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Chats & Group Chats

Updated till version 4.0.7

Chats

With the chat feature in VNCtalk, you can hold instant messaging conversations with people, share content and emojis, mention people, and send documents, images, or other content.

Start a chat

There are 2 ways to start a chat.

Way 1. Using the plus icon.

  1. Tap the plus icon at the bottom.
  2. Select Start Chat.
  3. Select the user you want to chat with.

Way 2. Using the "Chat" menu option.

  1. Tap the hamburger menu .
  2. Tap Users
  3. Tap and hold a required user and then select Chat.

Way 3. Using the message icon.

  1. Tap the hamburger menu .
  2. Tap Users
  3. Tap the user's avatar icon and then the message icon .

Access chat info

You can view basic info about a chat such as chat settings, the user's email, a collection of all the files sent in the chat, and more.

There are 2 ways to access chat info.

Way 1. Using the kebab menu icon.

  1. Open a chat.
  2. In the upper right corner, tap the kebab menu icon .
  3. Select Profile from the dropdown menu.

Way 2. Using the "Chat" menu option.

  1. Tap the hamburger menu .
  2. Tap Users
  3. Tap and hold a required user and then select User's profile.

The information available in individual chats:

  • First name
  • Last name
  • Role
  • Company
  • Email

Info screen options available in individual chats:

  • Make a voice or video call to the user.
  • Start a chat.
  • Compose a new email.
  • Create a ticket/ task for a user.

Pin a chat

Some chats deserve to be prioritized and viewed at a glance.

The pin chat feature allows you to pin specific chats to the top of your chats list so you can quickly find them. You can select up to 5 chats to pin at once.

You pin one-on-one and group chats the same way.

There are 2 ways to pin a chat.

Way 1. From the chat list.

  1. Tap and hold the chat you want to pin.
  2. Select Pin chat.
  3. To unpin a chat, tap and hold a required chat, then tap Unpin chat.

Way 2. Using the kebab menu icon.

  1. Open a chat.
  2. In the upper right corner, tap the kebab menu icon .
  3. Select Pin chat from the dropdown menu.

Add a user to a chat

You add a user to one-on-one and group chats the same way.

  1. Open a chat.
  2. Tap the kebab menu icon beneath the box where you type your message and then select Contact.
  3. Enter a chat name in the Group name field.

  4. Search or scroll through the list of existing users and tap each relevant user.

    • If you want to add an external user (member of another organization, not yours) — enter their email address in the field and tap the arrow icon.

  5. In the upper right corner, tap the checkmark.

You should see the created group chat in the chats list.

Disable/ enable notifications in a chat

If you do not want to receive a notification when somebody sends you a message or calls in a particular chat or group chat, you can disable notifications for this chat. You can enable the message notification any time you want.

You can mute:

  • Message notifications: you will still receive messages sent to the individual or group chat but a pop-up message won't be shown.
  • Sound notifications: youcwill still receive messages sent to the individual or group chat but a sound notification will be turned off.
  • Incoming calls: you will still receive a call but a ringing sound and pop-up message will be turned off.
  • Everything: message notifications, sound notifications, and incoming calls will be turned off.

The following table outlines what the notification icons mean for a chat.

Icon Meaning
Message notifications
Sound notifications
Incoming calls notifications
All notifications
No message notifications
No sound notifications
No incoming calls notifications
No notifications

To disable notifications in a chat:

  1. Open a chat.
  2. Tap the notification icon .

  3. From the dropdown menu that appears, select which type of notifications you would not like to receive:

    • Stop a pop-up message notification: Tap Mute Notifications.
    • Stop a sound notification: Tap Mute Sound.
    • Stop a ringing sound and pop-up message when you receive a call: Tap Mute Incoming Calls.
    • Stop all notifications: Tap Mute Everything.

  4. To enable notifications, tap the crossed-out icon again.

Enable/ disable E2E encryption in a chat

You enable E2E encryption in one-on-one and group chats the same way.

There are 2 ways to enable E2E encryption in a chat.

Way 1. Using the kebab menu icon.

  1. Open a chat.
  2. Tap the kebab menu icon beneath the box where you type your message.
  3. Select Enable E2E Encryption from the dropdown menu.
  4. To disable E2E encryption, tap the kebab menu icon again and then select Disable E2E encryption.

