b. Chats and Messaging - Teamwire Knowledge Base

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Starting Teamwire, the **Chats** tab is shown by default. It shows all chats you are involved in.

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As you receive new messages, you will find a badge counter on the Chats tab indicating the number of unread texts.

= Inbox =

When receiving new messages, the chat concerned is also provided with a badge on the number of unread texts. This badge will disappear after you have visited the chat. Inside the chat, new messages are visually indicated from already read content by a separator.

== Search ==

Tap [[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-magnifier.png||height="20"]] in the upper right corner of the screen to open a search bar. The search will look up for chat titles, contacts, circles and lists, and message content. To leave the search, tap the arrow at the upper left.

= Create a chat =

To create a new chat, use the button **New chat** in your inbox or tap the menu in the upper right corner of the screen. You can choose from the following options.

* 1:1 Chat

* Group Chat

* Broadcast

* Federated Chat

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== 1:1 chat ==

Select a [[participant>>doc:||anchor="02-selectparticipants"]]. You will enter the new chat automatically and will be able to compose your first message. For 1:1 Chats Teamwire will show the name of the user you are talking to as title. Read here to find out which [[chat content and actions>>doc:||anchor="02-chatcontentsandactions"]] can be used.

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If you want to have topic-based 1:1 chats, use the option [[Group Chat>>doc:||anchor="02-groupchat"]] when creating the chat. It is possible to create a group chat with only one other user (see [[Group Chat>>doc:||anchor="02-groupchat"]]).

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1:1 chats cannot be subsequently extended with additional users to form a group chat.

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== Group chat ==

Select one or more [[participants>>doc:||anchor="02-selectparticipants"]], set a [[chat title>>doc:||anchor="02-definechattitle"]] and define [[further settings>>doc:||anchor="02-definefurthersettings"]]. You will enter the new chat automatically and will be able to compose your first message.

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More information about chat content and actions are available [[here>>doc:||anchor="02-chatcontentsandactions"]].

== Broadcast chat ==

A broadcast chat is a group chat with the [[broadcast mode>>doc:||anchor="02-chatmode"]] enabled. This mode is very useful for sharing announcements or briefings in your organisation.

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Select one or more [[participants>>doc:||anchor="02-selectparticipants"]], set a [[chat title>>doc:||anchor="02-definechattitle"]] and define [[further settings>>doc:||anchor="02-definefurthersettings"]]. You will enter the new chat automatically and will be able to compose your first message.

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More information about the broadcast chat mode [[here>>doc:||anchor="02-chatmode"]].

== Federated chat ==

Federated chats allow communicating with users from other Teamwire Servers.

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Select one or more [[participants>>doc:||anchor="02-selectparticipants"]], set a [[chat title>>doc:||anchor="02-definechattitle"]] and define [[further settings>>doc:||anchor="02-definefurthersettings"]]. You will enter the new chat automatically and will be able to compose your first message.

=== Available contacts ===

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The availability of chat participants is limited to contacts and circles that have been enabled for federated usage. Therefore, you cannot create a chat from your organisation's federated and non-federated contacts. In case an important user is not available in your contacts when creating a federated chat, please approach your Teamwire admin.

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Currently it is currently not possible to add more chat members to the chat later.

=== Available chat content ===

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The range of [[chat content>>doc:||anchor="02-chatcontentsandactions"]] is limited.

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Currently, the following attachment types are supported: photos, (gallery), videos (gallery), files. Attention messages are not supported at the moment.

=== Removed federations ===

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If the federation with one or more Teamwire Servers is ended, federated chats are automatically closed. The participants cannot send new content. Unlike [[closed chats>>doc:||anchor="02-closechat"]], the chat history remains available for all members and can still be read.

== Select participants ==

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Select one or more users from your list of contacts by tapping the checkbox next to the user's name.

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Already selected contacts are indicated with an [[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-checked.png||height="20"]] and can be deselected by re-tapping.

