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After members log in to your website, they can browse a diverse selection of gated content—on-demand videos, written content, and live events—from any device.
Below are links to various videos and documents providing basic setup and management information for your new Virtual Y environment. Choose the format that best suits your learning style.
Virtual YMCA (VY) is based on Open Y and was originally built as an extension for Open Y sites. Therefore, it shares many of the same underlying functionalities and concepts.
Virtual YMCA utilizes the same content editing tools as Open Y. However, the pre-configured features and modules available “out-of-the-box” may differ from a standard Open Y installation. It’s best to review the specific modules enabled in your VY instance, such as the ones provided by the ws_small_y module collection (see below), to understand its capabilities.
Virtual YMCA comes with several content types designed for delivering exclusive member experiences. These content types are typically accessible behind a login.
Reach your members even when they’re away from the physical Y. Provide on-demand classes, kids’ activities, and other engaging video content. This is an excellent option for health seekers, families, and active older adults.
Virtual Y Videos can be added individually or through automation using the separate Virtual Y Video Automation application.
Integrates with: YouTube and Vimeo
Stream your popular classes and events to members in real-time. Live Streams are well-suited for events where audience interaction is minimal.
Live Streams can be added individually or scheduled on a recurring basis. Unlike Virtual Events, Live Streams are embedded directly within the Virtual Y site.
Integrates with: YouTube and Vimeo
Host interactive group fitness classes and other live events with member participation. Virtual Events are ideal for classes with Y instructors and personal or small group training sessions.
Virtual Events can be added individually or on a recurring basis. Unlike Live Streams, users are directed to an external video link for Virtual Events.
Integrates with: Any URL/link, including GoToMeeting, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Instagram Live, and Facebook
Provide members with written workouts, recipes, activity suggestions, and other engaging content. Blog Posts are perfect for members who prefer self-guided activities and need inspiration.
Virtual Y Blog Posts can be added via the standard Add Content list or menu within the Drupal interface.
No integrations required.
The ws_small_y module and its submodules provide a collection of features that customize the appearance and functionality of smaller Y associations. These modules can include enhanced article displays, staff directories, and customized styling. Review the list of enabled modules within the ws_small_y collection on your site to understand the features available.
The authentication options available for gating your content depend on your Customer Management System (CRM). Currently, the following options can be used to control access to content within the Virtual Y website.
Requires members to log in using their existing Personify CRM credentials.
Requires members to log in using their existing Daxko CRM credentials.
Note: Daxko API access is required and may incur API usage fees from Daxko. Contact Daxko for details on API access and associated costs.
Requires members to enter their barcode. The Virtual Y site validates the barcode against the Daxko system before granting access.
Set up Daxko Barcode Validation.
Requires members to log in using their existing ReClique CORE CRM credentials.
Allows associations to upload a CSV file containing membership information to grant access. Two options are available:
Upload a CSV file containing member email addresses. The Virtual Y site validates the entered email address against the uploaded list before granting access.
Upload a CSV file containing member email addresses. The Virtual Y site sends a verification email to the address provided. The member must click the link in the email to gain access.
Open Y Gated Content (Virtual Y) release 0.13 includes a new authentication provider to support Daxko Virtual Areas. This allows associations using Daxko to set up Virtual Areas that enable members to access Virtual Y content using only their member barcode.
Instructions for setting up Virtual Areas are in Daxko’s documentation. If you need assistance configuring Virtual Areas, Daxko’s support team can assist you with setup: support@daxko.com.
Daxko Barcode Virtual YMCA integration./admin/config/people/captcha/recaptcha./admin/openy/virtual-ymca/gc-auth-settings/provider/daxkobarcode./admin/openy/openy-gc-auth/settings.Once enabled, the module allows granular configuration of messages that users will receive on the page. You can change “Barcode” to something different, like “Member ID”, and add help text to assist members in finding their ID. It also allows for global help text to direct members to help channels if they’re unable to log in.
Once the module is enabled, members will be presented with the appropriately titled field to log in to Virtual Y.
Upon success, the user will be logged in to Virtual Y. Upon failure, the failure state will be returned along with a help message provided by the association.