Way 2. (This option is only available for a group chat) Using the "Chat info" option in a group chat.

  1. Open a chat.
  2. In the upper right corner, tap the kebab menu icon .
  3. Select Chat Info from the dropdown menu.
  4. Under the SETTINGS section, toggle on or off Enable OMEMO encryption.

Once you've enabled E2E encryption, you should see that there is a corresponding message, for example:

Mia Chesterfield enabled E2E encryption for the chat

Also, you should see the key icon on the chat avatar.

Archive a chat

The archive chat feature allows you to hide a chat from your chats list to better organize your conversations.

You archive one-on-one and group chats the same way. Important: A group chat can only be archived/ unarchived by the respective group chat admin or moderator.

There are 2 ways to archive a chat.

Way 1. From the chat list.

  1. Tap and hold the chat you want to archive.
  2. Select Archive.

Way 2. Using the kebab menu icon.

  1. Open a chat.
  2. Tap the kebab menu icon beneath the box where you type your message.
  3. Select Archive from the dropdown menu.

To view a list of unarchived chats or restore an archived chat, you can use the desktop version. Refer to the "View archived chats" and "Unarchive a chat" chapters, for a step-by-step guide.

Delete a chat

You delete one-on-one and group chats the same way.

  1. Tap and hold a chat you want to delete.
  2. Tap Remove From Recent.
  3. If prompted, tap the Remove to confirm that you want to delete a chat.

Search across all chats

Searching messages in one-on-one and group chats works the same way.

  1. Type a keyword into the search box above a list of chats.
  2. When results appear, toggle between Chats, Contacts, All messages, and Groups.
  3. To open a result, tap it.

Search within a chat

  1. Open a chat.
  2. Tap the kebab menu icon beneath the box where you type your message.
  3. Select Search from the dropdown menu.
  4. Enter a search term in the field and tap Return.
  5. To set the time period for the search, tap the calendar icon , select a required date.
  6. To search for a specific word across starred messages, tap the star icon .

Group chats

Start a group chat

There are 2 ways to start a group chat.

Way 1. Using the "Start group chat" option.

  1. Tap the plus icon at the bottom.
  2. Select Start group chat.
  3. Enter a group chat name.
  4. Tap the avatar icon to add a group chat image. Tap Upload and select an image from your device, adjust it, and tap the checkmark in the lower right corner.
  5. Tap the plus icon to add users to the chat. Select the users you want to invite to a group and then tap the checkmark icon in the upper right corner.
  6. (Optional) Tap Settings, if you want to add tags and customize privacy and security options.
  7. (Optional) Tap Add a description if you want to add a description.
  8. Tap the checkmark in the upper right corner.

You should see the created group chat in the chats list.

Way 2. Adding a user in a one-on-one chat.

You can bring others into the conversation. To add someone to a one-on-one chat, refer to the "Add a user to a chat" section, for the step-by-step guide.

Access group chat info

You can view basic info about a chat such as who's in a group chat, chat security and privacy settings, a collection of all the files sent in the chat, and more.

  1. Open a chat.
  2. In the upper right corner, tap the kebab menu icon .
  3. Select Chat Info from the dropdown menu.

The information available in group chats:

  • Participants. See who’s in a group chat. A tap on the kebab icon in the participant list allows one to view participant profile information, change a role, make an Audio or Video Call, or send a message.
  • Info. See and edit the chat name, description, and tags. You can also customize security and privacy settings.
  • Files. A collection of all the images, videos, docs, voice messages, and saved meetings.

Info screen options available in group chats:

  • Make a voice or video call to the user.
  • Add people to the conversation.
  • Change a group chat's avatar.
  • Change chat name and description
  • Enable/ Disable OMEMO Encryption
  • Customize chat history & privacy settings
  • Manage attached files

Add a user to a group chat

There are two ways to add a participant to a group chat.

Way 1. Using the "Add participants" button.

  1. Open a chat.
  2. In the upper right corner, tap the kebab menu icon .
  3. Select Chat Info from the dropdown menu.
  4. Tap the Add participants button.
  5. Assign a required role for a user: Moderator, Participant, or Audience. The default settings make every user you add to a chat a Participant.

