Addon that automatically whispers people when they join group.

[Dimmulux]

I am looking for an add-on that automatically whispers people a preset message when they join my group.

The use of the add-on would be to inform people of what the group is for (in case they've made a mistake) and provide relevant information (such as voice server details). It would be very helpful for this to be done automatically so that the leader can spend more time organising the group or LFMing.

Does anyone know of an add-on that has this feature? If no such addon exists, would anyone want to create it?

Note: this was initially posted at http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/9051726863 . I have still not found a solution since I posted there and it was suggested I try asking here.

[Malsomnus]

If you don't find an add-on that does this, this might be a nice addition to an add-on I have

[10leej]

Originally Posted by Malsomnus If you don't find an add-on that does this, this might be a nice addition to an add-on I have

I don't think an addon like this exists.

[Sharparam]

I thought this would be a lot simpler to implement, but then I was reminded about cross-realm and all the issues that brings. I wrote something up that might work:

-- Add SHARPARAM_GROUP_WHISPER to SavedVariables to persist the settings
SHARPARAM_GROUP_WHISPER = SHARPARAM_GROUP_WHISPER or {}
 
local opt = SHARPARAM_GROUP_WHISPER
 
opt.enabled = true
op*****ssage = op*****ssage or "Welcome to the group!"
 
local members = {}
 
local PARTY_UNITS = {
    "party1",
    "party2",
    "party3",
    "party4",
    "party5"
}
 
-- Helper function to get a list of group members
local function getGroupMembers()
    local result = {}
    if IsInRaid() then
        for i = 1, GetNumGroupMembers() do
            local name = GetRaidRosterInfo(i)
            if not name:match("%w+-%w+") then
                -- Try to get realm from UnitName func
                local _, realm = UnitName(name)
                -- Fall back to using player realm
                if not realm then realm = GetRealmName() end
                name = ("%s-%s"):format(name, realm)
            end
            result[#result + 1] = name
        end
    else
        for _, unit in pairs(PARTY_UNITS) do
            local name, realm = UnitName(unit)
            if not realm then realm = GetRealmName() end
            result[#result + 1] = ("%s-%s"):format(name, realm)
        end
    end
    return result
end
 
-- Loop through members and message anyone new to the group
local function updateMembers()
    if not opt.enabled or not IsInGroup() or not UnitIsGroupLeader("player") then
        wipe(members)
        return
    end
   
    for _, v in pairs(getGroupMembers()) do
        -- New member? Great! Let's message them
        if not members[name] then
            sendMessage(name)
            -- Add them to list so they don't get messaged again
            members[name] = true
        end
    end
end
 
-- Gets the full player name string (name-realm) of the current player
local function getFullPlayerName()
    local name, realm = UnitName("player")
    if not realm then realm = GetRealmName() end
    return ("%s-%s"):format(name, realm)
end
 
local function sendMessage(name, realm) -- realm param currently unused
    realm = realm or GetRealmName()
    if not name:match("%w+-%w+") then
        name = ("%s-%s"):format(name:match("%w+"), realm)
    end
    if name == getFullPlayerName() then return end
    SendChatMessage(op*****ssage, "WHISPER", nil, name)
end
 
local frame = CreateFrame("Frame")
 
frame:SetScript("OnEvent", function(self, event, ...)
    updateMembers()
end)
 
frame:RegisterEvent("GROUP_JOINED")
frame:RegisterEvent("GROUP_ROSTER_UPDATE")
frame:RegisterEvent("INSTANCE_GROUP_SIZE_CHANGED")
frame:RegisterEvent("PARTY_MEMBERS_CHANGED")
frame:RegisterEvent("RAID_ROSTER_UPDATE")
 
SLASH_SHARPARAMGROUPWHISPER1 = "/sharpgw"
 
SlashCmdList["SHARPARAMGROUPWHISPER"] = function(e, msg)
    local cmd, arg = msg:match("(%w)%w*(.*)")
    if cmd == "t" then -- toggle
        opt.enabled = not opt.enabled
        print("Group whisper is now " .. (opt.enabled and "enabled" or "disabled"))
    elseif cmd == "m" then -- set message
        -- dirty workaround to skip the first space
        op*****ssage = arg:gsub("^ ", "")
        print("Update group whisper message!")
    end
end

PLEASE NOTE: I am not sure if this code will work with player names using unicode characters.

[Duugu]

Is wipe() a standard function? Never heared of it.

