.ashx?h=' + escape(t_u) + '&zzz=' + new Date().getTime().toString();
st.type = "text/javascript";
while(s_d.childNodes.length > 0)
{
s_d.removeChild(s_d.childNodes[0]);
}
s_d.appendChild(st);
}
window.setTimeout('pc_a_s();', 1);
</script>
Setting up PureChat's OnTime Plugin
About the OnTime Plugin show details
OnTime is a Software Development and Helpdesk tool from Axosoft that provides bug tracking, requirements management, help desk incident tracking and a project wiki. Purechat comes with a plugin for OnTime v8.1+ that allows a Defect, Feature, Task, or Incident to be created directly from a chat in the operator console. This is useful if the chat requires further attention: a defect, feature, task or incident process can start directly from the PureChat conversation seamlessly. This plugin requires OnTime's SDK to interface with OnTime. You will need to install and configure the OnTime SDK prior to setting up the OnTime plugin in PureChat. Please see OnTime's SDK installation documentation for further instructions.
Configuring the OnTime Plugin
Similar to PureChat itself, the OnTime plugin can be configured using the 'OnTime Plugin' tab within the PureChat Configuration tool (\config\purechatconfig.exe) or by manually editing the OnTimePlugin.config file (\plugins\OnTime\). Below are all of the available settings along with their OnTimePlugin.config file values.
| Configuration Tool Value | Description | purechat.config value |
| OnTime SDK URL |
The URL where the OnTime SDK is installed (ex:
http://myserver/OnTime2008SDK/) |
SDKUrl |
| SDK Security GUID |
The security GUID for the OnTime SDK (ex:
00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000) |
SecurityGuid |
| OnTime Web URL |
The URL where OnTime Web Edition is installed (ex:
http://myserver/OnTime2008Web/) |
OnTImeWebURL |
| Detail Fields are HTML |
Check this option if your installation of OnTime stores detail fields as
HTML (can be checked in OnTime by going to Tools => System Options,
under Item Detail Settings) |
HtmlDetailFields |
| |
|
|
| Assigned To |
For each issue type, specify a default user to assign the issue to. |
AssignedToID |
| Project |
For each issue type, specify a default project to place the newly
created issue in. |
ProjectID |
| Status |
For each issue type, specify a default status (Not available for Tasks) |
StatusTypeID |
| Name |
The default name of the issue. |
Name |
| |
|
|
| |
Can use , , to dynamically create the
previous 4 default values. |
|
Support
Questions? Bugs? Feature Requests?
If you have any questions, find a bug, or would like to request any enhancements to PureChat, please visit our community forums.
Upgrading from v1.0
PureChat v1.1 was redesigned to run as an independent web site, in contrast to v1.0 which was designed to run under your own .NET application. If you are upgrading from a previous v1.0.x, follow these steps:
- You should remove the web user control (as seen by the following markup) from any page that may contain it:
<%@ register tagprefix="axo" tagname="purechatrequestcontrol" src="~/PureChatRequestControl.ascx" %>
<axo:purechatrequestcontrol id="pureChatControl" runat="server" />
- Remove the purechat.config file, the \bin\PureChat.dll file, and the \PureChat directory from your web application's directory. If you compiled your application with a reference to PureChat, you can remove that reference as well.
- Follow the above instructions to set up a new installation of PureChat.
Upgrading from v1.1
Installing PureChat v1.5 is very similar to PureChat v1.1, however the directory structure has changed slightly. For best results, make a backup of your purechat.config file, and remove all the other files in your installation directory, then unzip all the files from this package into that directory.
Note: the client code used on your website has also changed slightly, and will need to be replaced with the new client code shown above.
