> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.clinikehr.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Message your team

> Use Team chat for channels, direct messages, threads and mentions, tag patients safely, and choose what you are notified about.

export const StillStuck = ({topic}) => <div className="ck-callout ck-callout--note" role="note">
    <p className="ck-callout__body">
      <strong>Still stuck{topic ? ` with ${topic}` : ''}?</strong>{' '}
      Check <a href="/platform/help/troubleshooting">Troubleshooting</a> first —
      it covers the failures we see most often. If that does not resolve it,{' '}
      <a href="/platform/help/contact-support">contact support</a> and include
      your workspace name and the time the problem happened, so we can find the
      matching entry in your audit log.
    </p>
  </div>;

export const TaskHeader = ({before, time, after}) => <div className="ck-task">
    {before ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">Before you start</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{before}</p>
      </div> : null}

    {time ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">Takes about</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{time}</p>
      </div> : null}

    {after ? <div className="ck-task__cell">
        <div className="ck-task__title">When you're done</div>
        <p className="ck-task__body">{after}</p>
      </div> : null}
  </div>;

export const Path = ({steps = []}) => <span className="ck-path">
    {steps.map((s, i) => <span key={i} className="ck-path__step">
        {i > 0 ? <span className="ck-path__sep" aria-hidden="true">
            ›
          </span> : null}
        {s}
      </span>)}
  </span>;

export const Availability = ({editions = ['all'], plans, roles, note}) => {
  const list = editions.includes('all') ? ['clinic', 'pharmacy', 'lims'] : editions;
  return <div className="ck-avail" role="note" aria-label="Feature availability">
      <span className="ck-avail__label">Available in</span>

      {list.map(e => <span key={e} className={`ck-pill ck-pill--${e}`}>
          {EDITION_LABELS[e] || e}
        </span>)}

      {plans ? <span className="ck-avail__label">Plan</span> : null}
      {plans ? <span className="ck-pill ck-pill--plan">{plans}</span> : null}

      {roles ? <span className="ck-avail__label">Who</span> : null}
      {roles ? <span className="ck-pill ck-pill--role">{roles}</span> : null}

      {note ? <span className="ck-avail__note">{note}</span> : null}
    </div>;
};

<Availability editions={['all']} plans="All plans" roles="Every staff member" note="Team chat is for staff only. Patients and customers use Messages in the portal, which is a separate place." />

**Team chat** is where your staff talk to each other: channels for a team or topic, direct messages for one person or a small group, and threads to keep a conversation tidy. It works on a phone, a tablet and a desktop, and it is separate for each workspace you belong to.

<Path steps={['Sidebar', 'Team chat']} />

<TaskHeader before="Nothing to set up. Every workspace starts with a general channel and every staff member is in it" time="A minute to send your first message" after="A message your colleague sees straight away, in the right place" />

## What you're looking at

The list on the left has your conversations: **Channels**, **Direct messages**, your **Starred** ones and your own sections. A name in bold has messages you haven't read, and a red number means someone mentioned you. Press Ctrl+K (Command+K on a Mac) to jump to any channel or person by name. On a phone the same list is the **Home** tab, with **DMs**, **Activity** and **Search** beside it; see [Use Team chat on any screen](/platform/team/team-chat-views-and-safety).

The middle is the conversation: the messages, a **New messages** line where you left off, and the box where you write. A thread opens beside it on a wide screen and as a sheet on a smaller one.

A strip under the channel name tells you when the connection drops: **Reconnecting…** while it retries, or **Offline — messages will send when you're back**. Messages you write while offline wait and send in order when you reconnect. One that can't be sent shows **Retry** and **Discard**.

## Chat without leaving your page

Select **Team chat** in the sidebar (or in the menu on a phone) and the chat opens right where you are, so you can reply and carry on with what you were doing. On a large screen it docks on the right and the page behind stays usable; on a phone or tablet it covers the screen as a sheet, with **Close** at the top. It opens the conversation you last had open, or your general channel the first time. The unread count stays on the **Team chat** item.