[Sharparam]

It's a function in the WoW API to clear a table's values. I believe it's not available in standard Lua.

[Duugu]

Wow. Thanks. Whish I had heared of it a few weeks ago.

[Dimmulux]

Thank-you all for your comments.

F16Gaming, thank-you very much for your help. Unfortunately, I'm receiving the following error:

Date: 2014-02-06 22:02:23
ID: 1
Error occured in: Global
Count: 1
Message: ..\AddOns\AutoMessager\AutoMessager.lua line 63:
   bad argument #1 to 'format' (string expected, got nil)
Debug:
   [C]: format()
   AutoMessager\AutoMessager.lua:63:
      AutoMessager\AutoMessager.lua:27
   AutoMessager\AutoMessager.lua:89:
      AutoMessager\AutoMessager.lua:77
   AutoMessager\AutoMessager.lua:147:
      AutoMessager\AutoMessager.lua:145
Locals:
(*temporary) = "%s-%s"
(*temporary) = nil
(*temporary) = "Zenedar"
(*temporary) = "string expected, got nil"

AddOns:
  Swatter, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  WowheadLooter, v50014
  NPCScan, v5.4.2.2
  NPCScanOverlay, v5.4.1.4
  AtlasLootLoader, vv7.07.01
  AucAdvanced, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  AucFilterBasic, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  AucFilterOutlier, v5.18.5433.5347(5.18/embedded)
  AucMatchUndercut, v5.18.5433.5364(5.18/embedded)
  AucScanData, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  AucStatHistogram, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  AucStatiLevel, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  AucStatPurchased, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  AucStatSales, v5.18.5433.5376(5.18/embedded)
  AucStatSimple, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  AucStatStdDev, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  AucStatWOWEcon, v5.18.5433.5323(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilAHWindowControl, v5.18.5433.5347(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilAppraiser, v5.18.5433.5427(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilAskPrice, v5.18.5433.5347(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilAutoMagic, v5.18.5433.5415(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilCompactUI, v5.18.5433.5427(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilEasyBuyout, v5.18.5433.5427(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilFixAH, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  AucUtilItemSuggest, v5.18.5433.5417(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilPriceLevel, v5.18.5433.5427(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilScanButton, v5.18.5433.5403(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilScanFinish, v5.18.5433.5347(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilScanProgress, v5.18.5433.4979(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilScanStart, v5.18.5433.5347(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilSearchUI, v5.18.5433.5373(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilSimpleAuction, v5.18.5433.5415(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilVendMarkup, v5.18.5433.4828(5.18/embedded)
  AutoMessager, v
  Babylonian, v5.1.DEV.332(/embedded)
  BattlegroundTargets, v50400-1
  BeanCounter, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  Configator, v5.1.DEV.344(/embedded)
  DBMCore, v
  DBMInterrupts, v5.4.2
  DBMRaidLeadTools, v
  DBMSpellTimers, v
  DebugLib, v5.1.DEV.337(/embedded)
  Enchantrix, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  EnchantrixBarker, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  Fatality, v2.4a
  Gatherer, v4.4.0
  GladiatorlosSA, v2.0
  Gladius, v5.1-06
  HelloWorld, v1.0.0
  Informant, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  LibExtraTip, v5.12.DEV.355(/embedded)
  LibSharedMedia30, v3.0-81
  LoseControl, v5.41
  Omen, v3.1.8
  OmniCC, v5.4.3
  oqueue, v1.7.4
  Paste, v1.1.8
  Postal, v3.5.1
  RaidRoll, v
  RaidRollEPGP, v
  RaidRollLootTracker, v
  RangeDisplay, vv4.2.3
  Recount, v
  SlideBar, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  Stubby, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  TellMeWhen, v6.2.6
  TipHelper, v5.12.DEV.351(/embedded)
  TomTom, vv50400-1.0.0
  TriviaBot, v2.8.8
  TriviaBotQuestionMaker, v1.4
  WIM, v3.6.12
  BlizRuntimeLib_enUS v5.4.2.50400 <eu>
  (ck=a6e)

The only change I have made it is to adjust the message to a 1-line string consisting of 183 ASCII characters.

I have a couple of questions:

1. From reading the script, I'm not sure whether it will message people if they join a raid group that I lead or not. Would this work exclusively for 5-man groups or does it work for raids as well?
   
2. Would it be possible to add in command line switches to turn the automessaging on and off and also to adjust the message from the command line without opening the lua file and editing it?