Anyone with a balance due in Daxko doesn’t have access to Virtual Y [via Daxko Barcode]. A lot of the accounts with balances are families with memberships who receive state scholarships for child care. The balance in Daxko is the portion the state pays, so it’s a bit of a “fake” balance. Is there any way to allow any ACTIVE member to use [Virtual Y], regardless of whether they have a balance or not?
The fix:
There’s a setting on the Daxko Operations virtual area at Membership > Virtual Area > Virtual Y > Edit that you can check/uncheck for “Block access when balance due.” Unchecking that should let the member access the virtual area.
The ReClique Core API enables check-in access by specifying a member’s email address. The following steps are necessary to fully configure the ReClique Provider for your Virtual Y site.
To get started, you will need to perform the following steps in the ReClique CORE portal, while logged in as a YMCA super admin user:
In Detail:
Log into the ReClique Core portal using a user with the YMCA super administrator role.
Click Profile in the top-right corner of the CORE portal.
The YMCA ID is the non-numeric part of the “Association Slug” in front of the numeric user ID. Note this value for use in the Verification URL. In this example, the text midtn is the association slug value and is needed for the YMCA ID.
Click Users from the navigation menu (Users > Add New User).
Select the + Add User / Staff button.
Create a stand-alone user for the purpose of executing API calls only. A suggested name is virtual_y, but any suitable name can be used.
Assign this user the API Access role by selecting Use Core API in the Other list of role options.
To enable the Virtual Y site to communicate with the ReClique Core API, you’ll need to configure the ReClique provider.
Navigate to the Gated Content Auth Setting Page at Manage > Virtual Y > Virtual YMCA Settings > GC Auth Settings.
The GC Auth Settings page, when loaded, will look like this:
Find the ReClique Provider option and click the Edit Action.
Enter Your ReClique Provider Settings.
The ReClique Provider configuration page allows the specification of permission mappings, settings for accessing the ReClique CORE authentication API, and Email Verification settings.
Specify Permission Mappings
This is used for User Segmentation. User Segmentation will allow YMCAs to segment content to particular Virtual Y roles based on membership types. Refer to documentation from the Open Y Community for more information about Setting up user segmentation.
Add ReClique CORE API settings
Add the values needed to connect to the ReClique Core API.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Verification URL | The API endpoint provided by ReClique to verify member logins. It takes the form https://{Y_ID}.recliquecore.com/api/v1/members/virtual_y/?Email= (This is the Production verification URL). |
| Authentication login | The login for the dedicated user created with ‘Use Core API’ access in the ReClique Core portal. |
| Authentication password | The password for the dedicated user created with ‘Use Core API’ access in the ReClique Core portal. |
| ID field text | The text to be displayed on the Virtual Y login form. The default value is “Enter your Email:”. |
Specify the Email Verification options
This enables a one-time login link to be sent to the member’s email for verification. Here, you can configure the length of time the login link will last before needing to generate another, email verification text, and a message displayed to the member with instructions on how to proceed with logging into the Virtual Y site.
Specify the Verification Message
This is the message the member will see when logging in if they are inactive. The phone number must be added at the very least.
After configuring the ReClique provider, click Save.
From the GC Auth Settings page, ensure only ReClique Provider is selected and click Save.
Your ReClique Provider is now fully configured and ready for use.
To test, log out from the admin portal. You should now see your new login form configured and ready to accept input from the Home Page.
If a valid email address is entered and the member is active, the member will be allowed access to your gated content (videos, blog posts, virtual meetings).
Virtual Y supports embedding videos from the following sources. The supported source depends on the content type:
On-demand Video
Live Stream
Virtual Meeting
Each video provider has its benefits. We’ve provided this list to help you decide where to start.
YouTube videos smaller than 1280x720px (aka “720p”) may not display a thumbnail properly in Virtual Y. If you upload a larger (greater than 1280x720px) thumbnail using YouTube’s video editor, that should resolve this issue on Virtual Y (until this issue is resolved).
Setting up a Brand account for your Y is a good first step in using YouTube for your videos.
The requirements for embedding YouTube Live Streams may change often. Previously, this has required having more than 1000 subscribers on your channel or turning on “Monetization”. It may, at times, be more expedient to use Vimeo for Live Streaming.
