How to Guides

These guides walk common ArrowChat-on-Joomla setups after pkg_rca_arrowchat is installed. Each scenario assumes ArrowChat is licensed and on disk, Write bridge has been run when Options changed, and System - RCA ArrowChat is enabled unless noted otherwise.

Open chat for everyone who is logged in

Set Friend list mode to All online users in component Options and save. Turn avatars on if you want real Joomla profile photos instead of Gravatar tiles. Click Write bridge from the dashboard, clear Joomla cache, and leave the staff module unpublished if you do not need a dock. You know it worked when two logged-in browsers see each other in the buddy list and can open a private chat.

Replace Gravatar with real profile photos

Open component Options, Avatars tab, set avatars to Yes, and pick an avatar source that matches how your site stores user photos. Click Write bridge, then hard-refresh the frontend. You know it worked when chat faces show real photos and the dashboard reports avatar resolver equals Yes. If you still see Gravatar, you skipped Write bridge or picked the wrong avatar source.

Run a Hotline-style staff dock with status rings

Confirm the dashboard shows folder, autoload, and integration as OK after Write bridge. Publish RCA ArrowChat Staff, enable viewport dock or assign a visible template position, and keep staff accounts logged in while on shift. Set ring colors in module parameters or override CSS variables in custom.css. You know it worked when the dock shows a count and avatars with the correct ring color and a click opens chat with that staff member.

Point RCA at a non-default ArrowChat folder

If ArrowChat lives in livechat or another folder name instead of chat, set Options, ArrowChat folder, to that folder name only, save, click Write bridge, and clear cache. There is no hard-coded default path anymore, so an empty Options field means the plugin will not guess and chat will not load until you set it honestly.

Restrict chat targets to friends only

Set Friend list mode to Friends, confirm your site actually exposes friend relationships the bridge can read, click Write bridge, and test with two accounts that are friends and two that are not. You know it worked when non-friends do not appear as chat targets for each other while friends do. If everyone still sees everyone, your site may not expose friend data and you need a different mode or site work outside this package.

Style chat without fighting the template

Edit your template css/custom.css for chat chrome overrides. The system plugin keeps custom.css last in the cascade on purpose. For the staff module, override the documented CSS variables in the same file instead of fighting inline styles. Clear Joomla cache after CSS changes.

Recover after ArrowChat or RCA updates

After ArrowChat updates from ArrowSuites, open Components, RCA ArrowChat and click Write bridge because ArrowChat often replaces integration.php. After RCA package updates, re-check Options, run Write bridge if the dashboard warns, confirm plugin and module state, clear cache, and retest with two accounts.