Further help would be much appreciated.

[Sharparam]

You will have to post your AutoMessage.lua as it seems to be different from the code I posted (line numbers are different). I couldn't find where it would be thrown by looking at the code i posted.

I'll update my previous post with a version that saves setting and has basic slash command functionality (variable listed at top of code has to be added to the TOC's list of SavedVariables or SavedVariablesPerCharacter).

[Phanx]

Originally Posted by Dimmulux From reading the script, I'm not sure whether it will message people if they join a raid group that I lead or not. Would this work exclusively for 5-man groups or does it work for raids as well?

It will work with both, although it has several other issues:

(1) Scoping issues abound. You will get many errors about attempts to call nil values.
(2) There is no "party5" unit, and you don't need to hardcode the list of party units like that.
(3) There's no need to factor code out into a separate function if you're only going to call that function in one place. Just put the code in that place instead, and save yourself the overhead of another function call.
(4) The default UI provides a GetUnitName function that takes a unit token and returns a name-server string you can pass directly to SendChatMessage, so there's no need to check realm names and manually construct such a string yourself.

Here's a revised version that should fix all those problems, and also adds a slash command for setting the message and toggling it on and off:

local active = true
local message = "Welcome to the group!"
 
local whispered = {}
 
local frame = CreateFrame("Frame")
frame:RegisterEvent("GROUP_ROSTER_UPDATE")
frame:SetScript("OnEvent", function(self, event, ...)
    if not active then return end
    local unitBase, numGroupMembers
    if IsInRaid() then
        if not UnitIsGroupLeader("player") and not UnitIsGroupAssistant("player") then return end
        unitBase, numGroupMembers = "raid", GetNumGroupMembers()
    elseif IsInGroup() then
        if not UnitIsGroupLeader("player") then return end
        unitBase, numGroupMembers = "party", GetNumGroupMembers() - 1
    else
        return wipe(whispered)
    end
    for i = 1, numGroupMembers do
        local unit = unitBase..i
        local name = GetUnitName(unit, true)
        if not whispered[name] and not UnitIsUnit(unit, "player") then
            SendChatMessage(message, "WHISPER", nil, name)
            whispered[name] = true
        end
    end
end)
 
SLASH_AUTOGROUPWHISPER1 = "/autogroupwhisper"
SLASH_AUTOGROUPWHISPER2 = "/agw"
SlashCmdList.AUTOGROUPWHISPER = function(cmd)
    if cmd == "" then
        active = not active
    elseif strlower(cmd) == "on" then
        active = true
    elseif strlower(cmd) == "off" then
        active = false
    else
        message = cmd
        print("AutoGroupWhisper message is now:", cmd)
        return
    end
    print("AutoGroupWhisper is now", active and "ENABLED" or "DISABLED")
end

If you want it to be disabled by default, change the "active = true" at the top to "active = false".

If you want the mesage to save between sessions, change the "local message" at the top to "AGW_Message", change all other instances of "message" to "AGW_Message", and add a "## SavedVariables: AGW_Message" line to your TOC file.

[Sharparam]

That's what I get for dry-coding :P

I didn't really take optimizing into mind though, as this isn't code that gets called 20+ times a second.

Didn't know about GetUnitName, that's a neat function.

[Dimmulux]

Sorry about the line number discrepancy, F16Gaming. Newlines seem to be inserted whenever I copy/paste from the lua code section. I can avoid this by quoting the post and copying the code from there.

The error message for your code is then:

Date: 2014-02-07 01:07:50
ID: 2
Error occured in: Global
Count: 3
Message: ..\AddOns\AutoMessager\AutoMessager.lua line 38:
   bad argument #1 to 'format' (string expected, got nil)
Debug:
   [C]: format()
   AutoMessager\AutoMessager.lua:38:
      AutoMessager\AutoMessager.lua:20
   AutoMessager\AutoMessager.lua:51:
      AutoMessager\AutoMessager.lua:45
   AutoMessager\AutoMessager.lua:80:
      AutoMessager\AutoMessager.lua:79
Locals:
(*temporary) = "%s-%s"
(*temporary) = nil
(*temporary) = "Zenedar"
(*temporary) = "string expected, got nil"