As of February 2021, YouTube’s stated requirements for Live Streaming are:
To live stream, you need to have no live streaming restrictions in the past 90 days, and you need to verify your channel.
Most associations have purchased the “Premium” level to get access to unlimited live streaming.
Vimeo private videos do not allow thumbnails to be generated for your site. If you use private videos on Vimeo, you’ll need to upload a thumbnail using the Teaser Image field on the content.
Facebook is not recommended for Virtual Y content, as any meeting there will also be listed publicly.
If you choose to host virtual meetings on Facebook, they will need to be publicly listed; otherwise, it is not possible to create a direct link to the event. To get the link to a public video:
A few notes:
?pwd=... in the link. Please review
Zoom’s updated security settings for more information.Here are some things you should check before you go live with your Virtual Y site:
/admin/content and ensure any demo content is deleted or unpublished. This is important to ensure a clean and professional launch.For up-to-the-minute conversations and info on Virtual Y and its content, join us in the YUSA Slack. Request access to Slack
For even more Virtual Y FAQs, check out Y-USA’s post.
virtual.ymcaname.org would point to your Virtual Y site. To your members and other website users, it would appear to be part of your site.virtualy.yourassociationname.org where virtualy is the subdomain.Virtual Y works* with:
*Note: “Works with” means technically functional. Each video provider service, such as YouTube, manages its own terms of use, which will guide what’s okay and what’s not.
This module is distributed as part of the YCMA Virtual Experience Platform (Virtual Y). Review the README for more technical information.
/admin/modules) and enable the Virtual Y 1on1 Meeting (openy_gc_personal_training) module./admin/virtual-y/personal_training/settings) and enter signals.cibox.tools:8091 as the Signaling PRL. This is the address of the signaling server that facilitates the connection between participants./admin/people) and add the Virtual YMCA Editor role to the user profile of any users who will create meetings.admin user will also need to have this role set. This role grants the necessary permissions to manage 1-on-1 meetings./admin/people), add the Virtual trainer role to at least one user. This role identifies users as trainers within the system./admin/virtual-y/personal_training) and you should be able to see a dashboard with links to add a 1on1 meeting.Access denied error, be sure to check that you have the Virtual YMCA Editor role as noted in step 3. This is the most common cause of this error.The community-maintained server, signals.cibox.tools, will work for most sites at small to medium levels of 1-on-1 traffic. If you are planning to scale up this service you may need to maintain a separate
signaling server. A dedicated signaling server provides better performance and reliability for high-volume usage.
/admin/virtual-y/personal_training). This is the central management interface for 1-on-1 meetings.
View a video of this process.
There are multiple ways to add a new video, depending on the type of site you’re working with:
Level (if applicable): Select a level for your video, such as for an on-demand class.
Instructor Name (if applicable): Type in the instructor’s name.
Category: Choose a category for your video by typing it in and selecting from the dropdown. Only one category can be assigned per video.
Equipment: If your video features the use of equipment (e.g., exercise equipment in a workout video), type the name of the equipment and select it from the list. To add multiple items, click “Add another item.”
Duration: Add your video’s length in seconds in the “Duration” field.
Featured Video: To feature your video on the Virtual Y homepage, click the “featured” checkbox.
Please follow these steps if you wish to customize the photo users will see when they log into the Virtual Y site.
To update the image before the user logs in:
Log into the site as a Site Owner.
Go to Manage > Content (click directly on Content, not one of its sub-menus).
In the content grid, find “Virtual YMCA Login” and click the Edit button for that row.
Expand the “Header Area”.
Click the Edit button next to the “Banner” row.
Expand the “Image” section. Locate the current image and click the Remove button underneath it (not the Edit button).
Re-expand the “Image” section and click the Select Images button.
If the desired image is not already in the system, click the Upload images link to add it.
If the image is already in the system, select it and click Select media.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save.
If you also want to modify the image the user sees after they log in, repeat the steps above, but in step #3, find “Virtual YMCA” instead of “Virtual YMCA Login”.
Virtual Y uses Drupal’s Image Styles concept to allow you to upload a single image but display it in several ways. Image Styles automatically resize, crop, or otherwise manipulate images on display. This allows for consistent image presentation across the site, regardless of the original image dimensions. Because of this, there are no strict image dimensions required for images in your Virtual Y site.
