- Install the module just like any other module.
- Install the Rules module if not yet installed and the Heartbeat Rules support submodule (I suppose you use Rules to log activity).
- Define at least one message template. A message template defines how your activity messages look like and what information they include when getting logged to the database, e.g. "Username wrote a new blog: Title", or "There was a new story posted: Title by Username", etc. It's a sceleton build of placeholders (which later on will get replaced by concrete data such as the node title or username) and normal language. If you want to have different message types, i.e. messages looking differently depending on whether they are a blog, a story, a system notification, or similar, you will have to define different message templates, e.g. a message template for a new blog entry ("Username wrote a new blog: Title") and for a system notification ("System says: Notification")
- Go to the Rules configuration and create a new Rule for each message template you've created before. Define the event which should trigger the logging of a new message (e.g. a new node was created), and for the action to be carried out select the logging action provided by Heartbeat. You will then have to configure the logging action by selecting your desired message template and by replacing the placeholders of your message template with concrete values provides by the even which triggers your Rule (e.g. values from the node create, from the user who created the node, etc.).
- Choose at least one of the message streams (such as the Public Stream), configure it, and place it on the desired path. For example, place the Public Heartbeat block on the path
<?php<front>?>(i.e. homepage) - Check the general Heartbeat settings if you want to change something.
- Check the Hearbeat related permissions.
- For testing, carry out a task which will trigger the event defined under 3. For example, fo you setup Rules to log an activity whenever a new node is created, go and create a new node. Check your Heartbeat stream and the Heartbeat database if the message was logged.
- For more fine grained control use the hooks provided by Heartbeat. For example, create an own custom module and use the message theme hook to customize the message design.
by Jaochoo and Stalski