AddOns:
  Swatter, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  WowheadLooter, v50014
  NPCScan, v5.4.2.2
  NPCScanOverlay, v5.4.1.4
  AtlasLootLoader, vv7.07.01
  AucAdvanced, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  AucFilterBasic, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  AucFilterOutlier, v5.18.5433.5347(5.18/embedded)
  AucMatchUndercut, v5.18.5433.5364(5.18/embedded)
  AucStatHistogram, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  AucStatiLevel, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  AucStatPurchased, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  AucStatSales, v5.18.5433.5376(5.18/embedded)
  AucStatSimple, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  AucStatStdDev, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  AucStatWOWEcon, v5.18.5433.5323(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilAHWindowControl, v5.18.5433.5347(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilAppraiser, v5.18.5433.5427(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilAskPrice, v5.18.5433.5347(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilAutoMagic, v5.18.5433.5415(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilCompactUI, v5.18.5433.5427(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilEasyBuyout, v5.18.5433.5427(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilFixAH, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  AucUtilItemSuggest, v5.18.5433.5417(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilPriceLevel, v5.18.5433.5427(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilScanButton, v5.18.5433.5403(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilScanFinish, v5.18.5433.5347(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilScanProgress, v5.18.5433.4979(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilScanStart, v5.18.5433.5347(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilSearchUI, v5.18.5433.5373(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilSimpleAuction, v5.18.5433.5415(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilVendMarkup, v5.18.5433.4828(5.18/embedded)
  AutoGroupWhisper, v
  AutoMessager, v
  Babylonian, v5.1.DEV.332(/embedded)
  BattlegroundTargets, v50400-1
  BeanCounter, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  Configator, v5.1.DEV.344(/embedded)
  DBMCore, v
  DBMInterrupts, v5.4.2
  DBMRaidLeadTools, v
  DBMSpellTimers, v
  DebugLib, v5.1.DEV.337(/embedded)
  Enchantrix, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  EnchantrixBarker, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  Fatality, v2.4a
  Gatherer, v4.4.0
  GladiatorlosSA, v2.0
  Gladius, v5.1-06
  HealBot, v5.4.2.0
  HealBotTips, v5.4.2.0
  HelloWorld, v1.0.0
  Informant, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  Jamba, v5.4.0
  JambaAdvancedLoot, v5.4.0
  JambaDisplayTeam, v5.4.0
  JambaFollow, v5.4.0
  JambaFTL, v5.4.0
  JambaItemUse, v5.4.0
  JambaMacro, v5.4.0
  JambaProc, v5.4.0
  JambaPurchase, v5.4.0
  JambaQuest, v5.4.0
  JambaQuestWatcher, v5.4.0
  JambaSell, v5.4.0
  JambaTalk, v5.4.0
  JambaTarget, v5.4.0
  JambaTaxi, v5.4.0
  JambaToon, v5.4.0
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  LibSharedMedia30, v3.0-81
  LoseControl, v5.41
  Omen, v3.1.8
  OmniCC, v5.4.3
  oqueue, v1.7.4
  Paste, v1.1.8
  Postal, v3.5.1
  RaidRoll, v
  RaidRollEPGP, v
  RaidRollLootTracker, v
  RangeDisplay, vv4.2.3
  Recount, v
  SlideBar, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  Stubby, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  TellMeWhen, v6.2.6
  TipHelper, v5.12.DEV.351(/embedded)
  TomTom, vv50400-1.0.0
  TriviaBot, v2.8.8
  TriviaBotQuestionMaker, v1.4
  WIM, v3.6.12
  BlizRuntimeLib_enUS v5.4.2.50400 <eu>
  (ck=bf3)

Thank-you for you help, Phanx. Unfortunately, I also receive an error with this code:

Date: 2014-02-07 01:07:50
ID: 1
Error occured in: Global
Count: 2
Message: ...terface\AddOns\AutoGroupWhisper\AutoGroupWhisper.lua line 20:
   attempt to call local 'numGroupMembers' (a number value)
Debug:
   ...terface\AddOns\AutoGroupWhisper\AutoGroupWhisper.lua:20:
      ...terface\AddOns\AutoGroupWhisper\AutoGroupWhisper.lua:8
Locals:
self = <unnamed> {
 0 = <userdata>
}
event = "GROUP_ROSTER_UPDATE"
unitBase = "party"
numGroupMembers = 0
(*temporary) = 1
(*temporary) = 0
(*temporary) = "attempt to call local 'numGroupMembers' (a number value)"
active = true
whispered = <table> {
}
message = "Welcome to the group!"

