Metadata-Version: 1.0
Name: babble.client
Version: 1.0
Summary: This product provides a portlet labeled 'Who's online?' which shows you a list of all online users and enables you to contact them.
Home-page: http://plone.org
Author: Syslab.com, JC Brand
Author-email: brand@syslab.com
License: GPL
Description: Introduction
        ============
        
        Babble: Instant Messaging for Plone
        -----------------------------------
        
        Babble is an instant messaging service for Plone.
        It consists of babble.client for the Plone front-end and babble.server,
        a Zope2 messaging service, for the backend.
        
        The client consists of an *Online contacts* portlet and modal chatboxes
        that make extensive use of JQuery and Ajax techniques.
        
        Communication between the client and server is done by polling via XML-RPC and JSON.
        
        Server-push options such as Comet, could be considered in the future, but
        there is no implementation for this at the moment.
        
        Features:
        ---------
        
        - Remembers open chat windows on page reload
        - Chat windows can be minimized
        - New messages automatically opens chat window
        - An 'online users' portlet provides a list of currently online users
        - Configurable polling intervals
        - Requests to the messaging service must be password authenticated
        - Can run on a different server than the messaging service
        - Well tested.
        
        Configuration:
        --------------
        
        babble.client needs a running zope instance with a configured babble.server
        messaging service. (see the babble.server README)
        
        The client is configured via the portal_chat tool in the ZMI:
        - The fields must indicate the babble.server service's particulars.
        - The maximum and minimum polling intervals can also be set in this tool. The
        default values are recommended though.
        
        
        How do I start using it?
        ------------------------
        
        Make sure that babble.client is installed via Plone's control panel, or the
        portal_quickinstaller tool in the ZMI (Zope management interface).
        
        In Plone, go to the portlets manage page. In the dropdown of addable portlets,
        there should now be a new types of portlet, *Online contacts*.
        
        Add this portlet. If you have more than one person currently using the site,
        you should see them appear in this portlet.
        
        Note: When you are running your portal_javascripts registry is in debug mode (or
        when you are running './bin/instance fg' in Plone4), then the *Online contacts*
        portlet will show *all* the registered users, and not just the online ones, to make
        debugging easier.
        
        Simply click on the user in the portlet, and a chatbox will appear in the
        bottom right of the page.
        
        Now start babbling!
        
        
        actionbar.panel integration:
        ----------------------------
        
        You can use the chat service with a floating toolbar at the bottom (as
        was popularised with Facebook).
        
        There exists an add-on for actionbar.panel, that provides this functionality.
        
        Simply install actionbar.babble (which will pull in actionbar.panel), to
        receive a bottom bar on which the chat windows will dock.
        
        A word of advice:
        -----------------
        
        When, working locally or on production, I would recommend
        runnning the messaging service (babble.server) in a
        standalone Zope instance or in a separate Zeo client.
        
        Whenever I ran it in the same single non-zeo instance as the client,
        I would have problems with the browser not responding after I
        restart the instance.
        
        Contact:
        --------
        
        Is there information lacking in this readme?
        Contact me with questions or suggestions:
        - brand@syslab.com
        
        
        TODO:
        -----
        
        - Currently Javascripts can't run anymore because of DTML,
        therefore, consider replacing dtml with collective.xrtresource.
        
        
        
        Changelog
        =========
        
        0.1a1 (2010-04-08)
        ------------------
        
        - Initial release
        
Keywords: plone syslab.com portlet onlinecontacts
Platform: UNKNOWN
Classifier: Framework :: Plone
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python
