This article is an introduction to the Spark client and commonly used features for providing support via Live Chat.
Table Of Contents
Spark
Top of the Window
Status indicator (1)
- Set to Free to Chat or Available to be offered help requests
- Set to anything else (including away, etc.) if you don't wish to be offered help requests.
Icons under the status (2)
Add a contact - Add someone to your contact list.
Join a conference - Join or bookmark a group chat. Spark calls them conferences.
View task list.
View notes.
Bottom of the window
There are 3 tabs located at the bottom of the window, 
(Contacts), 
(Conferences) and 
(Fastpath).
Lists your personal and group contacts. Double click to chat directly with someone. Drag or right click them to organize them. Right click for more options such as chat history.
Conferences (4)
- Lists the conferences (group chats) you have bookmarked
- Double clicking the conference.chat-support.mozilla.com icon brings up a list of other conferences available.
Fastpath (5)
This is the panel that you will use the most. See below for a detailed description of the functions found in the Fastpath tab.
Fastpath
Fastpath is the component of Spark that allows us to have a queue and provide support to users from a web interface.
- Workgroup status - Shows you which workgroup you're logged in to, and allows you to log out of the workgroup without exiting Spark.
- History - Shows details history of the last 10 help chats that you participated in. Double click on a listing to see a transcript the conversation and any notes you took.
- Conference - Launches the group chat for the support workgroup. Use it only to discuss and get help with current help chats.
- Macros - Lets you create and edit preset text that you can use during a help chat. Includes a field to set text that will automatically be sent when you accept a help request.
Fastpath info tabs (7)(8)(9)
- Online agents (7) - Lists all the current helpers available to take help requests.
- Current chats (8) - Lists all the current help chats taking place. Includes:
- Question,
- Name of the user
- Agent who accepted the request
- Time the request was accepted
- Queue Activity (9) - Lists the state of the queue including:
- Number of users currently waiting to be helped
- Average wait time
- Last queue activity - Information about the last request in the queue
Accepting a request
When you are offered a help request, you'll receive a notification on your screen that contains all the information collected from the user prior to submitting the request. Along with this information is a timer, and Accept and Reject buttons.
- Click accept to take the help request and begin a chat with the user.
- Click reject to send the request back into the queue for another helper to answer.
- If you do nothing before the timer runs out, the request will automatically be sent back to the queue.
Fastpath Chat window
Chat panel (10)(11)(12)
The chat panel works like any other instant messenger. You enter text into the field at the bottom (11) and what you say and the user's responses appear at the top (10).
Between the chat viewer and the input box are 3 buttons (12)
- Emoticons - these will actually appear to the user they way they appear to you.
- Check spelling - while Spark already underlines misspelled words, this button will open a full fledged spell checker that will prompt you to correct your mistakes and offer suggestions.
- Canned responses - This lets you access preconfigured text either from the server, or that you set up using the macros button earlier.
Info tabs (13)
- User info - contains the information collected from the user when creating the help request
- Participants - Lists all the users currently in the room, with the exception of room monitors.
- User History - Shows the logs of previous help chats involving this user, if available.
- Notes - Use this area to make notes during the conversation.
- Invite - invite another helper into the current chat. You can invite a specific user, or you can invite the queue, to get the first available helper.
- Transfer - transfer the conversation to another helper or back to the queue.
- End this conversation - click this button to end the chat without closing the tab.
