We are working on a new component for Kayako desktop applications (InstaAlert, SyncWorks and the operators’ application) which will automatically check for new application versions and optionally download and install them for you.

We understand that opinions about automatic updaters vary, as do organization network security and rules. So, we are asking customers to contribute their thoughts and ideas about the matter in this forum thread:  http://forums.kayako.com/f56/automatic-pc-software-updater-read-me-25233/

Your input will help us tailor the automatic upater suit your needs and network requirements. We really appreciate your feedback!

SupportSuite and LiveResponse lets you generate HTML code which you can place on your web pages to display a live chat button. You can display a button and track your visitors in real time on any number of pages and across multiple websites.

In this post we will show you how easy it is to do.

For the purposes of this guide, we’ll assume your support desk is located at http://support.kayako.com and the web page on which you want to display a live chat status button is located at http://www.kayako.com/index.php.

This is a two step process:

1. Use the tag generator in SupportSuite or LiveResponse to generate the button HTML code
2. the HTML code into one of your web pages

The tag generator can be found in the staff control panel, under the Live Support tab, as shown below.

The Tag Generator is located under the Live Support tab

You have four ‘tag’ options:

• HTML Button – use this option if you want to generate code that will produce a clickable button showing the status of your live chat (Available, Offline, Away, etc).
• E-mail Signature – use this option if you want to add an e-mail friendly link which displays the status of your live chat.
• Text Link – use this option to generate a text link only representation of your live chat status.
• Visitor Tracking – use this option to generate code which will not display any live chat status, but will still allow your agents to track visitors who visit your web page.

We will select the HTML Button option.

The HTML code snippet has been generated

Copy the generated HTML snippet, and paste it into the source code of your web page. Although this HTML code loads JavaScript, you should treat this snippet as if it were an image declaration – the JavaScript will import code and the graphic when your page loads.

Pasting the HTML snippet into our web page's HTML code

Save your web page source code, upload the file to your web server and visit your web page. You should now see your live chat status graphic.

This post does not affect you if you are a hosted with Kayako.

Zend and Ioncube decoders are not yet available for PHP 5.3

If you wish to run Kayako software on your own web servers, a Zend or Ioncube PHP decoder is required. At the time of writing, neither Zend or Ioncube have released a non-beta decoder for PHP 5.3.

We strongly advise you hold off from upgrading until an officially supported decoder is released.

‘Deprecated function’ warnings

PHP 5.3 marks a few functions that SupportSuite, eSupport and LiveResponse depend on for some functionality. We are in the process of re-engineering these features, and we will release the updates in the next minor build, due shortly.

Until then, if you cannot avoid upgrading to the latest major version of PHP, please make sure that you disable the reporting of ‘deprecated’ notices. To do this, edit the “error_reporting = ” section of the PHP configuration file, php.ini, changing it to read:

error_reporting  = E_ALL ^ E_DEPRECATED

This will prevent any warnings appearing in your web browser about the newly deprecated functions. Your support desk will continue to work just fine with PHP 5.3 with this change.

All of us at Kayako would like to wish you, your family and your organization a happy holiday and a healthy, prosperous new year to beat the last.

Office hours

Our offices will be closed on the 25th of December (for Christmas day) and the 1st January (for New Years’ Day). As always, technicians will be available to support our hosted services and handle issues of urgency.

Holiday offer

It wouldn’t be a Kayako holiday without a sprinkling of customer support cheer! Our holiday offer is open again, serving up a 15% discount on all new Kayako licenses and accounts. Spread the good news!

Happy holidays!

On Saturday, the 19th December 2009, we celebrated the first Annual Fest at Kayako. This is the first of what is going to be an annual event, where the whole team (and their families) are invited to a party, everyone an opportunity to celebrate the year, to reflect on what we have achieved and to look forward to the next.

We also use the party as an event to bring together some known faces in information technology – inviting speakers and related dignitaries to give an insight into what Kayako, the government, industry as a whole and the education system is doing for IT in our region.

The event was held at one of the most prestigious venues in the city which serves up some of the best cuisine in town. The event started in the early evening with a dose of live rock music performed by a talented local band called Crank Shaft. It was one of the most pumping performances I have seen in years – everyone was charged and the night was electric!

The room filled and everyone seated to see the awards ceremony

The panel of guest speakers took the stage at around 8:30:

• Mr. Ajay Srivastav: Joint Director – Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), Punjab chapter.
• Mr. R.K Verma: Managing Director – Punjab Infotech, a government undertaking.
• Mr. Ashok Mittal: Director – Lovely Professional University, the largest university in North India, graduating some of the world’s best engineers each year to meet the demand of ever expanding technology needs.

Left to right: Guest speakers Mr. Verma, Mr. Mittal and Mr. Srivastav

The speakers provided an analysis and their thoughts on the progress IT has made in the region. It was a fascinating forty-five minutes of discussion which provided everyone with a detailed insight into the future of IT in India. An open round of question and answers with the audience followed the discussion, which lead the way to some lively debate!

The next event of the night was intended to recognize and appreciate the hard work of all the Kayako team who took that extra mile to fulfil the needs of our customers and make Kayako what it is today. Varun Shoor (the CEO), along with the guest speakers awarded trophies to the team. It was a moment of great pride for the recipients (and their families in attendance!) who cheered the prize getters all the way.

The ceremony was followed by another dose of music and a group games session.

Finally, it was time to honour the panel of guests for their time and efforts contributed to the evening. Varun offered some mementos as a token of our gratitude.

Varun, CEO, presenting a gift to Mr. Mittal from the Lovely Professional University

The band maintained their charm as everybody headed to treat their taste buds to the fantastic food laid for the evening.

So, overall, it was a super success and everyone had a fantastic time. The hard work put in by the team completely paid off. The evening was rounded off with a promise to come back next year with an even BIGGER bang!

Thank you for reading, and we hope you’ve enjoyed hearing about the event. We are sure you are enjoying your own holiday parties and festivities around this time of year too.

Happy holidays!