Summary

1. EpsilonChat installation

To download EpsilonChat, please go to one of the following website and choose download link:  

2. Connection, disconnection

To connect click on the arrow button on the right of "Connect to epsilon-publi".  

Then input the username and password.

If you lose your password go to the website:

3. EpsilonChat elements

contacts: they are persons you communicate with, using the chat or live shared documents.

conversations: a conversation allows to communicate using chat and live shared documents with a set of contacts.

chats: they allow to discuss with a contact or with all the participants of a conversation. In the classical default mode called "free", any participant can write at any time. Please, see other modes in the "Conversation" section of the manual.

live documents: they allow to work on a document with a contact or with all the participants of a conversation. Only one person can write on the document at a time. In the classical mode named "free", any participant can take the control and write when nobody is writing. See other modes in the "live documents" section of the manual.

4. Contacts

Contacts are displayed in the home window when the "All" or "Contact" button are green.

4.1. Add a contact

To add a contact, you need the username of the person for the epsilon-publi service or the email address used to create the account.

Use the button "Add a contact", then type or paste the username or email address.

The person is now in the "Contact requests sent" which is displayed in the home window.

When this person uses EpsilonChat, he or she sees the request in the "Contact requests received" list. He or she can accept or reject the request.

As soon as the person accepted, he or she appears in the list of contacts and you can start to chat with him or her.

4.2. Display of the contacts

The display includes a photo, the name, first name and a presence mark.

A click on the photo or the name launches the chat with the contact.

Presence indicator is green if the contact is on EpsilonChat, orange if not. There is no mark if the contact chose to mask his or her presence (using the "My Profile" menu).

If a message from this contact is unread, then a red star is displayed.

Date of last message is then displayed.

The display then has four document icons. These are the live shared documents with the contact.

Clicking on one of these icons opens the document.

Finally, the display has a red cross to delete the contact.

Choice of items displayed

The photo is visible if the menu item "Contacts | Photo" is checked.

Icons for live shared documents are displayed if the "Both" button is green or the "Use" button is green.

Cross for deletion is displayed if the "Both" button is green or the "Modify" button is green.

Display order

The "EpsilonChat" menu allows you to choose to display contacts as name + first name or first name + last name.

The "Contacts" menu allows you to choose the display order of the rows of contacts:

- "By name" is the last name + first name order;

- "By status": contacts who are online are placed first;

- "By Date" is the order of the contacts whose last chat messages are the newest;

- "By unread": contacts having unread messages are placed first;

4.3. Deleting a contact

In the Home window, click on the red cross to delete the row of the contact. If there is no cross, click on the "Both" button or the "Edit" button to make it appear.

When you delete a contact, chat and live documents are deleted. In addition, the contact is removed from the conversations which he/she is the leader and the conversations which he/she is the leader disappear.

4.4. Extracting contacts from a text

It is possible to extract email addresses from a text to propose to some people to become a contact.

For example, if you have a message in Thunderbird with multiple recipients, you can ask the source form of the message (with Ctrl+U key) and then copy the area with the addresses.

To extract addresses, select the menu "Contacts | Extracting contacts from text" and then paste the text containing the addresses and click ok.

EpsilonChat will extract addresses.

It will remove those people who are already contacts.

It will list those people who already have an EpsilonChat account allowing you to select those that will be directly invited to become a contact. It will list those that have no EpsilonChat account in order to choose those to whom will be sent an email inviting them to use and become an EpsilonChat contact.

4.5. Robot

Robot is a virtual contact that is always online and automatically answers (always the same sentence) when you chat with him. It is mainly used to make a small test of EpsilonChat the first time you use the software.

The robot can be suppressed. It can be added by "Add a contact" and providing the username "robot" without quotes. It is automatically added when there is no contact.

5. Conversations  

Conversations are displayed on the home window when the "All" button or the "Conversation" button is green.

5.1. Add a conversation

To add a conversation, use the "New Conversation" button.

You should then select the contacts that will participate in this conversation by checking the list that is provided.

Finally, you should enter a title for this conversation.

The conversation is now in the conversation list that is displayed in the Home window.

When participants use EpsilonChat, they see the request in the list of "Conversation requests received". They can accept or reject the request.

5.2. Viewing conversations

The display features the first title and the name and surname of the leader of the conversation.

Clicking on the title launches the conversation chat.

If there is a unread message in the conversation, a red star is displayed next.

Date of last message is then displayed.

The display then has four document icons. These are live shared documents with the participants of the conversation.

Clicking on one of these icons opens the document.

When the user has created the conversation, he/she is the owner or leader and the display then includes:

- "Participants" button to edit the list of participants, new participants receive a conversation request;

- "Title" button to change the title;

- Red cross button to delete the conversation.

When the user is not the leader of the conversation, then the display has only a "Quit" button.

Choice of items displayed

The leader is visible if the menu item "Conversations | Leader" is checked.

Live shared documents icons are displayed if the "Both" button is green or the "Use" button is green.

Deletion cross and modification buttons are displayed if the "Both" button is green or the "Modify" button is green.

Display order

The "Conversations" menu allows you to choose the display order of the rows of contact:

- "By Title" is the title order;

- "By Leader" is the leader name + first name order;

- "By Date" is the conversations with the newest chat messages placed first;

- "By unread post": conversations for which there are unread messages are placed first.

5.3. Deleting a conversation

You can delete a conversation only if you are the leader.  In this case, there is a red cross on the right of the conversation row (if necessary, click the "Both" button or the "Modify" button to make it appear).

Click on the red cross to delete this conversation. This removes the chat and live documents for all participants.