Select **Open full chat** in its header when you want threads, search and everything else. To go straight to the full Team chat instead, hold Ctrl (Command on a Mac) or Shift while you select the item, middle-click it, or press and hold it on a touch screen. It doesn't open on a till screen, and when you are already on the Team chat page the item simply takes you there.

## Send a message

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open a channel or a person">
    Select a channel in the list. For a direct message, select the **+** button, then **New message**, choose one person (or up to eight for a group) and select **Start conversation**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Write and send">
    Type your message. **Enter** sends it and **Shift+Enter** starts a new line. A counter appears as you near the 4,000-character limit.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Mention someone">
    Type **@** and pick a name from the list. They are notified. Owners, managers and a channel's admins can also type **@channel** or **@everyone** to notify the whole channel; in the general channel only owners and managers can. For anyone else it posts as plain text and nobody is notified.
  </Step>
</Steps>

You can make text **bold**, *italic* or `code`, start a line with a dash for a list, and paste a web link. Only web links open, and nothing from outside is loaded into the conversation.

## Reply in a thread

Hover over a message and select **Reply in thread**, or on a phone or tablet open **Message actions** on the message and choose it. Replies stay under the message instead of filling the channel, and the message shows a count such as **2 replies**. You follow a thread you start, reply to, or are mentioned in; choose **Follow thread** or **Unfollow thread** to change that.

## Tag patients

Never type a patient's details into a message. Select the **+** button next to the message box, then **Tag patients**. Search by name or ID, tick as many patients as the message is about (up to 10), and select **Tag 2 patients** (the button shows the number you picked). Remove a patient from the message with the **x** on their chip.

The message shows a chip for each patient that opens their record, and opening it is recorded in the patient's access history. Someone who isn't allowed to see a patient sees **Restricted patient** instead of the name.

Each tagged patient's **Team chat** tab on their record lists the conversation, marked **Tagged**, for the people who are members of it. Deleting the tagged message removes it from the tab.

After a message is sent, its author, an owner or a manager can still take a tag off it: select the **x** on the patient's chip in the message and confirm **Remove tag**. The message stays. If no other message in the conversation tags that patient, the conversation leaves their **Team chat** tab. Removing a tag is recorded in the audit log.

If what you type looks like a phone number or a date of birth, a gentle reminder suggests tagging the patient instead. Channel names must never contain patient details either.

## React, edit, delete, pin and save

Open **Message actions** on a message (hover on a computer):

* Pick an emoji to react. Select your own reaction again to remove it.
* **Edit** your own message within 24 hours. It then shows **(edited)**.
* **Delete** your own message at any time. Everyone sees **Message deleted** in its place. Owners and managers can delete someone else's message, and must give a reason. A record of the original is kept for the workspace's audit trail.
* **Pin** keeps a message findable under **Pinned messages** in the conversation header, and the message shows a **Pinned** mark that everyone sees at once. In **Pinned messages**, select **Go to message** to jump to it, or **Unpin** to remove it. You can unpin a message you pinned; channel admins, owners and managers can unpin any. **Save for later** keeps a private bookmark only you can see.

A message from someone who has since left shows their name followed by **(former staff)**.

## Create a channel

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the form">
    Select **+**, then **New channel**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Name it and choose who can see it">
    Enter a **Channel name**. Choose **Public** (anyone on your team can find and join it) or **Private** (only the people you add). A private channel needs a **Purpose**, which owners and managers can see.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add people and create">
    Optionally add a **Topic (optional)**, turn on **Announcement channel** so that only admins start conversations (everyone can still read, react and reply in a thread), add people, and select **Create channel**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

To join a public channel, select **+**, then **Browse channels**, and select **Join**.

## Choose what you're notified about

Select **Channel details** at the top of a conversation. **Notify me about** offers **Every new message**, **Only mentions and direct messages**, or **Nothing**. **Mute** silences it for an hour, eight hours, a day or a week. A muted channel stays in your list and still counts mentions of you.

