Chat in the App

Overview

Chat is Astalty's built-in messaging feature for team conversations in the app.

With Chat, you can:

Send direct messages to individual team members
View and respond to chats that you are a member of for team or topic-based conversations
Start a conversation with an allowed User Group, if Admin has enabled this for your role
Share files, mention colleagues, react to messages, and pin important information
See a colleague's current Chat status when the presence feature is available

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.

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. When creating a new conversation, you can select a User Group so everyone in the group is included from the start.

Using Chat

Accessing Chats

Select Chat at the bottom of the app. The icon shows the number of unread messages.

The Chat screen lists your existing chats. Use search to find a message, or select + in the top-right corner to start a chat.

Replying in Conversations

Open a conversation and enter your reply in the message field. Use the + button below the message field to attach images, videos, or PDF files, or use the microphone to record a voice message. A message can have up to 10 attachments. Type @ and select a member to mention them.

A group conversation in the Astalty app with the message area highlighted at the bottom: the Type a message field with microphone and send buttons, and the + attachment button and formatting buttons below.

A group conversation in the Astalty app with the attachment menu from the + button highlighted, offering Camera, Photo Library and Choose File.

A group conversation in the Astalty app with an arrow pointing to the microphone icon inside the Type a message field.

A group conversation in the Astalty app with a voice recording highlighted in the message area, showing a play button, waveform and duration, between a bin icon and the send button.

A group conversation in the Astalty app with @ typed in the message field and the list of members to mention highlighted above it, starting with Everyone.

Voting in a Poll

If someone sends a poll to a conversation, you can vote from the app by tapping the answer you want. The results update live, and you can change or take back your vote while the poll is open.

Polls can only be created and closed from the web app. See Polls for the full detail.

Message Actions

Press and hold a message to open the actions available to you. Depending on the message, you can:

Add a reaction or open the full reaction picker.
Reply to the message.
Copy a text message.
Pin or unpin a message. Support Workers cannot pin messages.
Edit a text message you sent when message editing is enabled.
Delete a message you sent when message deletion is enabled.

Deleting a message is permanent. Poll messages cannot be edited in the app.

Creating New Conversations

To start a new conversation:

Tap the + button at the top right of the Chat screen
Select one or more available User Groups, if they appear for your role
Search for and select any individual users you also want to include
Add a group name if you are creating a group chat
Tap the tick icon to create the conversation

When you select a User Group, everyone in that group is added to the conversation automatically.

The Chat screen in the Astalty app with the Active tab showing No conversations yet, and an arrow pointing to the plus icon in the top right.

The New Conversation screen in the Astalty app, with the letters an typed in the Search users field above a list of matching users, each with a circle to select them.

Pinned Messages

To see pinned messages, select the Pin icon at the top of the Chat.

A group conversation in the Astalty app with an arrow pointing to the Pin icon and pinned message count in the top right.

The Pinned Messages panel highlighted over a group conversation in the Astalty app, showing a pinned message with its sender, date and Pinned by line.

Searching in Chats

To search your messages, select the Search icon at the top of the Chat screen and enter a keyword. Matching messages are displayed for selection, each with its conversation.

The Chat screen in the Astalty app with an arrow pointing to the Search icon at the top, above the conversation list.

The message search screen in the Astalty app with the keyword compliance entered in the Search messages field at the bottom, an arrow pointing to it, and the matching messages highlighted above, each showing its conversation, sender, date and text.

Tap on the relevant Chat to view the feed and send a reply.