Integrate Userplane Webmessenger with Wordpress – Part 2

Most people are nice and just want to have a chat. - Ben Nicholas

Last week I discussed how to get started with the process of installing Userplane’s Webmessenger into your WordPress blog. I showed you how to download and install the necessary Userplane plugins, and the email message you need to send yo Userplane support to get your account configured correctly. I sent my email message, and a day later I received a response. So know I’m ready for the next step in installing Webmessenger on my blog at macdevblog.com!

Email Message

Here is the email message I received from Userplane Support (I’ve omitted the sensitive stuff like user names and passwords):

Here is the info that you will need to finish your integration. The meaning of each is explained in the docs. Please 
wait up to 4 hours from receipt of this email to begin using our applications, as DNS and server changes require 
time to propagate.

domainID: macdevblog.com
XML Path: 
CSXML Path: http://www.macdevblog.com/wp-content/plugins/upl_wc/CSXML.php
WMXML Path: http://www.macdevblog.com/wp-content/plugins/upl_wm/WMXML.php
WRXML Path: http://www.macdevblog.com/wp-content/plugins/upl_wr/WRXML.php

FlashCom server: flashcom.macdevblog.userplane.com

Presence Information:
ID: ***  	 
GUID: ******************************
Password: *********
DomainID: macdevblog.com

Apps Inspector: This is your interface with the flashcom server. It will show any active instances of the 
applications running as well as any and all errors being returned by your XML interface.
http://apps.userplane.com/inspector.html
host: flashcom.macdevblog.userplane.com
username: *********
password: *********

Apps Admin: Used to check usage history, get updates on new features as well as download any 
documentation that you need.
http://apps.userplane.com/login.cfm
username: *********
password: *********

(Failure to properly display ad code will result in disconnection) NOTE: Maximum connection to 
our applications will be set to 2 until you have added ads and notified us. Here are your AdZoneIDs 
for advertisement placement:

Webchat:****
Minichat:****
Webmessenger:****
Userlist:****
Webrecorder:****
Text:***

Activating the Userplane WordPress Plugins

The next step is to login to your Wordpress admin panel. Since I have already installed the Userplane plugins, I can click on the Plugins tab. As shown in Figure 1, if I scroll down the Userplane plugins are displayed. I just need to click on the Activate link to activate the plugins. If you get an error message during the Activate process, it’s most likelydue to the fact that you’re not running the latest version of PHP. Check to make sure that you have at least PHP 5.1.6 installed, and take the necessary steps to upgrade if necessary.

Figure 1 – Activate the Userplane Plugins.

Configuring the Userplane Plugins

Once you’ve activated the plugins – a Chat Suite tab will now appear in the WordPress admin panel, as shown in Figure 2. Click on the Chat Suite tab to configure the Userplane plugins with the information you received in the email message.

Figure 2 – Click on the Chat Suite Tab.

You need to input your FLASHCOM SERVER, DOMAIN ID, and AD ZONE IDs, using the information you received in the email message. Click on Chat configuration, as shown in Figure 3. Scroll down to the Userplane settings section. You must also enter the ID numbers for the Banner, Text, and Minichat from the email message you received, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 3 – Chat configuration.

Figure 4 – Userplane Settings section.

Repeat this process for the Instant Message Configuration and WebRecorder Configuration sesction if you’ve installed those plugins as well. Don’t forget to save your changes!

Adding Your Widgets

The final step in providing access to the Userplane widgets is to add them to one of your sidebars. Click on the Presentation tab, then the Widgets tab as shown in Figure 5. Drag the Chat Suite widget from the Available Widgets area, to the sidebar, as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 5 – Configure Blog Widgets.

Figure 6 – Add to the Sidebar.

That’s it! As shown in Figure 7, Userplane is now available for your blog users!

Figure 7 – Userplane Widgets Now Available On Your Blog!