User blog:JustSomeDude.../How to get Chat Hacks & Other Chat Goodies

''Edit: I've been told there's problems with the group PM hack. I'm tracking down possible solutions/work-arounds for it now.'' Hey guys, I've been meaning to make a blog about this for some time, and with One Piece on break this week, I figured now's as good a time as any. It's an instruction on how to get Chat Hacks and some other modified chat options.

What Chat Hacks Are
First off, I should explain what Chat Hacks are. Chat hacks are user-created modifications to the wiki's chat. We call them "hacks", but there's nothing bad about them and Wikia actually encourages users to create and use extensions like these. There are a number of things they can do. The main one makes a number of changes to the chat:
 * Makes the chat go into a new tab, rather than a new window.
 * Allows for the use of "pings", or words/phrases you can choose that will alert you if someone has said that word by playing a sound and making that text red.
 * Allows you to clear the chat.
 * Allows you to choose to be seen as being "away" at will.

There are a couple more scripts that each only do one thing:
 * A script that allows for group private messages.
 * Another that makes it so that in a full chat room, you don't have to have to scroll to see your PMs.

Lastly, I can show you how to get the chat in a sidebar rather than a full tab or window. Note that this only works with Firefox, and negates most of the other hacks (except for the PM Visibility one). However, it's still my preferred way of chatting, since I can see other pages and the chat all at once.

Picture Example
Here's what both my sidebar (left) and the chat with hacks (right) look like on my screen: http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/ag110/justsomedude7/Chat%20Hacks%20blog%20images/th_60f1d221-92e4-4d8c-b700-bf70bf228f30_zpsb304a061.jpg

Basic Hacks and Group Private Messages
So, now that we've described them, let's get into how to get the basic hacks.


 * 1) First off, you need to create a page on Community Central. I've made it really easy though, since all you need to do to get to the right page is click this to take you to the page.


 * 2) Next, you need to get the code on your page. You should copy and paste the code exactly as it is shown in certain revisions. And please, try not to edit my pages by accident.


 * If you want just the basic hacks (Away button, pings, etc) use this revision of my page to yours and publish.


 * If you want to have just the group Private Message hack, copy the code this revision and press publish.


 * If you want both the basic hacks and the group PM hack, copy the code from this revision and press publish.


 * 3) Then, after you've published the edit, follow the instructions at the top of the page for how to refresh your browser's cache.


 * 4) After this the hacks should be installed. If you were already in the chat, you'll need to leave, and refresh whichever page of the wiki you use to enter chat. Once you've come back, they should be activate. Don't panic if they aren't activated right away, on rare occasions it can take as long as 10 minutes for them to load. Once they're activated though, you're set for life!

Getting the Private Message Visibility Hack
For this one, I don't actually have to say very much. The hack's creator has already made a well-written blog about how to install them. I would just like to note that this hack is on a global.css, while the other hacks are on a global.js page, and they can't be put on the same page.

Getting the Sidebar Chat
Again, this option only works for Mozilla Firefox, but there are probably ways of getting something similar in other browsers. It's not a true "hack", but rather an option from Firefox. In this one, you can view the chat in a sidebar, while using the rest of your browser window for whatever you want. There are a couple drawbacks, one being that there is a maximum size you can have the sidebar at, and the other being that the basic chat hacks do not work in the sidebar (they will still work if you load the chat normally). The Private Message visibility one still works. Personally, this is where I spend the majority of my time in chat.


 * 1) To get this option, you must make the chat a bookmark in your Firefox browser.


 * 2) Next, right click on the link for the chat and click on "properties".


 * 3) In the window that pops up, check the box that says "Load this bookmark in the sidebar". At this point, you can also change the name of the bookmark. I have separate bookmarks for the sidebar chat and the chat with hacks.


 * 4) You're all set! Any time you click on this favorite, you'll load chat in the sidebar.

Using the Hacks
Here's a quick description of how to use the various aspects of the hacks.

Ping
http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/ag110/justsomedude7/Chat%20Hacks%20blog%20images/th_PingExample_zps1a827155.png

You can set your ping phrases by hovering your mouse on the blue "Ping Phrases" and entering things into the text box that appears. On the right, you can see an example of my ping phrases, as well as what one being used looks like. I have "ping" set as one of my ping phrases, and when Awaikage says "ping" a sound plays, and it the text for that word becomes red. It's worth noting there are some weird things pings can do. For instance, if someone typed the word "pingers", I would get pinged, as "ping" is one of my phrases, and it doesn't matter if the word typed is longer than the ping phrase (this can get weird with certain username abbreviations that commonly occur in real words)

Going Away, Clearing the Chat, and Group PMing
http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/ag110/justsomedude7/PMAFKClear_zps36b9c112.png

To the right is an image of all the buttons you need for going away (AFK), clearing the chat, and the PM button for starting group PMs.

When you click AFK, you're seen as being away by other users, and unlike the unmodified chat, you are still free to interact with the window while still being seen as away. You can have PM conversations while the rest of the chat sees you as away. Even chat mods can kick/ban while being seen as away.

Clearing the chat is very simple. If your chat window is too filled because you've been in too long, you can just click "clear" and every message will go away.

Lastly, to start group PMs, you just click on the PM button, and a box will pop up asking you who you wish to include in the chat. You type their full usernames (spelling counts!) separated by commas, and a PM will open, and it will say who sees it and joins the conversation. As long as the person starting the PM has the hacks, the rest of the people in the conversation don't need the hack.

Notes on the Sidebar
One important thing about the Sidebar option is that the hacks still function normally if you load chat anywhere but the created bookmark. And, if you switch between the sidebar and normal chat or the other way around, the users in chat will not see that you have left the chat (provided you don't close the old one until you're in the new one. "You have connected from another browser must show up first). I sometimes use this to go AFK when I just want to be pinged or something (or sometimes avoid users who have just entered the chat).

Closing Statements
I hope this blog has been helpful to anyone looking to get the hacks, and if you have any questions, you can comment on this and I'll see if I can help. If the blog is old when you're reading this and comments are blocked, you can always contact me on my talk page, or by asking other knowledgeable user in the chat. I'd also like to thank anyone who helped me out today in chat with testing a bunch of stuff, and User:Staw-Hat Luffy, who just showed me the PM visibility hack while I was writing this.

Hope this helps!