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You can combine contacts, lists, circles and bots as chat members. Above the list of contacts, you will see an overview of all selected recipients and also be able to remove them from there.

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Please note the **maximum of members** that can be added to a chat, which will be shown above the overview (Members X / 500) during the creation. The default maximum for a chat is 500 members, but it may have been adjusted by your Teamwire administrator.

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[[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@mobEN_CreateChat1.png||height="615" width="280"]]

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Your contacts are split into four types and are listed per section.

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* [[Contacts>>doc:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.Contacts.WebHome||anchor="03-contacts"]]

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* [[Lists>>doc:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.Contacts.WebHome||anchor="03-lists"]]

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* [[Circles>>doc:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.Contacts.WebHome||anchor="03-circles"]]

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* [[Bots>>doc:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.Contacts.WebHome||anchor="03-bots"]]

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Although all contacts are arranged in alphabetical order (by their last name), in a large organisation it can become challenging to find the right user quickly. Therefore, make use of the **search bar,** to find your contacts, lists, circles and bots per section. The search feature is located in the upper right corner via [[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-magnifier.png||height="20"]].

== Define chat title ==

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Set a title for your conversation. This title is not final and can be changed at any time via [[Chat Settings>>doc:||anchor="02-chatsettings"]]. **For group chats,** setting a title is mandatory.

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[[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@mobEN_CreateChat2.png||height="615" width="280"]]

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== Define further settings ==

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* **Allow to mute notifications**

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Decide whether chat members are allowed to mute this conversation so they will no longer receive push notifications.

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* **Alert Chat**

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This feature is meant for emergencies. An alert chat will always stay on top of its members inbox until its messages has been read. Beside alert chats, you can also create alert messages. More information about alert messages are available at the [[Attention messages>>doc:||anchor="02-attentionmessages"]] chapter.

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After defining all further settings, tap [[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-confirm.png||height="20"]] to enter the new chat automatically and you will be able to compose your first message.

= Emergency alert (SOS button) =

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By using the emergency button, you can quickly create a new alert chat with **a predefined group of users.** When creating an alert, your location data (GPS) will be requested and a voice message will be recorded - both being shared with the chat members.

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An alert will use a special notification sound to be noticed by the chat members and becomes more prominent in their inboxes. More information are available at the [[Attention messages>>doc:||anchor="02-alertmessages"]] chapter.

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If the SOS button is not available to you, the feature may have been disabled by your Teamwire administrator.

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== Set up the SOS button ==

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The group of chat members contacted via the SOS button can be defined at [[Profile > Message settings > SOS Group>>doc:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.Settings.WebHome||anchor="05-sosgroup"]]. If you do not define a recipient here, you will have to manually select a circle or list each time you use the button. If your device is managed by a mobile device management, your Teamwire admin may has already set an SOS group which you will not be able to change.

== Use the SOS button ==

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In your inbox, open the emergency menu by swiping your screen to the right.

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[[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@mobEN_SOS_Mode.png||height="615" width="280"]]

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The SOS button will locate your current position via GPS (if Teamwire has been granted access to your location) and will request you to record a voice message (if Teamwire has been granted access to your microphone) to send both information to the chat.

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To record a voice message

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* tap the button once to start a 30 seconds record timer or

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* tap and hold the button as long as you want to record your message.

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Afterwards, your location and voice message will be sent to a predefined group of users.

= Push-to-Talk =

This feature turns your Teamwire app into a walkie talkie by sending voice messages directly to your Push-to-Talk chats and listening to the voice messages you receive.

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If Push-to-Talk is not available to you, the feature may have been disabled by your Teamwire administrator.

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== Set up Push-to-Talk ==

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In you inbox, use the [[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-ptt.png||height="20"]] icon in the upper right corner to open the Push-to-Talk selection menu. Enable the Push-to-Talk ability for all chats required.

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As soon as you have defined at least one Push-to-Talk chat, you can decide via [[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-pttmute.png||height="20"]] whether new messages received in your active channel will be played via **speaker** or if they are **muted.**

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Use [[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-pttdeselect.png||height="20"]] to remove your current selection of chats.