We can, however, provide guidance on what images work best with the image styles used on the site:
When including images for “Meta” (preview) purposes, such as for social media sharing, images should be at least 1080px in width.
This module is distributed as part of the YCMA Virtual Experience Platform (Virtual Y). Review the openy_gc_livechat README for more technical information.
/admin/modules) and enable the Virtual Y Livechat (openy_gc_livechat) module./admin/openy/virtual-ymca/gc-livechat-settings). Review the settings and modify them if necessary./admin/people/roles/add) and add a role entitled Virtual Trainer if it does not exist.admin user will also need to have this role set.Visit any Live Stream event. At the time that the event starts, a Live Chat button will appear below the video.
All participants can enter the chat, set their name, and chat throughout the entire Live Stream event.
At any point during a chat session, users with the Virtual Trainer role have the ability to disable the chat using the Disable Chat button.
Users will see a message saying “Instructor disabled chat for users”.
Chat can be restarted using the Restart Livechat button on the event page, next to the chat icon.
Disabling chat will remove the history of that chat from the server.
/admin/openy/virtual-ymca/gc-livechat-settings)./admin/virtual-y/chats).If the chat button is not appearing, or the dialog displays “Chat is not available” or “Chat is not working at the moment,” you will need to check with your development partner to ensure the Livechat service is properly configured on your server.
Introduced in Virtual Y 0.7, the “Open Y Virtual YMCA Log” module generates logs to record user behavior on Virtual Y sites. This module is part of the Open Y distribution and helps track user activity for reporting and analysis.
To enable the module, visit the Extend page on your site (/admin/modules), or ask your partner for assistance. You will need appropriate administrative permissions to access the Extend page.
Once the Log module is enabled, you’ll see two new items in the Virtual Y menu (/admin/config/virtual-ymca):
The Virtual Y Logs page (/admin/config/virtual-ymca/logs) displays searchable and filterable individual user activity. Additionally, individual log items can be removed. This allows administrators to review and manage user activity data directly within the Drupal interface.
Activities that are currently being tracked include:
The Open Y team is working to add additional logging functionality as they gather requirements. If you have additional logging requirements for your reporting, please contact the YMCA Website Services team with as much detail about your requirements as possible. Providing detailed use cases helps the team prioritize and implement relevant logging features.
As of
Virtual Y 1.1, log archives can be generated on-demand via Virtual Y > Logs > Export Log Records (/admin/config/virtual-ymca/logs/export).
While logging begins immediately, log archives (prior to VY 1.1) should appear on the first day of the month following when logging is enabled. Log archives will be available as .gz files. The archive stores data indefinitely, but the log itself then deletes out the previous month’s info out of the database to start collecting data for the current month. This ensures efficient storage and data management.
virtual-y-logs-2021-01.csv.gzThe log archive process depends on Drupal’s cron task, so you’ll need to ensure that cron is running periodically on your site. The cron task is responsible for automatically generating and archiving the log files. You can configure cron jobs through your hosting provider or using Drupal modules like
Automated Cron.
To extract .gz files:
.gz file is located, then run gunzip my_log_file.csv.gz. Replace my_log_file.csv.gz with the actual name of your archive file..gz file..csv file with Excel or Google Sheets.Your Virtual Y log archives may include times in the created column that look like 1606839555. This is a format called “Unix epoch time”, representing the number of seconds that have elapsed since January 1, 1970 (midnight UTC/GMT). You can convert it to a human-readable format in a few ways:
= (A1/86400) + DATE(1970,1,1), substituting the correct cell for A1. This formula divides the Unix timestamp by the number of seconds in a day (86400) and adds it to the base date of January 1, 1970.Your standalone Virtual Y site may have a block with social media links at the bottom of the page. These links can be customized for many social media services.
Your site may have a “Quick Edit” icon (a tiny pencil) that appears when you hover over the section with the links. If so, click the pencil, then Edit.
OR
If you don’t see the Quick Edit option, you can navigate to the Block editor via the admin menu at Structure > Block Layout > Custom Block Library > Edit Footer Social Block.
In the Block editor, you will see a Content field containing links to your social media sites.
Select the text you want to link, or double-click an existing link to modify it.
In the URL field, add the complete URL to the social media site.
