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  2. Chat Overview

Chat Overview

Overview

Chat is Astalty's built-in messaging feature that allows your team to communicate directly within the platform. Whether you need to have a quick one-on-one conversation with a colleague or collaborate with a group of team members, Chat keeps your communication organised and in one place.

With Chat, you can:

  • Send direct messages to individual team members
  • Create group channels for team-wide or topic-based conversations
  • Share files, mention colleagues, react to messages, and pin important information
  • See who is online in real time

Key Concepts

Direct Messages

A direct message is a private, one-on-one conversation between you and another team member. Only the two members can see the messages in a direct conversation.

Group Channels

A group channel is a conversation with multiple team members. Group channels have a name (e.g., "Team Standup" or "SIL House A") and can have members added or removed at any time. You can also link User Groups to a channel so that membership stays in sync automatically.

Accessing Chat

To access Chat on the web browser version of Astalty, click the Chat icon at the top right of your browser. You can access Chat directly here.

To access Chat on the app, click the Chat icon at the bottom of the screen.

The Chat Interface

The Chat interface is split into two main areas:

Channel List (Left Panel)

The left panel displays all of your conversations, including both direct messages and group channels. Each conversation shows:

  1. The name of the channel or the other team member (for direct messages)
  2. A preview of the latest message
  3. An unread indicator if there are messages you haven't read yet
  4. A timestamp showing when the last message was sent

You can scroll through your conversations to find the one you are looking for, or use the search feature to find specific messages.

Message Thread (Right Panel)

When you select a conversation from the channel list, the message thread opens in the right panel. This displays the full conversation history, with the most recent messages at the bottom.

At the top of the message thread, you will see the channel header, which shows the channel name (or the other team members's name for direct messages) and options such as viewing members and pinned messages.

Compose Area

At the bottom of the message thread is the compose area, where you can type and send messages. The compose area includes a rich text editor with formatting options, file attachments, and the ability to mention other team members.

Online Presence

When you are in Chat, you can see which of your team members are currently online. Online team members will have a green presence indicator next to their name or avatar.

Chat in the App

To learn how Chat works for Support Workers within the app, refer to the Chat in the App guide. Admin users have additional functions in the app, covered in Chat Configuration.

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