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[[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@mobEN_PTTselection.png||width="280"]]

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== Use Push-to-Talk ==

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Your Push-to-Talk chats are displayed at the bottom of the inbox. Simply swipe to switch between your Push-to-Talk chats.

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Tap and hold the button for as long as you want to record your message. As soon as you let go of the button, your message will be shared. The maximum duration of a voice message is 180 seconds.

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[[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@mobEN_PTTinbox.png||height="615" width="280"]]

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= Chat content and actions =

== Attachments and features ==

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In addition to texts and emojis, you can send various attachments via Teamwire. If you want to attach a photo, appointment or the like to your current conversation, choose one of the following options.

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[[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-camera.png||height="20"]] **Take photo**

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Grant access to your camera to take and send photos or videos. Video recording is limited to 180 seconds.

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[[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-gallery.png||height="20"]] **Photos and images from gallery**

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Grant access to your gallery to send photos and videos stored on your device.

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[[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-microphone.png||height="20"]] **Record voice message**

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Grant access to your microphone to record and send a voice message. Voice recording is limited to 180 seconds.

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[[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-attachments.png||height="20"]] **Further attachments and features**

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You will be listed further options for sharing content.

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* [[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-alert.png||height="20"]] **Alert,** [[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-annoucement.png||height="20"]] **Announcement** or [[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-note.png||height="20"]] **Note**

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These are so-called attention messages. More information about attention messages are available [[here>>doc:||anchor="02-attentionmessages"]].

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* [[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-file.png||height="20"]] **File**

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Select any further file type via your file manager to share them (e.g. PDF, text file, presentation etc.).

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* [[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-location.png||height="20"]] **Location**

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If Teamwire has been granted access to your location data and GPS is enabled, you can either select your current position or choose a POI from the map, to send it to the chat.

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* [[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-calendar.png||height="20"]] **Calendar**

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Grant access to your calendar to select appointments from your calendar app and attach them.

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* [[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-poll.png||height="20"]] **Poll**

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Create a poll (interactive attachment) and let your chat members vote to make decisions more quickly.

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Your Teamwire admin is able to prohibit sending certain attachment types. If one or more options are not available to you, they may have been disabled by your Teamwire administrator.

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== Attention messages ==

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Via [[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-attachments.png||height="20"]] next to the text input field, various attention message types are available in Teamwire.

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Chat members can respond to your status messages with a predefined selection of reactions without disrupting the flow of an active conversation. Reactions can also be sent by members of a broadcast chat.

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* [[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-alert.png||height="20"]] **Alert**

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Label your message as an alert (text input turns red). Alerts cause a special ringtone and will create a different icon on the notification screen for its participants. A chat containing an alert message will be visually highlighted in its participants inbox, and will always stay on top until all new content has been read.

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The alert notification sound can be configured via [[Profile > Message settings > Alert notification sound>>doc:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.Settings.WebHome||anchor="05-notificationsounds"]].

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(% class="mark" %)Do not mix things up! An alert message is a single message labelled as alert. If you want to create an alert chat quickly, see [[Emergency alert>>doc:||anchor="02-emergencyalert"]].

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* [[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-annoucement.png||height="20"]] **Announcement**

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Label your message as an announcement (text input turns green). Chat members can react to your message via [[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-emptyActivities.png||height="20"]] with a range of reactions.

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* [[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-note.png||height="20"]] **Note**

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Label your message as an note (text input turns yellow). Chat members can react to your message via [[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-emptyActivities.png||height="20"]] with a range of reactions.

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All message types above can be removed before sending by tapping the respective option again. Your message will be sent as normal text then.

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If attention messages are not available to you, the feature may have been disabled by your Teamwire administrator.

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=== Activity / Reactions ===

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You can view the **reactions** to one of your attention messages via the [[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-report.png||height="20"]] **report.**

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You can find a chronological list of all reactions to your attention messages via the icon [[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-bell.png||height="20"]] in the upper right corner of the chat.

