Conversations

Conversations is the heart of EmberX. When a guest scans a QR code, a conversation is created and routed to the appropriate Division. Staff can then reply in real time, place orders, and close the chat when done.

How a Conversation Is Created

1. A guest scans a QR Code (physically placed at a table, room, or reception).
2. The guest is taken to /chat/{token} — a public chat page.
3. The system creates a Conversation record linked to:
   • The QR Code token
   • The Division the QR code belongs to
   • The Location (room, table, etc.)
4. The conversation appears in the staff dashboard under Conversations → Open.

Conversation List View (/conversations)

Filters

Tab	What it shows
Open	Active conversations needing attention (default)
All	Every conversation regardless of status
Closed	Resolved / ended conversations

The list auto-refreshes every 10 seconds via polling, and also updates immediately when a new Socket.IO message arrives.

Each Card Shows

• Location name + Division badge
• Unread badge (red) — number of unread messages from the guest
• Latest message preview — guest messages are shown in their translated form (auto-detected language → staff’s language)
• Guest language (flag + language name)
• Time — relative (“2 min ago”, “3 hours ago”) or absolute date

Conversation Detail View (/conversations/{id})

Clicking a conversation opens the full chat interface:

Chat Header

Shows the Location, Division, Guest Language, and current Status badge (Open / Closed).

Message Area

• Messages from Agents appear on the right (blue).
• Messages from Customers appear on the left (gray).
• Auto-scroll to the latest message.
• When the agent sends a message, an optimistic update immediately shows it — then confirms (or reverts) once the server responds.

Sending Messages

Type in the input bar and press Enter or click Send. Your message is:

1. Saved to the database.
2. Broadcast via Socket.IO to all staff watching this conversation.
3. Auto-translated to the guest’s detected language before delivery.

Note

If the conversation status is Closed, the input bar is disabled. You must re-open the conversation via the API or admin interface.

Real-Time Updates (Socket.IO)

EmberX uses Socket.IO for instant message delivery:

• Staff join a room named by the conversation ID on page load.
• Duplicate messages are deduplicated client-side by message.id.
• On unmount, the socket is disconnected cleanly.

Auto-Translation

EmberX detects the guest’s language from their first message (primaryLanguage field on the Conversation). All subsequent guest messages are:

• Stored in the original language (content)
• Translated to English for staff (translatedContent)

Staff replies are translated to the guest’s language before delivery.

Supported languages include English, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and more (configured via Settings → Language).

Unread Count

The unreadCount is calculated server-side per conversation. It resets to 0 each time a staff member opens the conversation detail view.

Related Features

• Orders — Staff can create an order while in a conversation (/orders inside the chat context)
• QR Codes — Each conversation originates from a specific QR token
• Divisions — Conversations are routed to and visible by the assigned Division’s staff