When the user is not the leader of the conversation, there is an "Quit" button (if necessary, click the "Both" button or the "Quit" button to make it appear). By clicking this button, the user is removed from the list of participants and the conversation disappears from the list of conversations.

6. Chats  

A chat window includes, in the upper left, a panel with the indication CHAT (Free). "Free" is the classical case, the other cases are "ordered" and "supervised". This panel has a button that says "Write" in the classical case.

The left panel displays the contact, in the case of a chat with one contact, and the list of participants in the case of a conversation chat. There is a status indication:

- Green: the person is connected to this chat,

- Orange: it is not connected to the chat,

- Gray: the person has not yet accepted the conversation.

There are also indications "me" and "Leader". When the chat is not in "Free" mode, there is the indication "Writer" when someone has the control.

The right pane shows the contents of the chat.

The bottom right panel is used to enter messages to send. It may be hidden. In this case, it may be obtained by clicking the "Write" button.

You can type text, math, paste text, images and portions of EpsilonWriter documents or EpsilonChat.

View EpsilonWriter manual for more information about the editor functions.

In free mode, which is the classic mode, each person can write a massage at any time.

More information on the modes "ordered" and "supervised" in the "Other modes" section.

See the "display order of participants" in the section with the same title.

7. Live documents

7.1. General

Live document window contains a top left panel with indication LIVE (free), "free" can be replaced by "ordered" or "supervised" . This panel contains a main button that says "Take control", "Return control", "Raise Hand", "Hands down" depending on the situation .

Only one person can have the control at any given time to write the document.

The writer is shown in this panel.

The color of the top left panel shows what you can do:

- Red: you cannot write, cannot take the control,

- Orange: you cannot write, you can take the control,

- Green: you can write (you have the control).

The left panel displays the contact, in the case of a live document with a contact, and the list of participants in the case of a conversation live document. There is a status indication:

- Green: the person is connected to this live document,

- Orange: the person is not connected to the live document.

People who have not yet accepted the conversation are not shown.

There are also indications "me", "Leader" and "Writer" when someone has the control.

The panel on the right shows the content of the live document.  

In a live document, you can type text, math, paste text, images and portions of EpsilonWriter documents or EpsilonChat.

See the EpsilonWriter manual for more information about the editor functions.  

7.2. The Free mode

To write in a live document in free mode, you must take control by clicking on the "Take control" button if it is active. If it is inactive, you must wait until the person who got the control returns it.

When you have the control, the main button says "Return control" and to the right, there is a button  to choose the maximum idle time you can keep the control. To its right, there is a button indicating the time remaining to return the control automatically if there is no action on the document. You can click this button to restore the maximum remaining time.

The document is sent to the server every second when changes are made, if the file size is less than 20kb. If the size is greater than 20kb, the period is longer. The button that appears, allows you to request an immediate transmission.

Note that images are recorded separately to avoid transmitting several times.

You can point out a portion of the document to show to the readers by selecting it. Indeed, the selections are transmitted and displayed on the screens of the readers. When the document is not small, just after the selection, you should better click on the button  for the transmission not to be delayed.

People who do not have the control can use the button to pause the refresh of the document. This way, they can read what is written in a part of the document without being constantly brought to the part where the writer makes changes.  

7.3. Other points

See the “ordered” and “supervised “modes in the section “Other modes”.

See display order of participants in the section with this title.

8. Other modes

8.1. The Supervised mode

The leader of a conversation can run chat or live document of this conversation in the "supervised" mode. To do this, he/she must start the chat or live document and use the EpsilonChat menu .

In the "supervised" mode the leader gives the control to the people of his or her choice. In the case of a chat, the leader can write at the same time as the contact that has the control.

Participants other than the leader can ask for the control using the button at the top left panel. This is a mark that is displayed next to the photo of the participant, with a number.

The leader has commands in the top of the participant panel (left) to give the control, interrupt and hands down. These commands can also be found in the menu EpsilonChat with an additional command "All hands down."

8.2. The Ordered mode

The leader of a conversation can set chat or live document of this conversation in "ordered" mode. To do this, he/she must start the chat or live document and use the EpsilonChat menu.

In "ordered" mode, participants must ask for the control, using the button on the top left panel, in order to send a message or to write in the document This is a mark that is displayed next to the photo of the participant, with a number. The control is managed automatically by the server in the order of the requests. Participants must take care to return the control so that others can take it (but if the participant who has the control is inactive for some time, the control is returned ​​automatically). In the case of a chat, the leader can send a message at any time without requiring control.

9. Display order of the participants  

The default order of participants in a chat or a live document is order "by status" which follows:

- First, the writer, when in the ordered or supervised mode and there is one,

- Then, participants who asked the control in the ordered or supervised mode,

- Then participants who are connected to this chat or live document with a green square,

- Then participants who are not currently connected to this chat or live document with an orange square,

- Finally, those who have not yet agreed to participate in the conversation with a gray square (for chat only).

The EpsilonChat menu allows you to change the order. The other possibility is "By name".

10. Sounds  

Sounds are emitted:

- When the control is give by the leader or the server,

- When the control is taken back by the leader or the server,

- When any of you get a new message on an open tab in a chat.

It is possible to disable these sounds using the EpsilonChat menu.

11. Miscellaneous

To return to the Home window, you can use the tab representing a small house or the EpsilonChat menu.

If there is a problem displaying a part of the window, use the menu item Refresh of the EpsilonChat menu.

The item "Presence hidden" from the "My Profile" menu allows choosing whether your present/absent status is reported in the contact lists.

The item "Upload photo" menu "My Profile" allows uploading the user's photo.