Getting Started

Contact your BlueFletch sales representative to activate BlueFletch Chat for your organization's Portal. Once you have been informed the request is complete, you can login to Portal again to see the Chat Manager sidebar option.

To get started on using BFE Chat for your organization's portal, you can either contact your BlueFletch sales representative or submit a "General Inquiry" Jira ticket.

Device Configuration and Setup

1. Install the following:

• Launcher: Creates the device folders where configuration files, such as launcher.json, are placed during installation.

• Auth: Enables login and logout functionality within the Launcher.

• Support Application: Allows administrators to monitor events and issues encountered by Chat users on their devices.

• Device ID: Grants the Support Application the ability to identify devices using Chat.

• BlueFletch Messaging v3.4.8+: You can find it on the BF Portal Downloads page.

2. Assign a location to the device using the two options:

• Download a site list CSV file on the device.

• Alternatively, you can use your organization's list of sites to determine the device siteId. For more information on setting up a custom site list file, refer to the Custom Site Finder documentation.

3. Open your "launcher.json" file (IDE or BlueFletch Portal editor). If you don't have one, follow the Getting Started with a Launcher guide.

4. Ensure the "orgId" property within the "emsSupportTool" object matches your company's BlueFletch ID (found in BF Portal Admin Organization page).

...
"emsSupportTool": {
    "orgId": "ORG ID HERE",
    ...
}
...

5. Include the bfChat object in the Launcher configuration file. Refer to the Chat Technical Guide documentation.

...
"bfChat": {
    "apiKey": "ORG API KEY HERE",
    "autoPlayAudio": true,
    "allowAttachments": true,
    "callTimeout": 20
}
...

6. Set the "useSiteInfoService" property to true and the "defaultLocation" property to a placeholder string to allow BlueFletch Chat to determine the user's location.

...
"settings": {
    "useSiteInfoService": true,
    "defaultLocation": "Location"
    ...
}
...

7. Define the “login” and “logout” intents. Refer to the Custom Intents documentation.

...
"intents": {
    "login": [
        {
            "action": "com.bluefletch.chat.ACTION_LOGIN",
            "package": "com.bluefletch.chat",
            "flags": 1,
            "typeIntent": "a"
        }
    ],
    "logout": [
        {
            "action": "com.bluefletch.chat.ACTION_LOGOUT",
            "package": "com.bluefletch.chat",
            "flags": 1,
            "typeIntent": "a"
        }
    ]
}
...

Chat Settings

Chat Roles

Chat Roles define groups of Chat users by identity provider (IdP) and configures their communication permissions i.e. having the ability to message, call, and/or video call individual users in their Chat Role or in another Chat Role.

For example, retail associates are granted basic access for receiving and responding to assigned messages, providing task updates, and requesting assistance from managers.

On the other hand, retail managers hold supervisory access, enabling them to broadcast messages to specific teams or the entire store, initiate group chats for project discussions, and monitor associate activity.

Chat Channels

Chat Channels sets up communication channels between multiple Chat Roles including users’ view/post privileges.

Setting a Chat Role's privilege to View Only will allow users with that Chat Role to only read posted messages without the ability to send messages themselves. For example, retail associates have read-only access to stock levels and alerts.

On the other hand, you can allow users with a specific Chat Role to both view messages from channel members and to send messages to the channel. For example, retail managers can clarify item details, broadcast updates, and oversee all associate reports and confirmations.

Setting Up and Using Chat Channels

1. Press the Add Chat Channel button in the upper right corner.

2. Enter text for the fields Chat Channel Name and (optionally) Description.

3. Press Add Chat Role under Participating Chat Roles to select the Chat Role(s) that will make up this Chat Channel.

4. Control user participation: "View and Post" for full interaction, "View Only" for information access. Choose the appropriate level based on your channel's needs.

5. Press Save to save the new Chat Channel.

Device Configuration and Setup

1. Install the following. You can find the latest versions on the BF Portal Downloads page.

• EMS Launcher

• EMS Auth

• BlueFletch Chat

• Support Application

• Device ID

• BlueFletch Messaging

Communicating

Setting Up and Using Chat Channels

1. Press the Add Chat Channel button in the upper right corner.

2. Enter a name for your Chat Channel Name and an optional description to provide context.

3. Click Add Chat Role under Participating Chat Roles to select the Chat Role(s) that will have access to this channel.

4. Choose the participation level for each role: "View and Post" for full interaction, "View Only" for information access.

5. Click Save to create the new Chat Channel.

Accessing Chat via Portal (for admins)

1. From the Portal, click on a specific device ID from the Playbook Devices list.

2. In the upper right corner, click on Detailed Device View.

3. From the Device Actions menu, select "Chat" from the dropdown options.

4. A chat window will pop up.

4. Compose your message in the chat box and click "Send" to transmit it to the device.

Accessing Chat through the Device (for end users)

1. Check the user list for devices with "Active" status.

2. Open a conversation by tapping an "Active" user.

3. Compose your message and hit send.

4. On Zebra devices, hold down the Push-to-Talk (PTT) button to record an audio message. Release the PTT button to send your recording as an attachment.