  6. Select a user from the list or use the magnifier icon for searching.

    • If you want to add an external user (member of another organization, not yours) - enter their email address into the field and tap the arrow icon.

  7. In the upper right corner, tap the checkmark.

In the group chat, you should see the notification stating "Added 1 participant".

Way 2. Using the "Add participants" dropdown menu option.

You can bring others into the conversation. To add someone to a one-on-one chat, refer to the "Add a user to a chat" section for the step-by-step guide.

Remove a user from a group chat

Only the Moderator can delete a user from group chats.

There are 3 ways to delete a user from a group chat.

Way 1. From the "Chat Info" section.

  1. Open a chat.
  2. In the upper right corner, tap the kebab menu icon .
  3. Select Chat Info from the dropdown menu.
  4. Navigate to the Participants tab.
  5. Tap the kebab menu icon next to the user you want to remove from a group chat.
  6. Select Remove from chat from the dropdown menu.

Way 2. Using the "Add Participants" option.

  1. Open a chat.
  2. Tap the kebab menu icon beneath the box where you type your message.
  3. Select Contact from the dropdown menu.
  4. Tap the cross icon on a required user.
  5. In the upper right corner, tap the checkmark.

Way 3. Using the "Add Participants" button.

  1. Open a chat.
  2. In the upper right corner, tap the kebab menu icon .
  3. Select Chat Info from the dropdown menu.
  4. Tap the Add participants button.
  5. The further steps are the same as for the second way of removing a user from a group chat.

Find and join a private chat group

  1. In the search box above a list of chats, enter the name of the group you are looking for.
  2. When results appear, tap Group chats.
  3. Tap a required group.
  4. When prompted, tap Yes confirming that you want to request access. You will see the notification stating "Your request has been sent. You will be notified when access is approved."

You may have to wait for a group admin to approve your request. When you join a group, participants in the group chat will see that you are a participant.

Grant access to a user

Group admins will have to approve participation requests before someone can join the chat group.

  1. Open a group chat.
  2. In the upper right corner, tap the kebab menu icon .
  3. Select Chat Info from the dropdown menu.
  4. Navigate to the Participants tab.
  5. Under the Open join requests section, you can see a list of join requests. Tap the kebab menu icon next to the user you want to grant access to and then select Grant access.

Once a group admin has granted someone access, they can access that group chat’s resources, share files, and communicate with other chat participants.

Change a group chat name

Only a group admin can change the group chat name.

  1. Open a chat.
  2. In the upper right corner, tap the kebab menu icon .
  3. Select Chat Info from the dropdown menu.
  4. Tap the pencil icon to the right of Chat name and make your changes. The changes will take effect immediately.

Change a group chat description

Only a group admin can change the group chat description.

  1. Open a chat.
  2. In the upper right corner, tap the kebab menu icon .
  3. Select Chat Info from the dropdown menu.
  4. Tap the pencil icon to the right of Description and make your changes.

Add tags to a group chat

Only a group admin can add/ delete tags.

  1. Open a chat.
  2. In the upper right corner, tap the kebab menu icon .
  3. Select Chat Info from the dropdown menu.
  4. Tap the pencil icon to the right of Tags.
  5. Search or scroll through the list of existing tags and tap it.
  6. To delete a tag, tap "x" next to the tag.

Change a group chat avatar

Only a group admin can change the avatar.

  1. Open a chat.
  2. In the upper right corner, tap the kebab menu icon .
  3. Select Chat Info from the dropdown menu.
  4. Tap the pencil icon .
  5. Tap Upload. You can choose a photo from your library or take a new photo with your camera.
  6. After uploading the picture, you can crop the picture, and change the position and size.
  7. Tap the checkmark icon at the bottom.

Change group chat permissions

Participants in a group chat have different roles. You can be a Participant, Audience, and Moderator. Their privileges are as follows:

  • Participant: Group participants have no permission to manage group chat settings, but their personal ones.
  • Audience: Users in the Audience can follow the chat, but can not participate actively.
  • Moderator: Group Moderators manage the roles, the chat´s name and description, and settings. The creator of a group is by default the group moderator. There can be several moderators.

The following table outlines what actions Authors, Moderators, and Members can perform in a group chat.

