Start a chat or a group
Message one person or several, make a named group, and add people to a chat that is already going.
On this page
There are three kinds of chat. A team chat belongs to a location: it is made for you, and everyone who works there is in it. A direct chat is between you and the people you pick. A group has a name, and someone who manages it.
On the web
Go to Messages
- Press New. A box headed New chat opens.
- Tick the people. Search people narrows the list, and Select all ticks everyone the list is showing.
- For a direct chat, press Start chat. The chat opens, ready to write in.
- For a group, type a name under Group name and press Create group. It says Group created. The field is there only if you have the permission.
On the phone
- Open the Messages tab and press New.
- Tick the people. The box at the top finds someone by name.
- For a direct chat, press Start chat at the foot. The key also shows how many people you have ticked.
- For a group, type a name in Group name (optional) and press Create group. It says Group created.
Who you can message
The list has the people you share a location with. Admins who cover every location can message anyone, and anyone can message them. An Admin can open this up so that everyone in the business can message everyone else: see Set the messaging rules.
- A direct chat is named after the other people in it. Start one with the same people again and the chat you already have opens.
- A direct chat can hold you and up to 20 others. A group can hold many more.
Add people to a chat
Anyone in a direct chat can add people to it. In a group, only someone with the permission can.
- On the web, open the chat, press the panel key at the top right (Chat details), and press Add beside People. Tick who to add and press Add.
- On the phone, open the chat, press the details key at the top right, then Add people. Tick who to add and press Add.
Other ways in
In a chat’s details, press a person’s name and choose Message to open your direct chat with them. On the web, people who can open staff files also have a Message key on a person’s file, and a timesheet has one with the person’s first name on it.
If it doesn’t work
- There is no “Group name” field
- You do not have the permission to make groups. Start a direct chat with the same people instead, or ask a Location Manager or an Admin to make the group.
- Someone is not in the list
- You do not share a location with them, or their account is switched off. An Admin can let people message across locations.
- “Up to 20 people” or “Up to 21 people in a chat”
- A direct chat is full. Ask someone with the permission to make a group instead.
- “Its people are the meeting’s”
- This is a meeting’s chat. Who is in it follows who is invited to the meeting, so people are added by inviting them to the meeting.
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