# Chat Overview

Source: https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/chat/chat-overview

> An overview of Astalty's built-in team messaging.

> **Enabling Chat**
>
> Chat is an optional feature. The Account Owner can turn it on from the [Optional Features](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/settings/optional-features#chat) page.

## Overview

Use Chat for one-to-one conversations and group discussions with people in your Astalty organisation. Messages, shared files, polls and conversation history stay together in the relevant conversation.

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 exactly who has and has not read a message you sent
- See who is online in real time

![The Chat page on the web, with the conversation list, your status and the All, Direct and Groups tabs on the left, and the Riverside SIL House group channel open on the right, showing messages, a reaction, a poll, the Messages and Pins tabs and the compose area.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/chat-overview-1-guide.png)

## Key Concepts

### Direct Messages

A direct message is a one-on-one conversation between you and another team member. Only those two people are members, so the conversation only appears in their normal Chat lists and search results. The Admin role also has account-wide permissions that can allow an Admin to open and export a conversation they have not joined. See [Chat Privacy and Visibility](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/chat/chat-privacy).

### 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

In Astalty on the web, select the **Chat** icon at the top right, or open [Chat](https://app.astalty.com.au/chat) directly.

![The Chat page on the web, with the Chat icon highlighted at the top right of the screen, showing an unread count of 83 beside the notifications bell.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/chat-26.png)

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

![The Schedule screen in the app, with the Chat icon and its unread count highlighted in the bottom navigation bar between Schedule and Shift Board.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/phone-chat-1a.png)

## 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.

![The Chat channel list on the web with four numbered callouts: 1 the conversation name, 2 a preview of the last message, 3 the mention and unread count badges, and 4 the last-message timestamp. An arrow points to the Search chats field.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/channel-list-1a.png)

The **All**, **Direct** and **Groups** tabs above the list let you view your group channels and your one-on-one messages separately, and you can narrow the list further to conversations with unread messages. See [Filtering Conversations](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/chat/filtering-conversations).

### 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.

![A direct message with Helena Grimes open in the right panel of the Chat page, with the channel header showing her name, 2 members and 1 online highlighted, and an arrow pointing to the Messages and Pins tabs.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/message-thread-1.png)

### 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.

![The compose area at the bottom of a message thread, highlighted, with the message field and a toolbar of attachment, voice, poll, bold, italic, strikethrough, underline, list, emoji and note template buttons beside the send button.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/compose-area-1.png)

## 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.

![The channel header of a direct message with Helena Grimes, with an arrow pointing to the small grey presence dot on her avatar, beside the text 2 members and 1 online.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/online-indicator-1.png)

On the Premium plan, that indicator also carries a status each person sets for themselves - away, busy or do not disturb, with an emoji, a message and a time to clear - and approved leave sets it automatically. See [Status and Availability](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/chat/status-and-availability).

## Chat in the App

To learn how Chat works for Support Workers within the app, refer to the [Chat in the App](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/scheduling/support-worker-app/chat-in-the-app) guide. Admin users have additional functions in the app, covered in [Chat Configuration](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/chat/chat-configuration).

## In this section

- [Status and Availability](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/chat/status-and-availability) - set your availability, emoji and message, and see who is away or on leave before you message them
- [Direct Messages](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/chat/direct-messages) - start and view one-on-one conversations
- [Group Channels](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/chat/group-channels) - create channels and manage members
- [Messaging](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/chat/messaging) - sending, mentions, reactions, pins, attachments, and search
- [Read Receipts](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/chat/read-receipts) - see exactly who has and has not read a message you sent
- [Filtering Conversations](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/chat/filtering-conversations) - the All, Direct and Groups tabs, and showing only unread conversations
- [Archiving Conversations](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/chat/archiving-conversations) - hide conversations from your chat list and bring them back
- [Pinning Conversations](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/chat/pinning-conversations) - keep important chats at the top of your chat list
- [Notifications](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/chat/notifications) - desktop pop-ups, sounds, and the browser-tab unread count
- [Chat Configuration](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/chat/chat-configuration) - admin settings and app management