Notifications say who wrote and where, never what they wrote. If a mention or direct message goes unread for a while, you may get a short email reminder that also contains no message text. It follows your email notification setting.

## Your privacy and your clinic's retention

Select **Team chat settings** in the list header.

| Setting | What it does |
| - | - |
| **Read receipts** | Shows people in a direct message when you've seen their message. Turn it off and you stop seeing theirs too. |
| **Online status** | Shows teammates that you're online. Turn it off and you stop seeing theirs too. |
| **Keep messages for** | Owners and managers choose 90 days, 1 year, 2 years, 7 years or **Keep forever**. Older messages are deleted automatically, except messages that tag a patient, which are kept for at least 7 years. |

Private channels and direct messages are visible only to their members. Owners and managers cannot browse them. If the workspace ever needs to review one, it happens through a logged export with a stated reason.

## The first time you open it

A short four-step tour appears once, with a picture for each step. Select **Next** and **Back** to move through it, or **Skip the tour** at any step; it doesn't come back. You may also be asked to read the **Team chat policy** and select **I agree** before you can post. You can read it again in **Team chat settings**, and an owner can edit it.

## Ticks, undo, acknowledging and checklists

* In a direct message, group message or patient conversation, your messages show a tick: **Sent**, **Delivered**, or **Read by 2 of 3**. Someone who turned read receipts off never counts as having read it, but delivered is still shown.
* A new message waits five seconds so you can select **Undo** before it goes. Urgent messages go at once.
* An owner, manager or channel admin can ask everyone to confirm a message. People select **I've read this**; the sender selects **Who has read it** and can send one reminder.
* Start lines with - \[ ] to make a checklist anyone in the channel can tick. Each tick shows who and when.
* A message you wrote shows **(edited)**; select it to see the earlier versions.

## Who can do this

| Action | Who by default |
| - | - |
| Read and send messages, start direct messages, create public and private channels | Every staff member |
| Mention **@channel** or **@everyone** | Owners and managers, plus a channel's admins (not in the general channel) |
| Archive a channel | Owners, managers and that channel's admins |
| Delete someone else's message, change retention | Owners and managers |

## Check it worked

Send a message and ask a colleague to open the same channel: it appears for them within a moment, without a refresh. Reload the page and it is still there. A colleague you mention sees a notification in their bell.

## Common issues

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="I can't post in a channel">
    It is either an announcement channel, where only admins start conversations (you can still reply in a thread), or it has been archived and is read-only.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="My @channel did nothing">
    Only owners, managers and a channel's admins can notify everyone, and in the general channel only owners and managers can. The text posts as plain words.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="It says Reconnecting…">
    Your connection dropped. The messages you can see may be out of date until it clears. Anything you write waits and sends when you're back.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I can't edit my message">
    You can edit your own message for 24 hours after sending it. After that, delete it and post a corrected one.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I can't send because the message is too long">
    Messages are limited to 4,000 characters. Split it up, and keep patient information in the patient's record.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## FAQ

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can patients see Team chat?">
    No. It is for staff only. Patients and customers use the portal's Messages.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I use Team chat in more than one workspace?">
    Yes. Each workspace has its own conversations, and nothing crosses between them.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Is it right to discuss a patient here?">
    Tag the patient instead of typing their details, and keep clinical notes in the patient's record, where they belong.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Is Team chat private?">
    Messages are encrypted in transit and at rest. Only members see a private channel or direct message.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Go further

<Cards>
  <Card title="Share files, voice notes, polls and scheduled messages" href="/platform/team/team-chat-files-and-polls" />

  <Card title="Send urgent alerts, set your status and pause notifications" href="/platform/team/team-chat-urgent-and-status" />

  <Card title="Talk about a patient, mention groups and sites, and forward or approve" href="/platform/team/team-chat-patients-and-teams" />

  <Card title="Find messages and organise Team chat your way" href="/platform/team/team-chat-find-and-organise" />

  <Card title="Use Team chat on any screen, and keep it safe" href="/platform/team/team-chat-views-and-safety" />
</Cards>

<StillStuck />


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