Action Participant Audience Moderator
Archive a chat Yes No Yes
Add a chat to a "Favorite" list Yes No Yes
Create a survey Yes No Yes
Start a video/ audio call Yes No Yes
Start screen share session Yes No Yes
Manage privacy settings Yes No Yes
Leave a chat Yes Yes Yes
Add reactions to the message Yes Yes Yes
Add and remove members No No Yes
Change group members' permissions No No Yes
Rename the group chat No No Yes
Edit the group chat image No No Yes
Enable and disable OMEMO encryption No No Yes
Manage chat history and privacy settings No No Yes

By default, any group participants can send messages. However, a group admin can change group settings to allow only admins to send messages. The group admin can do that by changing a user's role from "Participant" to "Audience".

  1. Open a group chat.
  2. In the upper right corner, tap the kebab menu icon .
  3. Select Chat Info from the dropdown menu.
  4. Tap the Participant tab.
  5. Tap the kebab menu icon next to the participant for whom you want to change a role.
  6. Tap Change role and select a required option from the dropdown menu.

Customize chat history settings

As a group chat moderator, you can specify whether to share chat history with new participants or not. You can set the following options:

  • Share your chat history with new participants
  • Don't share your chat history
  • Ask every time you add a new participant

To change chat history settings, do the following:

  1. Open a chat.
  2. In the upper right corner, tap the kebab menu icon .
  3. Select Chat Info from the dropdown menu.
  4. Toggle on Clear chat history and select a required option.

Add a group chat to the "Favorite" list

You can mark group chats as favorites to make them easy to find.

There are 2 ways to add a group chat to favorites.

Way 1. From the chat list.

  1. Tap and hold a chat.
  2. Tap Add to Favorites.
  3. To remove a group chat from the Favorites list, tap and hold a chat and then Remove from Favorites.

Way 2. Using the kebab menu icon.

  1. Open a chat.
  2. In the upper right corner, tap the kebab menu icon .
  3. Select Add to Favorites from the dropdown menu.

You can view your favorite chats by tapping the Favorites chip, where you will see a list of individual and group chats you've marked as favorites.

Messages

Reply to a message

You can respond to a specific message in an individual or group chat.

  1. Open a chat.
  2. Tap and hold the message you want to reply. This will highlight the message in blue, and show your options on a toolbar at the top of the screen.
  3. Tap the reply icon .
  4. Enter your response.
  5. Tap the Send button .

Copy a message

  1. Open a chat.
  2. Tap and hold the message you want to copy. This will highlight the message in blue, and show your options on a toolbar at the top of the screen.
  3. Tap the copy icon .
  4. It will copy the selected chat message to the clipboard. You can now paste the copied message to another chat.

Forward a message

You can forward messages from an individual or group chat to another individual or group chat. Forwarded messages are indicated with a Forwarded label.

  1. Open a chat.
  2. Tap and hold the message you want to forward. This will highlight the message in blue, and show your options on a toolbar at the top of the screen.
  3. Tap the forward icon .
  4. Search for or select the user or group chat you want to forward the messages to.

Delete a message

When you delete messages, they are deleted for everyone. Once a message is deleted, the app displays a notification stating Message is deleted.

  1. Open a chat.
  2. Tap and hold the message you want to delete. This will highlight the message in blue, and show your options on a toolbar at the top of the screen.
  3. In the upper right corner, tap the kebab menu .
  4. Select Delete message from the dropdown menu.

Perform bulk actions on messages

You can select more than one message to delete, copy, or forward them.

  1. Open a chat.
  2. Tap and hold the message you want to delete, copy, or forward. This will highlight the message in blue, and show your options on a toolbar at the top of the screen.
  3. Select any additional messages you want to delete, copy, or forward.

  4. Tap one of the following on a toolbar at the top of the page:

    • Delete .
    • Copy .
    • Forward : Select a required user or use the search field for searching.

Send a message by email

  1. Open a chat.
  2. Tap and hold the message you want to send by email. This will highlight the message in blue, and show your options on a toolbar at the top of the screen.
  3. In the upper right corner, tap the kebab menu icon .
  4. Select Email to a Friend from the dropdown menu.
  5. Enter an email address in the field and click [enter]/[return] to confirm.
  6. You can also change the Subject. The Subject text by default is: "Message from VNCtalk".
  7. Tap the Send button .

