Chapter 5
The Chat Tool
Overview
The Chat Tool is a text based collaborative tool that allows users to communicate in a simple and efficient manner. The Chat Tool consumes a minimal amount of network and processor resources, and automatically generates a log that can be saved to disk. It also allows users to communicate anonymously if they wish, facilitating candid discussions and informal voting.
This chapter discusses:
- the Chat Tool window
- viewing and posting messages
- Chat Tool controls
The Chat Tool Window
The Chat Tool window is divided into five main sections: the Menu Bar, Toolbar, Chat Tool Log, Personal Note Pad, and Status Bar.
Menu Bar
The Menu Bar is located at the top of the Chat tool window and consists of four menus: File, Edit, Options, and Help.
The following commands are available from the File menu:
New—Clears the Chat Tool Log and resets the log file pointer so that you don’t accidentally save over an existing log.
Include...—Reads the contents of an existing text file into the Personal Note Pad for posting.
Save—Saves the content of the Chat Tool Log to disk using the previous saved file name.
Save As...—Saves the content of the Chat Tool Log to a file that you specify.
Post Note Pad—Posts the contents of the Personal Note Pad to the conference.
Print Setup...—Configures printer options.
Print...—Prints the contents of the Chat Tool Log.
Close—Exits the Chat Tool.
The Edit menu contains the following options:
Undo—Undoes the last edit in the event of a mistake.
Cut—Removes the selected text from the Personal Note Pad and places it into the Windows Clipboard.
Paste—Copies the contents of the Windows clipboard into the Personal Note Pad at the cursor location.
Select All—Selects the entire contents of the current window.
There are two items in the Options menu:
Anonymous—If on, any messages posted by you will be marked as coming from "Anonymous" rather than your conference name.
Pop Up on Receive—If this option is on, when another conference member posts to the Chat Tool, it will automatically be opened and/or brought to the front.
The Help menu has two options:
Contents—Opens the Chat Tool’s Help window.
About...—Revision information on the Chat Tool.
Tool Bar
Underneath the Menu Bar there are several buttons that provide shortcuts to some of the menu options. Pausing the mouse cursor over any button for a few seconds will display the Tool Tip associated with that button.
Chat Tool Log
The Chat Tool Log is where everyone’s comments appear. Any messages appearing in the log can be seen by everyone in the conference. A transcript of the Chat Tool Log can be saved to disk for later review.
Personal Note Pad
The Personal Note Pad is where you compose your messages for posting to the Chat Tool Log. You may type directly into the Personal Note Pad, include text files from disk, or paste text from the Windows Clipboard. Nothing here will be seen until you have Posted it to the conference.
Status Bar
The Status Bar provides hints on the usage of menu items and other information about the status of the Chat Tool. When you position your mouse pointer over a menu item, a short note appears in the Status Bar to remind you of that item’s functions.
Viewing and Posting Messages
The Chat Tool Log is where you will view conference messages. When you are ready to participate you can enter your comments into the Personal Note Pad and post them to the conference.
Viewing Chat Tool Messages
As messages are posted to the Chat Tool they will appear in the Chat Tool Log. Each message will either be prefixed by the name of the person who sent it, or marked as coming from "Anonymous". Messages appear sequentially in the order posted.
Messages will appear in the Chat Tool Log as follows:
>>>Rafe@Buzzbait:
What is the status of Project Blue Book?>>>Anonymous):
50% or more complete.>>>Rafe@Buzzbait):
Great! Push forward with the documentation.The first message was posted by a conference member identified as Rafe on the computer with hostname Buzzbait. Another person responded anonymously (which could have been anybody, even Rafe), to which Rafe posted a reply. If you wished to contribute, you could post the next response.
Posting a Message
To participate in a Chat Tool discussion you must first compose your message in the Personal Note Pad.
1. Type your message in the Personal Note Pad.
Your message will not been seen by other conference members until you post it. You are free to make as many changes as necessary before Posting.
If you wish to include the contents of a text file in your message select the Include option by selecting Include... from the File menu or clicking on the Include button in the Tool Bar. The contents of the file will be brought into your Personal Note Pad. You can make further changes to the text if you wish.
2. If you want to post your message anonymously make sure that the Anonymous selection from the Options menu is selected.
3. When you are satisfied with the message you have composed in the Personal Note Pad, use the Post Note Pad option in the File menu or click the Send button in the Tool Bar to post it.
Your message will be posted to the conference and will appear in the Chat Tool Log.
The keyboard accelerator is often easier to use than the menus for Posting your messages. Holding the <Control> key while pressing <Enter> will post your message.
Chat Tool Controls
The Chat Tool provides a set of simple controls.
Using the Windows Clipboard in Chat Tool
Cut, Copy, and Paste to the Windows Clipboard are fully implemented for text in the Chat Tool. You can Cut, Copy, and Paste directly in the Personal Note Pad. Cut and Paste, however, have been disabled for the Chat Tool Log.
Cut, Copy, and Paste operations will affect only selected text. Double clicking on an area of text with the mouse will select the current word. Alternatively you can drag select an area of text.
While using the Chat Tool you can copy text from the Chat Tool Log or the Personal Note Pad into the Windows Clipboard or you can paste information from the Windows Clipboard into your Personal Note Pad.
The Windows Clipboard can be used to share information between different Communique! tools. In this tool’s case, the Windows Clipboard can share text between the Chat Tool and other Communique! tools.
Saving the Chat Tool Log
You can save a transcript of a Chat Tool text conference for later reference. To save the contents of the Chat Log to disk:
1. Select Save from the File menu or click on the Save button on the toolbar.
The Save Text File dialog box will appear.
2. . Enter the path and filename to which you wish to save the text.
3. Click OK.
The text will be saved as an ordinary text file. If you will be using this file with other software, be aware that many programs will require ordinary text file names to end with .TXT.
Printing the Chat Log
Any text present in the Chat Log can be printed as well. To print the contents of the Chat Log:
1. Verify your printer settings by selecting Print Setup... from the File menu.
2. Select Print from the File menu or click on the Print button on the toolbar.
A standard Windows Print dialog will appear.
3. Click on OK to print your text.
Your Chat Log will be printed through standard Windows print services. For more information about printing and the Print dialog, please refer to your Microsoft Windows documentation.
Pop Up On Receive
With this option enabled the Chat Tool automatically opens when other conference members post messages. This option is on by default.
Anonymous
If you would rather post messages to the Chat Tool anonymously, you can select the Anonymous setting from the Options menu.