Edit the Title field to something more descriptive; this will be used as the title attribute for accessibility.
Open the Advanced section and update the CSS classes field to select the correct icon. Be sure to copy the entire code snippet below for the icon you want. These CSS classes use Font Awesome icons.
fa fa-facebookfa fa-twitterfa fa-youtubefa fa-instagramfa fa-vimeoNote: The available icons may depend on the version of Font Awesome included with your site theme.
When you are finished, click Save.
Requirements | Getting Started | Fetching Shared Content | Publishing Shared Content | FAQ
Released in 0.12, Virtual Y’s Shared Content module allows Y’s to share their content with other associations/branches and to pull shared content to use on their own site.
To start sharing content, you need to get your site ready.
On the Drupal Extend page (/admin/modules), enable Virtual Y Shared Content. If your site is hosted on a managed hosting environment, this step is either already done for you or will need to be done by your hosting partner.
Accept any other required modules if asked.
In order to share content, you’ll first need to register your site with the Open Y shared content server:
/admin/virtual-y/shared-content/server)▾) under Operations then Edit
On the following page, simply Save the form. Once you’ve saved the form and your site is able to contact the server, the Source Token will be populated.
New connection requests are reviewed periodically and are approved by the Open Y team to prevent abuse. Please allow up to two business days for approval, or email ycloud@ymca.net with the URL of your site to request approval.
Once you are connected to the server you may, at any point, Fetch content from the server:
/admin/virtual-y/shared-content/server)Your site will fetch Virtual Y blog posts and Virtual Y Videos from the server. In each list you may:
As of Virtual Y 1.6.1 (released in December 2021) the fetched content list will show items in different states:
Also in VY 1.6.1, content can be fetched directly from the preview.
You can share your own content to other Y’s in the Movement too!
/admin/content) then:New connection requests are reviewed periodically and are approved by the Open Y team to prevent abuse. Please allow up to two business days for approval, or email ycloud@ymca.net with the URL of your site to request approval.
If your site is in a “pre-live” mode and is somehow restricted from being publicly accessible (sometimes called “Site Lock” or “HTTP Auth”) you will not be able to share content. Please wait until your site is live to share content.
Tech stack required:
Recommended Hosting Solutions:
A security certificate authenticates that you own your website and displays a lock icon in the user’s web browser. Most modern browsers require SSL certificates. SSLs are widely available from a large number of reputable providers.
Only required for standalone Y sites. Can be set up with its own unique web address (i.e., virtualymcatn.org), a unique directory within your existing site (ymcamidtn.org/virtual) or as a subdomain of your existing site (virtual.ymcamidtn.org).
Requirements for each of these setups are unique. Contact your developer partner or the Open Y community for help with your setup.
CRMs with Full Integration:
Other CRMs:
User segmentation is a feature within Virtual Y that allows you to categorize your users. This enables you to:
In your Drupal toolbar, hover over Virtual Y and click Virtual YMCA Settings.
Click the AUTH Settings tab. A list of authentication method options appears. If your desired authentication method isn’t listed, install it from the Extend menu.
Click Edit on the authentication method you want to use. User segmentation settings are located in the Permissions Mapping field at the top of the page.
In the membership field, carefully type or paste the name of a membership type from your CRM that you want to grant access to Virtual Y. Then, use the dropdown to select the appropriate access level for users with that membership type.
To add more membership types, click the Add one more button until all desired membership types are listed.
To remove a membership type: Delete the membership name from the field and select None as the Virtual Y role. Then, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the blue Save button. The empty line should then disappear from your mapping list.
You might need to add roles beyond the default three included in Virtual Y. While you can, keeping the number of roles to five or fewer is recommended, as managing content and avoiding fragmentation becomes more difficult with more roles.
If you’re unfamiliar with Drupal roles, consult with your agency partner for help customizing your Virtual Y roles.
Click People in the Drupal toolbar.
Select the Roles tab.
Click the blue Add Role button.
Enter the name of your new role in the field.
Note: The Machine Name for your role must begin with virtual_y_, or it won’t be included in the permissions mapping table. To ensure this, either name your official role “Virtual Y [Desired Role Name]” or click the small Edit button link next to the Machine Name and edit the text.
