Chat reminder

Summary A chat reminder makes sure you get a reply to a chat message. Set a due date for the reply: if the person hasn't replied by then, PaT sends them reminders, as often as you choose, until they do. PaT puts the reminder in an inline child chat thread under the message, and the person must reply in that thread to clear it. You can remind one person or several at once, and choose to get an email when a reminder is sent.

Steps

Introduction. Chat reminders save you chasing people for a reply, or even having to remember that you need to: PaT takes care of it for you. You choose how often the reminders are sent, based on how urgent the reply is.

Step 1

In the chat, swipe right on the message you need a reply to. A row of buttons appears to the left of the message: copy, remind, edit and a people icon.

Step 2

Click remind. The chat panel now lists the other people in the chat, one row each: their name, a Remind button with their first name on it, a circle and a bin icon.

Step 3

To remind one person, click the circle in their row.

Tip. You can remind several people at once. This is useful when there are several people in the chat and you need a reply from each of them.

Step 4

Send your message to everyone in the chat, then swipe right on it and click remind. Each person is listed in their own row, and a Remind Selected button sits at the top of the panel.

Step 5

Click the circle in the row of each person who needs to reply. Each of them is sent a reminder, so everyone who needs to respond is prompted to.

How reminder threads work

Note. The message you want a reply to sits in the parent chat thread. A reminder creates an inline child chat thread: a separate thread that branches from that message and appears just below it.

Note. Inline child chat threads give each topic its own thread, so a busy chat doesn't turn into a tangle of overlapping conversations, and each topic can be followed through to its end. You can start one on any message by swiping left on it. A reminder is a kind of inline child thread, and the person you need a reply from must reply in that thread.

Setting the due date

Step 6

In the Inline Chat Reminder panel, click the Select a deadline for response: box. In the calendar that opens, click the day you need a reply by.

Step 7

To change the time, use the hour and minute boxes at the top of the calendar.

Step 8

Click OK at the bottom of the calendar. The date and time now show in the deadline box.

Step 9

In Send a nudge message every:, choose how often PaT reminds the person: none, 1, 4, 8, 24 or 48 hours, depending on how urgent the reply is. With 24 hours, for example, PaT nudges them every 24 hours from the due date, and the reminders continue until they reply in the child thread the reminder creates.

Step 10

Tick send me a notification to get an email each time PaT sends the person a reminder, or untick it if you don't want these emails. Your email address fills in automatically under Notify me by this email:. The email reminds you that a reply is still needed, and if the matter is urgent it can prompt you to call or follow up another way.

Step 11

Click Queue Reminder at the bottom of the panel.

Step 12

PaT creates the inline child chat thread that manages the reminder and the reply. Under your message, a green line now reads "Reminder sent to:" followed by the person's name.

Step 13

The reminder's due date shows just below the green line. To open the thread, click the green View here button at the right end of the line.

Step 14

The Multi Chat panel opens. Under Select a reply to view, it lists every inline chat thread on the message. Click the arrow at the right of the thread you want.

Step 15

The inline child chat thread opens. The person has to reply in this thread to clear the reminder. You can carry on discussing the issue in it, which keeps the main thread uncluttered, especially when others in the main thread don't need to be involved.

What the other person sees

Step 16

The person you reminded finds the chat in their chat list. PaT floats chat reminder messages to the top of the list, so that they are dealt with early.

Step 17

A chat message with a reminder on it has a green dot, not a blue one. The person clicks the chat to open it.

Step 18

The message opens with a red note above it and, below it, a green line saying who set them a reminder, with the due date underneath.

Step 19

The red note reads "Do not reply ABOVE, use reminder feature BELOW (green button) to reply in-line". The person must not reply in this parent chat thread. Instead, they click the green Clear here button and reply in the inline child thread: that is the only way to clear the reminder and stop it firing. If they reply in the main chat thread instead, the reminder can't tell the reply is for this message, and it keeps firing until they reply in the child thread.

Step 20

To clear the reminder, the person clicks Clear here at the right end of the green line.

Step 21

The inline child chat thread opens, marked Inline Chat. The message at the top asks them to reply in this thread, and explains that making a comment in it clears the reminder and stops further nudges.

Step 22

To see the original message, they click the message in the thread that reads click here to view the original comment.

Step 23

They type a reply in the message box in the middle of the screen and click send comment. The reminder is cleared, and PaT stops sending them reminders.

Step 24

In the original chat, the line under your message now shows Reminder cleared. Anyone in the chat can click View here at any time to go to the thread where that discussion carries on.