Private Member Chat

Link: https://support.brilliantdirectories.com/support/solutions/articles/12000055517

Private Member Chat allows members to chat back and forth through the website. Keep members coming back to the site when replying to their chat messages.

By default, members receive an email notification when they get a message. With this add-on they can respond back to messages directly from within their member dashboard area.


IMPORTANT: Private Member Chat is exclusively for member-to-member communication. Unregistered users will be prompted to log in or create an account to access this feature. 


How To Get This Add-On
  1. Websites with the VIP Add-Ons Club automatically have this add-on available: 
Join The VIP Add-Ons Club
  2. Purchase Individually: Private Member Chat Add-On


Enabling the Add-On


Go to Settings » General Settings, open the Integrations tab and scroll down to the Private Member Chat Messages section:


The Private Member Chat Messages section of the General Settings Integrations tab, with the enable setting, member email notifications and the reported-chat admin email setting numbered 1 to 3.


  1. Enable Private Chat Messages for Members? — select Yes - Enable Chat Messages for Specific Membership Plans. The membership plans that can use the chat are chosen next, in the plan settings.
  2. Send Email Notifications to Members — choose which members get an email when a chat message is sent:
    • Only Send Notification to Message Receiver (all messages)
    • Only Send Notification to Message Sender (first message only)
    • Send Notifications to Message Receiver and Sender (the default)
    • No - Do Not Send Notifications
    Tick Send Copy of Email to Default Website Email Address. to also send a copy of these emails to the website's email address.
  3. Send Email Notification to Admin When Private Chat Reported? — select Yes to email the website admin when a member reports a chat.


Click Save Changes.


Private Chat Email Notifications and Templates


The chat notification email templates are:


  1. conversation-reply
  2. start-conversation-general-user
  3. start-conversation-member
  4. conversation-flag-notification (sent to the admin when a chat is reported)


>> How to Edit Email Templates


The conversation-reply email template open in the email template editor.


To include the text of the chat message in these emails, add this Email Template variable:


%%%chat_message_content%%%


Other variables specific to private chat emails print the sender's company name, first name or full name:


%%%sender_company%%%

%%%sender_first_name%%%

%%%sender_full_name%%%


Private Member Chat Membership Settings


Next, choose which membership plans can use the chat. Go to Finance » Membership Plans and click Edit on the plan:


The Membership Plans page with the Edit button of a plan highlighted.


Click the Profile Page tab and scroll down to the Page Display Settings section. Under Enable Private Chat Messages, tick Enable Receiving Chat Messages, Enable Sending Chat Messages, or both, depending on whether members on this plan should receive chats, send them, or do both. Then click Save Changes.


The Page Display Settings on a membership plan's Profile Page tab, with Enable Receiving Chat Messages and Enable Sending Chat Messages highlighted.


Sending Private Chats


When Private Member Chat is enabled, the Send Message buttons that contact a member open the private chat instead of the contact form. A visitor who is not logged in is sent to the login page instead:



The same applies to the Contact Member button on member posts. On post pages, a window asks the visitor to log in or create an account:


A post page where clicking Contact Member opened the Login or Register to Start Chatting window.


The general contact form in the default Member Profile Page sidebar stays available to visitors who are not logged in:


A member profile viewed by a logged-out visitor, with the contact form in the profile sidebar highlighted.


A member who is logged in but whose account is not active cannot use the private chat and sees this message instead:


The chat page showing the message You must be an active user to send a message after an inactive member tried to send a chat.


For a logged-in member with an active account, the profile button reads Send Chat Message. The member clicks it, types the message and clicks Send Message. After the confirmation, the conversation opens in the member's Chat Messages:



The member who receives the chat finds it under Chat Messages in their member dashboard, and gets an email notification based on the Send Email Notifications to Members setting.


A member dashboard with Chat Messages highlighted in the menu and the list of chats showing who the member is chatting with and the last message.


Inside a chat, both members see the page the chat started on (Origin Page), a Scroll to Message Field button that jumps to the reply box, and the Report button. The image button in the reply box adds pictures to a message:


A chat conversation in the member dashboard with the image button in the reply box and the Report button highlighted.


Members can upload an image, add one from a link, or pick one from the stock photo Library when it is enabled (see Stock Images for Private Member Chat below):


The chat image window with its upload, link and Library options, the stock photo Library option highlighted.


Spam Submission


When the Advanced Setting Enable Spam Detection For Chat Messages is turned on, chat messages containing words identified as spam are blocked, based on the Spam Form Protector Add-On. Find it in Settings » Advanced Settings, on the Members tab:


The Enable Spam Detection For Chat Messages setting on the Members tab of Advanced Settings.


Report Private Chats


Members can report a chat to the website admin, for example when they are being harassed. Clicking Report and confirming closes the chat while the admin reviews it, and the chat is marked REPORTED:



When Send Email Notification to Admin When Private Chat Reported? is set to Yes, the admin gets an email that uses the conversation-flag-notification template. Its link opens the reported chat on the admin's Private Member Chats page (see Interactions » Private Chats):


The conversation-flag-notification email template, with the link to the reported chat in the admin highlighted.


Private Member Chat Advanced Settings


These Advanced Settings in Settings » Advanced Settings expand the Private Member Chat add-on:


Stock Images for Private Member Chat


To let members pick images from the stock photo library in chats, open the Text Editor tab, find Froala Enable Stock Photo Library and tick Froala Text Editor - Private Member Chat Messages:


The Froala Enable Stock Photo Library setting on the Text Editor tab of Advanced Settings, with Froala Text Editor - Private Member Chat Messages highlighted.


Froala Upload File For Chat


Turning On the Advanced Setting Froala Upload File For Chat (also on the Text Editor tab) lets members upload PDF files in chats:


The Froala Upload File For Chat setting on the Text Editor tab of Advanced Settings.


When it is on, a file button appears next to the image button in the chat reply box:


The chat reply box with the file upload button that appears when Froala Upload File For Chat is on.


Text Labels for Private Chats


The heading above the chat box uses two text labels, which apply to all private chats. Edit them in Settings » Text Labels:


  • chat_with_label
  • chat_with_label_append


The Text Labels page filtered to the chat_with_label and chat_with_label_append labels.


Admin Dashboard: Private Member Chats


The website admin reads and manages every chat between members on the Private Member Chats page (Interactions » Private Chats): finding chats, reading them, changing their status, reviewing reported chats and deleting chats. See Interactions » Private Chats.