== Read receipts ==

The [[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-readeye.png||height="15"]] read receipts of chat members are represented by their user avatars and can be found at the bottom of the conversation. Please note, that these read receipts **only apply to the latest message** of the chat and cannot be viewed for previous messages.

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If you are looking for a detailed view of the current read receipts, tap the line of user avatars to receive a complete list of members.

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Your Teamwire administrator may disable read receipts for all users.

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== Reply to message ==

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Tap and hold onto the respective message or attachment to open the context menu. Select **Reply** to add a quote of the original message when sending your answer. This is especially useful in conversations with a lot of users so you won't lose context.

== Copy message ==

Tap and hold onto the respective message to open the context menu. Select **Copy** to copy the entire message content to your clipboard. You can paste the text to another chat or an external app.

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If you cannot copy a message, the feature may have been disabled by your Teamwire administrator.

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== Forward message ==

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Tap and hold onto the respective message or attachment to open the context menu and select **Forward.** A list of all existing chats to which you can forward the content to will be displayed. If you want to forward to a user or circle that you don't have a chat with yet, tap **New chat** [[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-newchat.png||height="20"]] in the bottom right corner of the screen and continue selecting your participants.

== Delete message ==

You can delete your own messages and attachments in Teamwire, even if they have already been read. Tap and hold the respective message or attachment to open the context menu and select **Delete** to remove it.

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If you cannot delete a message, the feature may have been disabled by your Teamwire administrator.

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= Chat settings =

Open a chat and tap its chat title at the top to open the chat settings. Among other things, here you can edit the title or add more users to the conversation.

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Only [[chat administrators>>doc:||anchor="02-chatadministrators"]] are authorised to make changes to chat settings.

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[[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@mobEN_Chatsettings1.png||height="615" width="280"]]

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== Chat avatar ==

Tap on the current chat avatar. You can choose an existing picture of your photos and images from your **Gallery** or take a photo with your **Camera.** The new avatar will be shown to all members of the conversation.

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Tap the avatar again to **change** or **remove** the image.

== Chat title ==

Tap on the text below the chat avatar to edit the chat title. Confirm your changes via Enter.

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If you want to reset a chat title, remove the current text and confirm via Enter. The title will adopt the automatically generated name. But remember that defining a title is mandatory for group chats.

== Chat mode ==

Teamwire supports two chat modes. Change the current mode by enabling or disabling the **Allow to send messages** feature.

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* **Normal**

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//Allow to send messages// enabled

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By default, the chat settings suggest to create a conversation with the //Normal// chat mode enabled. This mode allows all members to compose and send messages / attachments to the chat.

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* **Broadcast**

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//Allow to send messages// disabled

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The //Broadcast// mode will only allow [[chat administrators>>doc:||anchor="02-chatadministrators"]] to compose and send messages / attachments to the chat. This mode is very useful for sharing announcements or briefings in your organisation.

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== Chat administrators ==

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This section lists all administrators of the current chat.

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Chat administrators are able to make changes in the chat settings, e.g. editing the chat title and chat mode, allowing users to mute the chat, or promote other members to become chat administrator.

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In a 1:1 chat, both members become chat administrator by default.

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**In a group chat, the creator of the chat is automatically promoted to chat administrator.** This applies to all ways of group chats; whether the chat was created by selecting several individual users, by adding [[circles>>doc:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.Contacts.WebHome||anchor="03-circles"]] or [[lists>>doc:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.Contacts.WebHome||anchor="03-lists"]], or by a mix of all options mentioned.

=== Promote to chat admin ===

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In the chat settings, tap [[Members>>doc:||anchor="02-members"]] to see a complete list of the current chat's participants. If the chat was created via circle, tap on its name to view the list of members. Tap the user of concern and select **Make chat admin.**

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The admin promotion cannot be revoked.

