How to use the Chat Tool

Chat allows you to communicate with others who are in the chat tool section of your WebCT topic. You can only chat to people who are in the chat session at the same time. Typing messages is the way in which you chat to others. To use Online Chat you must have the Java option enabled in your browser. To configure your browser, go to Enabling Java webpage.

The main Chat Window

Click on a chat room you want to go into. A separate window will come up. The upper right box lists the people logged into that chat room at the moment. Type your comments in the box at the bottom of the window and press 'enter' to see them displayed in the upper left box. Everyone in the chat room can see your message, although you can only see the messages which have been sent while you are in the chat room.

To send a private comment to a specific person, highlight them in the upper right box, then type in your comment and press enter.

Sending an URL

To send a URL (Universal Resource Locator), i.e. a web address as shown in the image below, click on Send URL button on the main chat window. This opens a separate window wherein you can type the web address and click on send. Everyone else in the room then receives a 'URL Received' window with the URL asking permission to open that URL in a new browser window. Click Okay to open or Cancel to close.

When the chat is finished, to exit, press the 'Quit' button.