How SD chats work with SD Members and External Users

Summary Every chat in an SD automatically inherits the SD's member list, so everyone in the SD can see its messages and files. You can also send a chat message, with a file such as a report, to an external user: add them with their email address and name, and they receive your message and the attached file by email. An external user can see only the chat you add them to, not the SD's other chats. PaT remembers them, so next time you just search for their name.

Steps

Step 1

Open the SD and find the row the message belongs to, for example the note for a KPI report you need to send to an external user.

Step 2

Click the chat icon, a speech bubble, at the right end of that row. The row's chat opens: a window for writing your message, with the chat's member list across its top, and the chat's messages on the right.

Step 3

Type your message in the large box in the middle of the window.

Step 4

The member list across the top of the window shows who you can send to. It already includes the SD's members.

Step 5

To send to an external user, click the small + at the top left of the member list. A panel opens on the right, with a search box at the top and a list of Recent Assignee's below it.

Step 6

Click add external user at the bottom of the panel.

Step 7

Enter the person's Email Address, First name and Last Name, then click submit.

Step 8

The external user is added to the chat's member list, at the start of the list, with an envelope in place of a photo and their box ticked.

Step 9

To attach the file, drag it onto the strip Drop your file(s) here or click to add one! under the message box, or click the strip to choose it. The file appears in your message. Then click send comment at the bottom right of the window.

Step 10

The external user receives an email with your message and the attached file.

Sending to the same external user again

Step 11

Later, to send the same person something else, such as a second report, go to the row it belongs to in the same SD.

Step 12

Click the chat icon at the right end of that row. This chat's member list has the SD's members, but not the external user yet.

Step 13

You have sent this person a message in this SD before, so you don't need to re-enter their details. Click the small + at the top left of the member list.

Step 14

Start typing their name in the search box at the top of the panel, then click their name when it appears below the box. They join the chat's member list.

Step 15

Write your message, attach the new report, and click send comment.

Result. PaT remembers your previous interactions, so sending more messages to an external user is quick and easy, with no extra steps.

Who can see an SD chat

Note. Any chat within an SD automatically inherits the SD's member list, so everyone within the SD can view its messages and files. An external user you add to a specific chat has access to that chat only, and can't see the other chats in the SD. This keeps your information secure, while PaT still remembers external users for next time.