Setup a live chat button or link using Flash

Activa Live Chat Support » Buttons & Links » How To

Article ID: 55 | Last Modified: 10/24/2008

Activa Live Chat is the only live chat service in the world where customers can create live chat buttons or links out of Flash, for integrating as part of a preexisting Flash element, or as part of entirely Flash-based Websites.

To do this, just follow these simple instructions:

1. In the Account Dashboard, go to Buttons & Links
2. Click the Add New Button/Link button
3. Setup your options and in the step titled "Creation Options," select "Get the Flash component for creating a Flash Button/Link" and save the new button/link
4. You'll then be given the necessary elements to finish your Flash button/link, including the "button_id" property, button code for your HTML, and a link to download the Flash CS3 Component

IMPORTANT: The Read Me file inside the downloaded Flash CS3 Component provides step-by-step instructions for how to finish and customize your Flash-based live chat button/link. Please read this and follow those instructions, which have been copied below for your convenience:

Activa Live Chat: Custom Flash Button/Link

With the following instructions and the included Flash component, you can easily create your own custom Flash Button/Link to use with your Activa Live Chat deployment(s).

Please read and follow these instructions:

1. With Flash running or not running, copy the included "ALCButton.fla" file into your Flash components directory:

   In Windows 2000 or Windows XP:
   Copy the "ALCButton.fla" file into your "C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Adobe\Adobe Flash CS3\en\Configuration\Components" directory.

   In Windows Vista:
   Copy the "ALCButton.fla" file into your "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Flash CS3\en\Configuration\Components" directory.

   In Mac OS X:
   Copy the "ALCButton.fla" file into your "Macintosh HD/Users/<username>/Library/Application Support/Adobe Flash CS3/Configuration/Components" directory.

2. If Flash was not running before this step, launch Flash. With Flash running, open the "Components Panel". If the ALCButton component does not appear immediately, reload your "Components Panel" by selecting "Reload" from your "Components Panel" context menu.
3. Drag a new ALCButton component to your stage.
4. Select the new ALCButton component that you added to your stage, then go to the "Parameters Panel". There you are given two properties to edit. Set the "button_id" property to the button ID specified for this button/link within your Activa Live Chat Account Dashboard > Buttons & Links page. For the "button_type" property, there are three choices:

   * "Visible When Online": to create a button that will show up when your live chat operators are online/available.
   * "Visible When Offline": to create a button that will show up when your live chat operators are offline/unavailable.
   * "Visible Always": to create a button that will show up regardless if your live chat operators are online or offline.
   
   IMPORTANT: To create a button that changes from online to offline, you must create one button with the "button_type" property set to "Visible When Online" and one button with the "button_type" property set to "Visible When Offline". You can place these two buttons on top of each other or anywhere you like on the stage as only the appropriate one will show up based on your live chat status.

5. You can now begin editing the ALCButton to fit your needs.

NOTE: You have completed the steps necessary to integrate your custom Flash Button/Link. The following steps are for advanced users who wish to customize the way the Button/Link behaves. ActionScript knowledge is required.

***Advanced Users***

With the following instructions, you can customize the way a user is required to interact with your custom Flash Button/Link in order to request a chat, or even customize the way the Flash Button/Link is displayed or hidden when your live chat operators become available or go offline.

1. Copy the included "activa" folder into your classpath.
2. Right-click your ALCButton component in your "Library Panel" and select "Properties".
3. Next to "Class", it will read "activa.chat.ALCButton". Click the pencil icon to the right of this.
4. The ActionScript class file is now loaded in Adobe Flash, you can begin editing the class to fit your needs.