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=== Demote chat admin ===

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The admin promotion cannot be revoked.

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You may use the following workaround: Remove the user from the current chat and add them again afterwards. Thus, the user is being removed from both the list of members and administrators, and will become a regular chat member after adding them again.

== Members ==

This section lists all members of the current chat incl. chat administrators.

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If the chat was created by adding a circle, its name will be shown. The members of the circle can be viewed by tapping the circle name and selecting **View members.**

=== Add more members to chat ===

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Tap [[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-attachments.png||height="20"]] above the list of chat members. You will be forwarded to your directory from which you can add further users and/or circles and lists. Confirm your selection by tapping **Done.**

=== Remove members ===

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To remove a user from the chat, tap their name in the list of chat members and select **Remove from chat.** You cannot remove individual users which have been added via circle. You have to remove the complete circle from the chat instead.

= Media overview =

Below the chat settings you will find the **Media overview,** which allows you to look up for all attachments and attention messages that have been shared in the current chat. The media is filtered by its file type, but can also be viewed unfiltered via //All attachments.//

= Chat administration =

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Below the media overview you will find the chat administration.

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[[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@mobEN_Chatsettings2.png||height="615" width="280"]]

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== Mute chat ==

This is a personal setting and will only affect your own user account.

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Mute a chat to stop receiving notifications. When muted, the notification sound, vibration and push notifications will not be triggered **for this chat.** The app icon on your home screen will keep showing the number of unread messages.

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There are two options to mute a chat

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* Open the respective chat and view its chat settings by tapping its avatar and title. The option **Mute** can be found below the media overview.

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* In your **inbox,** tap and hold the chat of concern to open the context menu and select **Mute.**

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You can re-enable notifications for a chat in the same way.

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If you cannot mute a chat, the feature may have been disabled by your Teamwire administrator or by a chat admin.

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== Archive chat ==

This is a personal setting and will only affect your own user account.

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Archive a chat when the conversation is no longer active or when a topic-based discussion is completed. Archived chats are not displayed in your message inbox by default.

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There are two options to archive a chat

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* Open the respective chat and view its chat settings by tapping its avatar and title. The option **Archive** can be found below the media overview.

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* In your **inbox,** tap and hold the chat of concern to open the context menu and select **Archive.**

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To display archived chats in your inbox, activate the option **Show archived chats** via the menu in the upper right corner of the inbox. While viewing your archived chats, you can **Unarchive** a conversation again as archiving was described above.

== Send chat history ==

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Open the respective chat and view its chat settings by tapping its avatar and title. Select [[image:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.WebHome@icon-send.png||height="20"]] **Send** to transfer the conversation in plain text to your default mail app. The action can be found below the media overview.

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Please note that attachments cannot be transferred to the mail.

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If the "Send" option is not available to you, the feature may have been disabled by your Teamwire administrator.

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== Leave chat ==

Leave a chat when you no longer want to be part of the conversation or your participation is no longer needed.

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There are two options to leave a chat

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* Open the respective chat and view its chat settings by tapping its avatar and title. The option **Leave** can be found below the media overview.

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* In your **inbox,** tap and hold the chat of concern to open the context menu and select **Leave.**

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If the "Leave" option is not available to you, the feature may have been disabled by your Teamwire administrator.

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Please note that you cannot leave chats in which you have been added as part of a [[circle>>doc:Public.Applications.Android.User-Manual.Contacts.WebHome||anchor="03-circles"]].

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== Close chat ==

This is an administrative setting and will affect all members of the chat. Only chat administrators can close a chat.

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Close a chat when the conversation is over and no longer needed.

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After it has been closed, the chat will show an according info message and the chat history can no longer be read by its members.

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There are two options to close a chat

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* Open the respective chat and view its chat settings by tapping its avatar and title. The option **Close chat** can be found below the media overview.

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* In your **inbox,** tap and hold the chat of concern to open the context menu and select **Close.**

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You can **reopen** the chat in the same way if you are the chat administrator.

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