Group Chat

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Members

APAN Group Chat enables multiple users to have real-time, chats with other members of the same community. 

Member Access and Permissions

How do I access my Group's chat room?

There are a couple of ways to locate your chat room. 

Use the URL:

1. Go to https://chat.apan.org.   From here, you will be able to identify your Group or Site that you belong to.
2. Select the group or site link. 
3. Go to your group's or site's chat room and click the link.

From your group:

1. From your group, click the grid icon within the top APAN Header.  (icon with many squares)
2. Click Chat.
3. Click on the chat room(s) you wish to go to.
4. You should be re-directed to https://chat.apan.org in a new window.

 For quick access: Be certain to bookmark this URL within your browser.

I used a Chat URL, but received a message that I do not have access to that Group or Site, what should I do?

1. Become an APAN member, if you are not already.
2. Ask the person you received the URL from for the name of the APAN Community.
3. Request membership to that community.

Can I have multiple chat rooms open?

Yes. If multiple chat rooms are created, you can position your browser windows to be able to moderate multiple chat rooms simultaneously. Or, if multiple rooms are open within the chat application, you can also jump from room-to-room using the chat room’s tabs. 

I’d like to discuss a topic with one person privately. How do I do this?

There are two ways members can have a private discussion:

Option 1: Private discussion between non-colleagues, but  members of the same group/site.

1.  Under 'Online Users' select the group member you would like to chat with. A new chat room will appear.  This can also be done between colleagues that are within the same group/site.

Option 2: Private discussion between colleagues and members of the same group/site

1. Click the plus symbol.  The Chat navigation bar will appear.
2. Change the drop down to colleagues.
3. Select the colleague you wish to chat with. A new chat room will appear.

Member Settings & Configurations

Can I change my Chat status?

1. Yes. Click the status drop down.
2. Select available, away or do not disturb.

Can I change my Chat user settings?

Yes. Click the settings icon to the left of the status drop down.

• Display density allows you to change the look and feel of your chat.
• Max rows allow you to view more or less conversations.
• Turn on or off Audio notifications if you have speakers.
• Turn on or off the ability to show translated messages.

How do I turn on/off the ability to see when people enter and exit the chat room?

Within chat.apan.org, from the chat room records page, select Entry/Exit Notifications to be on or off.

Troubleshooting

Why do I have to keep logging back into APAN and go back to the chat room?

If you are monitoring a chat session, and not contributing to a discussion, you will timeout within 20 minutes of no activity.

To keep you session alive, open another window and occasionally click around within APAN.  This will maintain your session, keeping it from timing out.

Owners

New Chat Room

How do I create a chat room for my Group?

Only owners of Groups or Sites can create chat rooms.

1. If you are an owner of a group, enable the Chat Room features within your group.
2. Click Group Options.
3. Ensure chat room settings is checked.
4. Click Save.
5. Go back to your group, if you're not redirected.
6. Click New.
7. Click Add New Chat Room.
8. Complete the Create a Room form by adding a Name and Descriptions.
9. Check Room Notifications to show when members enter or exit the room.
10. Click Save.

How do I create multiple chat rooms in my Group?

1. Use the steps above, create the first chat room. 
2. Remember, you may wish to identify each chat room specific to the topic that will be discussed in each to avoid confusion.
3. Once the first chat room is created, in the chat room breadcrumbs, click the name of your [Group] or [Site].  A manage chat rooms page will appear.
4. Click Add to create additional chat rooms under the same group.
5. Click Save.

How do I create a chat room for my Site?

1. From your APAN Profile, click the Apps/Grid icon in the main APAN header.
2. Click Chat.
3. You'll be redirected to https://chat.apan.org.
4. Click add to create a chat room.
5. Complete the Create a Room form by adding a Name and Description.
6. Check Room Notifications to show when members enter or exit the room.
7. Click save.

How do I add my chat room that I just created to my SITE?

1. Click Site Actions.
2. Select Edit Page.
3. Click Add a Web Part.
4. Select APAN.
5. Select Group Chat, select where the Web Part is to be added, and click Add.
6. Within the APAN Chat web part box, find the configuration down arrow. You may not see this immediately until you hover over it with your cursor. Select Edit Web Part.
7. A window will appear on the right of your screen. Select the radial button for the chat room name from the drop down list.
8. Adjust the appearance, layout and advanced settings according to your preferences.
9. Click Ok.
10. Chose to Stop Editing in the upper left corner or your page.

Manage Settings & Configurations

How do I turn the chat room off in my Group?

1. Go to [group].
2. Go to More Options.
3. Uncheck Chat Room features.
4. Click Save.

Can I edit the chat room name in https://chat.apan.org?

Yes, you may edit the chat room name.

1. From the chat room records page, select Options.
2. Select Edit.

How do I delete the chat room?

1. Go to chat.apan.org.
2. Find the group the chat room is in.  Open the Group's chat rooms.
3. Locate the chat room you wish to delete.
4. Under the options tab, click Delete Room.  A warning message appears.  Confirm, select Delete.
5. If you have embedded the chat room in your group or site, you'll need to delete the widget or Web-Part for that chat room from your group or site. 
6. From the chat room records page > options > Delete Room.

What does the JID mean in Edit options?

JID is the chat room unique identifier. This is used because some chat room names may be used repeatedly between groups. This allows for duplicative names.

Clearing and Archiving Chats

What is the difference of Clearing and Archiving chats?

Clearing is when one wants a clean slate.  This may be needed for exercise shift changes, or a new day has occurred and you no longer need yesterday's conversations.

Archiving is when all the conversations are kept for historical purposes from the database.

Clearing Chats

How do I clear chat room conversations?

From the chat room records page > options > Clear Messages.

I just cleared the conversations; I’d like to restore them. Can this be done?

No, the conversations are removed from the chat window.  At this time, these conversations cannot be restored to the Chat window.

If I cleared the chat room, can the chats that were cleared still be archived?

Yes, the conversations are archived and can be obtained through exporting the archived messages. 

Archiving Chats

Can I archive the chat room conversations?

Yes, APAN Chat conversations can be archived.

1. From the chat room records page, click options.
2. Select a start and end date of the conversations you wish to archive.
3. Select Export.  A spreadsheet will open with a record of the conversations.
4. Save the spreadsheet for your records.

Can archived messages be translated?

Yes, archived messages can be translated.

1. From the message archive options, you will be able to choose what type of translation that will be performed. This option is enabled by default.
2. There will be two types of valid translation types:
   1. The first type is non-English languages to English.
   2. The second type will be English to a single non-English language.
3. The translate to language is the user’s preferred APAN language.