Chat Wall

Summary This module covers the Chat Wall in PaT Chat. It shows how to start a new chat, give it a title and add people from inside or outside your organisation. It then covers formatting, following, docking and sharing chats, and ends with chat types, swipe actions, folders and search. It has three parts: “Starting a new chat and adding people”, “Formatting, following, docking and sharing chats” and “Chat types, swipe actions, folders and search”.

Starting a new chat and adding people

Summary This part covers starting a new chat thread with its own title, adding members from inside your organisation, adding someone from outside PaT by email, and typing your first message.

Note. PaT Chat is an advanced communication platform designed for business. As people learn and use its features, they often become much more productive and gain more control over their work. That reduces stress and improves job satisfaction, because they achieve better results in less time.

Step 1

Open the Chat Wall tab, next to Task Wall at the top left of the screen. To start a new chat thread with its own title, click Create a Chat, the purple button at the top of the folder menu on the left. Use it when you need a chat quickly and don't want or need to add your message to an existing chat thread (which is what you'll do most of the time).

Step 2

The create a draft Chat box opens. Type the chat's title in the Enter title for this draft chat ... box. Choose the title with care: like the subject of an email, it helps you find the chat in a search later. The chat stays a draft until you send its first message.

Step 3

Click the tick at the right of the title box.

Step 4

The new chat appears at the top of the list of chats, in the middle of the screen. Click it to open the chat editor.

Step 5

The row of photos at the top of the editor is the chat's members list. At first, you are the only member. To add (tag in) a new member, click the + icon at the top left of the list. Note: a member you add can see the entire chat thread. If you want someone to see only one existing message in the thread, use an inline reply instead.

Step 6

A panel opens on the right. Type the person's name in the start typing to search box at the top: as you type, PaT shows a live list of matching people. Or click a name in the Recent Assignee's list below it, the people you have been communicating with most recently.

Step 7

To send the chat to someone outside PaT, use the chat-to-email-to-chat feature. Click the + icon at the top left of the members list to open the panel.

Step 8

Click add external user, at the bottom right of the panel.

Step 9

Fill in their Email Address, First name and Last Name, then click submit at the bottom right of the panel.

Step 10

When you're ready, type your message in the large white box below the row of purple formatting buttons. To send it, click send comment at the bottom right of the editor.

Formatting, following, docking and sharing chats

Summary This part covers formatting text and adding GIFs, following a chat, docking it, copying its link, editing its title, attaching files, choosing whether members also get an email copy, and selecting all members at once.

Step 11

The purple buttons above the message box format your text: bold (B), underline (U), a bulleted list and a numbered list. Highlight the text you want to format, then click the style you want.

Step 12

To add a bit of fun, add a GIF to your message: click GIF, at the right end of the same row of buttons.

Tip. A well-placed GIF can lighten a conversation and help build rapport with colleagues and clients.

Step 13

To keep a close eye on a chat, follow it: click the star icon at the top right of the chat editor.

Step 14

The chat is automatically stored in the Following folder, in the folder menu on the left of the Chat Wall.

Step 15

To dock the chat, click the round down-arrow button just right of the star. The chat docks to the bottom-left corner of your screen. Dock the chats you use often, so you don't have to search for them later.

Step 16

To copy the chat thread's link (URL) to your clipboard, click the share icon (an arrow coming out of a box), below the down-arrow button. You can paste the link into chats, notes, tasks, emails or any digital document. When someone clicks it, PaT opens a webpage showing the chat thread and its attached files. This helps both internal and external users connect work and communication.

Step 17

To change the chat's title, click the edit button (a pencil on a square), to the left of the share icon.

Step 18

A box opens with the chat's Title. Change the title, then click Update at the bottom of the box.

Step 19

To attach files, drag and drop them onto the Drop your file(s) here or click to add one! bar below the message box, or click the bar to browse the files on your device.

Step 20

The do not send email box, at the bottom left of the editor, is ticked by default, so your PaT messages are not also emailed to the recipients' linked email addresses. If you want them to receive an email copy of your chat, untick it.

Step 21

Tick select all, just below do not send email, to select every member of the chat when you send a message. If you send messages often, you'll probably use it a lot. It's especially handy with large groups: you can message a small team, then easily share updates with everyone else.

Step 22

Every member in the members list then shows a blue tick in the box next to their name.

Chat types, swipe actions, folders and search

Summary This part covers the panel that shows where a chat sits in PaT and what type of chat it is, the swipe actions on a message, the folder menu (including folders of your own), and the two ways to search: by chat title, and with Adv. Search.

Step 23

Open a chat. The panel at the top right of the screen shows where the chat thread sits within PaT. PaT uses contextual communication: unlike email, where messages live in personal inboxes, PaT ties each conversation directly to the work it is about. This makes handovers easier and helps you pick up quickly where you left off.

Step 24

The dark blue capsule at the top of that panel, above the chat title, shows the chat's type. For example, 1-1 Chat is a secure, private channel between two people. PaT supports 12 chat types, including group chats, inline chats, SD Note or Section Header chats and Task chats. Chats are categorised automatically by their context, such as a task, a project or a person, so there's no digging through personal emails. Anyone who later works on that piece of work can find its past conversations and make quick, informed decisions without missing context.

Step 25

Swipe right on a message in the chat to see four buttons: copy copies the chat, remind sets a reminder, edit edits it, and the people icon shows the members who have seen it.

Step 26

Swipe left on a message to see three buttons at its right end: - task turns the message into a task. - reply creates an inline chat (a sub-thread). - sd creates a new Strategy Document (SD) from the message.

Step 27

The folder menu runs down the left side of the Chat Wall: Inbox, UnRead, Sent, Recently Viewed, Following, Drafts, Pinned, Groups, My Reminders, My Tasks: To Do, My Tasks: To Manage and My Folders.

Step 28

To add a folder of your own, click the + at the right of My Folders.

Step 29

The add chat folder box opens. Type the folder's name in the enter Title box and click the tick to save it. Your folders are listed under My Folders. For example, you could have one folder for each team member, and file the conversations you want to keep an eye on under their name.

Step 30

Use the Recently Viewed folder to find a chat thread you've lost track of. If you were just in it, you'll find it there. You'll probably use it often.

Step 31

Your reminders are in the My Reminders folder.

Step 32

The Search by Chat Title box, at the top of the list of chats, searches chats by their title. Every chat has one, so it's often the quickest way to find what you need. If you've forgotten the exact title, use Adv. Search instead.

Step 33

Click Adv. Search, just below the search box. A search panel slides in that searches every word in every chat message across all threads. Use it when a chat title search doesn't find what you need.