We’re excited to announce the release of Chat4Us-Creator v0.5.16! This update is packed with new features, major improvements, and crucial bug fixes. As always, our team is working hard to refine the project. Consequently, we’ve optimized the code and enhanced the overall user experience.
Let’s dive into the key changes.
1. New, Simplified Distribution Packages
We’ve created a dedicated setup tool to make installation and management easier. Therefore, from now on, you’ll find our project binaries in two convenient formats:
- An “Extract & Go” Archive for fresh installations.
- An Installable Archive for a guided setup, perfect for updates.
1.1. The “Extract & Go” Archive
Look for a file named like chat4us-creator-vX.X.XX.zip. This portable version is simple to use. Just extract the archive, grant the required permissions, and run chat4us-creator.jar to start building your chatbots.
1.2. The Installable Archive
This package includes the portable version plus our new Chat4Us-Setup tool. This GUI wizard guides you through familiar setup steps.
Why use the setup tool? It’s essential for updating production environments. If an update affects existing files, our tool lets you backup your current installation first. This way, you can easily recover if anything goes wrong.
2. AI Context Size: Now a Per-Server Setting
Previously, the AI context size was a single global setting. However, as we integrate more AI models, each with its own limits, this had to change. Now, you can set the context size for each chat server individually.
What is context size? Simply put, it defines how much conversation history you send to the AI model. A higher value includes more past messages.
- For example, in a country/capital quiz, a low context size might cause questions to repeat. Conversely, a larger context size helps avoid repetition.
How to set it: Right-click a chat server, select Edit…, and you’ll find the context size setting in the dialog. By default, it uses your global value, but you can adjust it to fit your AI model’s limits.
3. Internal Chat Client: Faster, Easier Testing
Creating chatbots involves constant testing and fine-tuning. That’s why we built the new Internal Chat Client. This tool lets you test chatbots instantly, with no authentication required.
To use it: Go to the Chatbots tab on the left pane, right-click your chosen chat server, and select Internal Chat Client.
The client works like a standard messaging app. To start:
- Enter a username in the toolbar and click Connect.
- You’ll see a greeting message.
- Use the text field at the bottom to type your responses and hit Enter.
Pro Tip: Add Clickable Choices
You can create clickable buttons in your chatbot’s messages using HTML syntax similar to the following:
<a id="btnsnd_Response text" class="btn_snd" href="#">Response text</a>
When a user clicks the link, the text after the tag id’s prefix btnsnd_ is sent as a response. This is a great way to prototype interactive chat flows.
4. Major Improvements & Bug Fixes
This release focuses on polishing the user experience and squashing bugs. Here are the highlights.
4.1. Key Improvements
- RIA Editor Enhancements: We’ve made the core chatbot design tool even better.
- Undo/Redo: We improved this essential feature for a smoother design process.
- Visual Clarity: Selected nodes and their connectors now highlight, making complex chat flows easier to navigate.
- Remembered Layouts: Dialog windows now save their position and size for your convenience.
- Chat Server Status Icons: The chatbots list now uses intuitive icons to show real time server’s states:
- Idle, Receiving a Message, Static Flow Response, AI Response, or Human Operator Response.
- New Right-Click Actions: We’ve added handy actions to the chat server right-click menu:
- Restart: Reloads server resources, great for applying RIA file edits.
- Open in Editor: Directly opens the chatbot’s RIA file for editing.
- Internal Chat Client: Quick access to the testing tool.
4.2. Crucial Bug Fixes
- SSL Certificate Verification: We’ve enabled SSL verification to secure production chatbot communications. Previously, this was disabled for testing. Now, the system checks your keystore at startup.
- Self-signed certificates disable verification (good for testing).
- Authority-signed certificates enable it (essential for production).
- Chat Server List Rendering: We completely rewrote the messy code that displays the chat server list. As a result, it should now work smoothly and reliably.
Upgrade Today!
We highly recommend downloading the latest version to take advantage of all these new features, improvements, and fixes.
Download Chat4Us-Creator v0.5.16 now from:
Chat4UsAI GitHub SourceForge
