Suggestions for improvements to Ultimate Shoutbox & Chatroom

[js]

Hi, this is a very interesting and modern-looking shoutbox. I’m glad that you, as an SMF developer, created it - finally SMF has a proper shoutbox. However, in my opinion, it still needs some improvements and further development.

1. Could you add an option in the Shoutbox settings to change the Shoutbox title? It would be much more convenient than having to edit the language file manually.

2. Could you add an option to hide individual BBCodes? For example, I would like to be able to disable the code BBCode. So that individual BBCodes can be enabled or disabled.

For example:

B, I, U, S, URL, </>, color, fonts (if implemented), image, youtube, sound (the option to disable sound already exists).

This would give admins better control over formatting and content used in the shoutbox.

3. Could you add an option to customize font color in the shoutbox? Currently, it is not possible to change the font color. Ideally, this would include a full color picker (palette), allowing users to choose any color (e.g. via HEX or visual picker).

The idea is that, as an admin, I would like to highlight certain messages in a specific color (e.g. red), and a moderator could use another color (e.g. green). At the moment, this is not possible because there is no such option available.

In general, regular users should not have full control over font colors and fonts, but it could be allowed in a limited way so they can highlight certain words using color or different fonts, similar to how it works in forum posts. Such limitations could be defined in the shoutbox rules to prevent misuse.

Additionally, it would be helpful to have an option in the admin panel to set the default font color for the shoutbox text, as currently this can only be changed directly in shoutbox.css

4. Could you add a button on the Shoutbox bar, for example a settings icon, that would lead directly to the main shoutbox settings? I mean a quicker way to access the settings shoutbox directly from the shoutbox, without having to go through the SMF admin panel.

5. Could you also add an option to customize the date and time format, as well as the time text color?

At the moment it is displayed in a format such as 3/28 time, but I would like to be able to use formats such as 28/03/2026, time or 28.03.2026, time, since these are commonly used in Europe.

I would simply like to be able to use the European date format in the shoutbox, for example the same format I use on my forum:

Code: [Select]

%d %B %Y, %H:%M:%S
Ideally, it would be even better if the date layout could be configured in a more user-friendly way, rather than only through format code - something closer to a date format generator, although I understand that this might be difficult to implement.

6. Could you add an option in the admin panel to control the text size by specifying a value in pixels (px)? Currently, this can only be adjusted directly in shoutbox.css

7. It is great that image links are automatically converted into embedded images, but would it be possible to add clickable thumbnails instead? That way, the user could click the thumbnail to open the image in full size, either directly or in a modal window, similar to a gallery view.

8. Could you add a way to display more smileys, for example by expanding the smiley selection list with a More button?

9. Could you add a feature to display a Shoutbox announcement? For example, an information bar at the top of the Shoutbox where an announcement message can be displayed.

10. Could you extend the user ban system to support different ban durations, such as minutes, hours, days, or permanent ban?

11. The text editing field should be improved. When editing longer messages in the shoutbox, it becomes difficult due to the limited width of the input area. The editing field should be larger to make editing long messages more convenient.


https://imgur.com/zgV74La


https://imgur.com/bMwz4aL

12. What do you think about adding an option in the Shoutbox settings to enable the feature:

Example:

Dynamically change the page title when a new message is received

13. Why does every forum refresh trigger the new message sound even though no new message was added during the refresh? Is this the intended behavior, or is it a bug?

14. Could you add permission options to restrict editing and deleting shoutbox messages for specific user groups? This would allow better control over which users are allowed to modify or remove their messages.

[SMFHacks]

Good list, will review and see which ones can be done.

[js]

Thank you, I appreciate your feedback

10. Could you extend the user ban system to support different ban durations, such as minutes, hours, days, or permanent ban?

Additionally, it would be useful to have a dedicated section (tab or moderate panel) for managing bans, where admins can view a list of banned users along with the reason/description for each ban.

[js]

I have added point 14 to the list above.

[js]

Hi vbgamer45,

have you tried implementing any of the features from that list?

[SMFHacks]

Not yet haven't had time lately, was first waiting on it to get approved on modsite which it now has been.

[js]

Understood. I'm glad you found the list good. I look forward to seeing which parts can be integrated into the mod whenever you have the chance to look into it.

[js]

Hi vbgamer45,

It has been almost five months since I posted these suggestions on March 29. Have you had a chance to consider implementing any of them in the shoutbox?

At the moment, the mod is still quite basic and lacks many useful administrative features.

I'm really glad that someone from the SMF community created such a good free shoutbox mod, but I think it would benefit greatly from further development and additional features.

[SMFHacks]

Life has been more busy that expected, I can ask AI build things but they still need to be tested.

[SMFHacks]

Have done some of these updates in

  Ultimate Shoutbox & Chatroom — v1.4

 
  Removed

 

• Tenor GIF provider — Google has retired the Tenor API, so the option has been removed.
  
    If your forum is currently set to Tenor, updating switches it to Disabled automatically so the GIF button stops calling a dead service. To keep GIF search working, go to Admin > Configuration >
    Shoutbox Settings > GIF Settings, choose Giphy or Klipy, and enter an API key for that service.

  New settings

 

• Shoutbox Title (General Settings) — set your own heading for the shoutbox widget without editing the language file. Leave blank to keep the default.
• Time Format (Display Settings) — choose how message timestamps are displayed. Leave blank to keep the existing format ("5m ago", then 3/28 14:05).
  
    Uses the same format codes as your forum's time format, so European layouts are now easy:
   

Code: [Select]

%d %B %Y, %H:%M:%S   ->   28 March 2026, 14:05:32
  %d.%m.%Y, %H:%M      ->   28.03.2026, 14:05
  %d/%m/%Y, %H:%M      ->   28/03/2026, 14:05

Times are rendered on the server, so month names use your forum's language and each member sees times in their own forum timezone.[/li]

 
• Time Text Colour (Display Settings) — set the colour of the timestamp next to each message (for example #888888). Leave blank to use your theme's default.
• Notify in Page Title (Feature Settings) — controls the unread counter that flashes in the browser tab while the forum is in a background tab. This was previously always on and is now a setting; it
    stays enabled by default. The text is also translatable now via $txt['shoutbox_title_notify_text'].

  Fixed

 

• Notification sound played on every page load — refreshing any forum page triggered the shoutbox sound even when nothing new had been posted. The first fetch after a page load returns the existing
    message backlog, and that backlog was being treated as new activity. The sound now only fires for genuinely new messages from other members. The same applies when switching between chat rooms.
• Admin settings fields — text settings containing quotes or apostrophes no longer break the settings form.

  Upgrade notes

 

• All existing behaviour is preserved by default — the new settings only change anything once you fill them in.
• Forums using Tenor will lose GIF search until a new provider and key are set (see above).
• This update changes shoutbox.js and shoutbox.css. If members still see the old behaviour after updating, bump the browser cache setting under Admin > Configuration > Server Settings > Caching to
    force browsers to reload the files.

[davejo]

Hi VB,

I'm getting errors after install

Code: [Select]

Database Error: Unknown column 'id_msg' in 'IN/ALL/ANY subquery'
Also after making a shout nothing shows in the window

See backtrace

[SMFHacks]

Posted an update some fixes

[davejo]

Thanks VB.

Installed with no errors