MessageOfTheDay Plugin

Introduction

The MessageOfTheDay (MOTD) plugin for AVideo lets site administrators display popup messages to users when they visit the site. Use it to share important announcements, updates, promotions, or any information you want your audience to see.

Messages appear as popups and can be configured to show once per user or once per day — giving you flexibility for one-time announcements or recurring daily reminders.

Types of Messages

The plugin supports two types of messages:

1. Scheduled Messages

These are messages you create with full control over when they appear, who sees them, and how often they repeat.

• Date Range: Set a Start Date and an optional End Date to control exactly when the message is active.
  • By default, the start date is set to "now" and the end date is left empty (meaning the message stays active indefinitely until you set an end date).
  • Dates use your local timezone — if you set a message to start at 8:00 AM in your timezone, it starts at that exact moment regardless of where your users are located.
• Display Frequency: Choose how often users see the message:
  • Once per user: The message appears only one time. After the user sees and closes it, it will not appear again (cookie stored for 365 days).
  • Once per day: The message appears once each day during the active period. Users will see it again the next day.
• User Group Targeting: Choose to show the message to all users or only to members of specific user groups. This is useful when you need to communicate with a particular audience (e.g., subscribers, premium members).
• View Statistics: Track how many times each message has been viewed, including detailed charts and viewer information.

2. Default Message (Static Global Message)

This is a simple, always-on message configured directly in the plugin settings.

• It is shown to all users (no user group targeting).
• It repeats once per day — users will see it again the next day.
• Useful for recurring daily reminders or ongoing notices.

How to Use

Accessing the Plugin

1. Go to Admin Panel → Plugins → MessageOfTheDay.
2. You will see two buttons:
   • Edit — Opens the message editor where you create and manage scheduled messages.
   • Statistics — Opens the statistics dashboard to view message performance.

Creating a Scheduled Message

1. Click the Edit button to open the message editor.
2. Fill in the form on the left side:
   • Title: A short headline for your message (required).
   • Text: The full message content. You can use the rich text editor to format your text, add links, images, and more.
   • Start Date: When the message should start appearing. Defaults to "now." Pick a future date and time to schedule it in advance.
   • End Date: When the message should stop appearing. Leave empty if you want it to stay active indefinitely.
   • Display Frequency: How often to show the message:
     • Once per user — Shows only one time per user (default).
     • Once per day — Shows every day during the active period.
   • User Groups: Toggle "All users" to show the message to everyone, or turn it off and select specific user groups.
3. Click Save.

Your message will appear in the table on the right side with its current Status:

Status	Meaning
Active	The message is currently being shown to users.
Scheduled	The start date is in the future; it will activate automatically.
Expired	The end date has passed; the message is no longer shown.

Editing or Deleting a Message

• In the messages table, click the Edit button on any message to load it back into the form, make your changes, and click Save.
• Click the Delete button to permanently remove a message.

Setting the Default Message

1. Go to Admin Panel → Plugins → MessageOfTheDay.
2. Click the Edit Parameters button (gear icon).
3. Fill in:
   • Static Global Message Title: The title for the daily message.
   • Static Global Message Text: The content (supports HTML formatting).
   • Show to Logged Users Only: Enable this if you only want logged-in users to see messages.
4. Click Save.

Viewing Statistics

1. Click the Statistics button from the plugin menu, or click the Stats button next to any individual message.
2. The Statistics Dashboard shows:
   • Total views and unique viewers for each message.
   • Views by day — a line chart showing how views trend over time.
   • Views by hour — a bar chart showing which hours of the day get the most views.
   • Recent viewers — a table listing who saw the message and when.
3. The Overall Statistics view shows a summary across all messages, including a 30-day trend chart and a ranking of your most viewed messages.

Display Frequency Comparison

Frequency	Cookie Name	Duration	Use Case
Once per user	motd_once_{id}	365 days	One-time announcements, feature releases, important updates
Once per day	motd_daily_{id}_{date}	1 day	Daily reminders, ongoing promotions, event countdowns

Important Notes

• Display frequency matters: Choose "Once per user" for announcements you only want users to see one time. Choose "Once per day" for messages you want to repeat daily throughout the active period.
• Non-blocking: Messages are loaded in the background via AJAX after the page finishes loading, so they do not slow down your site.
• Timezone handling: Dates are always based on the timezone of the administrator who creates the message. What you see in the date picker is exactly when the message will start or end.
• No end date = infinite: If you leave the end date empty, the message will remain active until you either set an end date or delete it.
• Cookie-based tracking: The display frequency is controlled by cookies stored in the user's browser. If users clear their cookies, they will see the message again.