Record a voice message

VNCtalk voice messaging allows you to instantly communicate in one-on-one and group chats.

  1. Open a chat.
  2. Tap the microphone icon . You should see that the recording has started.
  3. To send the voice message, tap the checkmark button . To stop recording the voice message, tap the cross button .

Mention the user

You can directly notify someone that a message needs a response by mentioning them in a group chat. When you mention someone, they'll get a notification. Only people who are already in the group chat can be mentioned in this way.

  1. Open a group chat.
  2. In the text box, type @ followed by the user’s name.
  3. When it appears, tap the name of the user you want to mention.
  4. Write your message.
  5. Tap the Send button .

You can also write @all to mention everyone who is a member of the chat group.

You can view chats with your name mentioned by tapping the Mentions chip. When viewing a chat group with a message you were mentioned in, your username will be highlighted in blue.

Add reactions to a message

In VNCtalk, you express how you feel about a message with reactions. A reaction is a small emoji that appears next to a message.

  1. Open a chat.
  2. Tap the emoji icon near the message you want to react to.
  3. Choose an emoji reaction.
  4. To remove a reaction, tap the highlighted reaction.

Mark a message as a favorite

The starred messages feature allows you to bookmark specific messages so you can quickly refer back to them later.

  1. Open a chat.
  2. Tap the star icon on a message and the star will turn yellow, confirming that you've marked the message as a favorite.
  3. To unmark a message as favorite, tap the star icon again.

To search for bookmarked favorite messages:

  1. Open a chat.
  2. Tap the kebab menu icon beneath the box where you type your message.
  3. Select Search in chat from the dropdown menu.
  4. Tap the star icon at the bottom of the screen.

All messages marked as favorite message in this chat will be displayed. Tap back arrow on top to go back to all messages.

Use emoji

  1. Open a chat.
  2. Tap the emoji icon beneath the box where you type your message.
  3. In the input field of the emoticon window that appears, you can also type any keyword to get relevant emoji suggestions - like :heart.
  4. You can also switch between different types of emojis.
  5. To switch back to your text box, tap .

Use Rich Text Format

You can bold and italicize text in chat messages. You can also underline text, change text color, and add bullet points.

The following table shows supported rich text formatting options:

Icon Option Description
Bold Makes the selected text bold. If the text is already bold, removes the bold.
Italic Makes the selected text italic. If the text is already italic, removes the italic.
Underline Makes the text underlined. If the text is already underlined, removes the underline.
Strike Trought Strikes the text through (i.e. draw a horizontal line through the letters).
Heading levels Customizes heading style (h1, h2).
Quotation Makes a quote.
Align Left Aligns the text against the left margin.
Center Centers the text.
Align Right Aligns the text against the right margin.
Justify Text When you justify text, space is added between words so that both edges of each line are aligned with both margins. The last line in the paragraph is aligned left.
Numbering Begins numbering paragraphs. The number appears prior to each paragraph.
Bullets Begins placing a bullet before each paragraph.
Link Allows you to add or remove a hyperlink to the selected text.
Emoji Inserts an emoji into the content.

Ensure that Rich Text Format is enabled. Refer to the "Feature settings" section, for a step-by-step instruction.

  1. Open a chat.
  2. Tap the rich text format icon beneath the box where you type your message.
  3. You should see the box where you can type a message using the Rich Text Format feature.

Extend the field for typing a message

  1. Open a chat.
  2. Tap the kebab menu icon beneath the box where you type your message.
  3. Select Full Screen from the dropdown menu.
  4. To shrink a text field, tap the kebab menu icon and then select Collapse.

Share location

This feature is not available on VNCtalk Desktop and Web Client, but it is available in the VNCtalk app.

  1. Open a chat.
  2. Tap the kebab menu icon beneath the box where you type your message.

  3. Select Location from the dropdown menu.

    • If prompted, tap the YES to confirm that you want to transmit the location.
    • If it is required, allow VNCtalk to access the device location.

  4. Drag the map so that the red pin is at the location you want to send.

  5. Tap the checkmark in the upper right corner.