Defining chat server options

In the Chat Server Settings area of the Virtual Chat Administration Console, you configure server information, chat options, and quick text options.

Updates to these options take effect only after you refresh the servlet. To refresh the servlet, From the Virtual Chat Administration Console, select Self Service Portal > Configuration, and then click Refresh Servlets.

General settings

In the General Settings section of the Chat Server Settings pane, you define the following options:

• Virtual Agent Name: The name of your virtual agent. The default name is Jenn.

• Show Avatar: The purpose of this field has been enhanced in version 9.1.01.

   In 9.1.00

  Specifies whether to display an image of your virtual agent (avatar). The default value is Yes. The virtual agent avatar is displayed only on the classic interface of the self service portal.

   In 9.1.01

  For the classic interface, nothing has changed. For the new interface, specifies whether to display an image of agents, whether the virtual agent or live agent. The default value is Yes. You can upload agent pictures from their record on the People form in BMC Remedy IT Service Management.  The maximum size for the image file is 15kb.

• HTTP Resource Server: The URL to the server that contains the HTTP Resources folder
• Question Log: The full path to the questions.log file, such as c:\var\questions.log. The questions.log file is a text file that contains a log of all chat messages. If this value is left blank, the log file is not created or updated. If you do not log all chat messages to a text log file, you can still see chat information in the reports.
• Chat Application Status: The type of agent in use for the chat server. Select Virtual Agent Only, Agent Only, or Virtual Agent and Live Agent.
• Self Service Chat Responses to Keep: The number of self-service chat responses to keep. Responses beyond the maximum number are discarded. The default value is 50.
• Max Open Self Service Questions: The maximum number of open sessions with live agents that a self-service user can have open at one time. When a user tries to  open a new chat session with a live agent, but has reached the maximum value, the user receives a message indicating that the maximum number of open sessions has been reached. When you change this value in the Virtual Chat Administration Console, it applies to self-service users who open the self-service portal after the change is saved. If a user is in a session when the value is changed, the new value does not apply to that user until the user logs out and logs back on. The default value is 6.
• Max Open Live Chat Sessions: The maximum number of chat sessions that a self-service user can have with live agents. When a user tries to open a new chat session with a live agent, but has reached the maximum value, the user receives a message indicating that the maximum number of live chat sessions has been reached. When you change this value in the Virtual Chat Administration Console, it applies to self-service users who open the self-service portal after the change is saved. If a user is in a session when the value is changed, the new value does not apply to that user until the user logs out and logs back on. The default value is 6.

• Max Wait Time Reported: The maximum wait time (in minutes) to display to the self-service user when the user requests a live agent. 
  
  BMC Virtual Chat calculates the maximum wait time based on past performance. Wait time is also based the longest wait time of all the open requests for live agents. For example, if there are 5 Self Service Portal requests to talk to live agents and longest wait time is 5 minutes, the system displays 5 minutes. If the longest session changes again to 3 minutes, the system updates the wait time to 3 minutes.
  
  Use Max Wait Time Reported to display a maximum value to the user. For example, if a question has been left unanswered in the queue for a long period of time, the computed wait time might be excessively long. System administrators can override this value by setting their own maximum wait time. The self-service users sees the wait time in the following system prompt when they request a live agent:
  Your approximate wait time is 10 minutes

Group chat options

These legacy options are no longer used by the product.

Chat server status

In the Chat Server Status section of the Chat Server Settings pane, you define the following settings:

• Current Status: The mode of the chat server: Test or Production
• Show Debug Info: Specifies whether debug mode is active in the Support Agent Console. When set to On, a Debug button appears on the Support Agent Console to show debug information to aid in error tracking and resolution. When set to Off, the Debug button is hidden and debug fields do not appear.

Quick text options

In the Quick Text Options of the Chat Server Settings pane, you define whether agents can use quick text responses and quick scripts. By default these values are set to Yes.

• Allow Agents to Use Quick Text: Quick text responses are common questions that an agent asks a self-service user, such as How can I help you today? and What version of the product are you using? By allowing quick text responses, agents can speed up the chat process by reducing repetitive typing.
• Allow Agents to Add Personal Quick Text: Agents might want to create their own personal quick text responses. Personal quick text responses are only for that agent's use and do not affect other system quick text responses. As a system administrator, you decide whether agents are allowed to create personal quick text responses.
• Allow Agents to Use Question Scripts: Question scripts are a series of questions that an agent might ask a self-service user, such as basic information-gathering questions or final closeout questions. When an agent uses a question script, the next question in the script is not asked until the user answers the preceding question. This allows agents to be more efficient, because they do not have to concentrate on asking a standard set of questions.