AddOns:
  Swatter, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  WowheadLooter, v50014
  NPCScan, v5.4.2.2
  NPCScanOverlay, v5.4.1.4
  AtlasLootLoader, vv7.07.01
  AucAdvanced, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  AucFilterBasic, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  AucFilterOutlier, v5.18.5433.5347(5.18/embedded)
  AucMatchUndercut, v5.18.5433.5364(5.18/embedded)
  AucStatHistogram, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  AucStatiLevel, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  AucStatPurchased, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  AucStatSales, v5.18.5433.5376(5.18/embedded)
  AucStatSimple, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  AucStatStdDev, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  AucStatWOWEcon, v5.18.5433.5323(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilAHWindowControl, v5.18.5433.5347(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilAppraiser, v5.18.5433.5427(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilAskPrice, v5.18.5433.5347(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilAutoMagic, v5.18.5433.5415(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilCompactUI, v5.18.5433.5427(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilEasyBuyout, v5.18.5433.5427(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilFixAH, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  AucUtilItemSuggest, v5.18.5433.5417(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilPriceLevel, v5.18.5433.5427(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilScanButton, v5.18.5433.5403(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilScanFinish, v5.18.5433.5347(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilScanProgress, v5.18.5433.4979(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilScanStart, v5.18.5433.5347(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilSearchUI, v5.18.5433.5373(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilSimpleAuction, v5.18.5433.5415(5.18/embedded)
  AucUtilVendMarkup, v5.18.5433.4828(5.18/embedded)
  AutoGroupWhisper, v
  AutoMessager, v
  Babylonian, v5.1.DEV.332(/embedded)
  BattlegroundTargets, v50400-1
  BeanCounter, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  Configator, v5.1.DEV.344(/embedded)
  DBMCore, v
  DBMInterrupts, v5.4.2
  DBMRaidLeadTools, v
  DBMSpellTimers, v
  DebugLib, v5.1.DEV.337(/embedded)
  Enchantrix, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  EnchantrixBarker, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  Fatality, v2.4a
  Gatherer, v4.4.0
  GladiatorlosSA, v2.0
  Gladius, v5.1-06
  HealBot, v5.4.2.0
  HealBotTips, v5.4.2.0
  HelloWorld, v1.0.0
  Informant, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  Jamba, v5.4.0
  JambaAdvancedLoot, v5.4.0
  JambaDisplayTeam, v5.4.0
  JambaFollow, v5.4.0
  JambaFTL, v5.4.0
  JambaItemUse, v5.4.0
  JambaMacro, v5.4.0
  JambaProc, v5.4.0
  JambaPurchase, v5.4.0
  JambaQuest, v5.4.0
  JambaQuestWatcher, v5.4.0
  JambaSell, v5.4.0
  JambaTalk, v5.4.0
  JambaTarget, v5.4.0
  JambaTaxi, v5.4.0
  JambaToon, v5.4.0
  JambaTrade, v5.4.0
  LibExtraTip, v5.12.DEV.355(/embedded)
  LibSharedMedia30, v3.0-81
  LoseControl, v5.41
  Omen, v3.1.8
  OmniCC, v5.4.3
  oqueue, v1.7.4
  Paste, v1.1.8
  Postal, v3.5.1
  RaidRoll, v
  RaidRollEPGP, v
  RaidRollLootTracker, v
  RangeDisplay, vv4.2.3
  Recount, v
  SlideBar, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  Stubby, v5.18.5433 (PassionatePhascogale)
  TellMeWhen, v6.2.6
  TipHelper, v5.12.DEV.351(/embedded)
  TomTom, vv50400-1.0.0
  TriviaBot, v2.8.8
  TriviaBotQuestionMaker, v1.4
  WIM, v3.6.12
  BlizRuntimeLib_enUS v5.4.2.50400 <eu>
  (ck=bf3)

In neither case will any message be sent.

[Sharparam]

To fix that error in Phanx's code, remove the parantheses on line 20:

for i = 1, numGroupMembers() do

So it becomes this:

for i = 1, numGroupMembers do

(Seems like she mixed up the local variable and GetNumGroupMembers() :) )

[Phanx]

Originally Posted by F16Gaming (Seems like she mixed up the local variable and GetNumGroupMembers() )

What do you mean I can't call a number?!

(Fixed the code in my post, thanks.)

[Dimmulux]

Thank-you both very much for your help. I've been using the add-on all evening and it's been working great.