Chat

Chat is one of the main features of Communicator GO. Chat conversations are synchronized across all Communicator applications.

Users can start a chat in two ways:

Via the chat item in the bottom menu and by tapping an icon +
(live or group chat)
Via the user information display screen (direct chat with the user that
you are previewing)

All chat sessions are accessible via the “Chats” icon located in the bottom menu, displaying the number of unread messages and the last message of each session. You also have the option to search for chats by tapping a search bar in the “Chats” function. Chats can be searched by group or by username. If you do not have a chat session with another user, that other user will be displayed when you search for them in the “Chats” tab of the application. When you tap a user indicating that there is no chat session, the chat session will be created and you can start chatting.

The total number of unread messages is always displayed on the icon at the bottom of the “Chats” section. This number decreases as you read the unseen messages.

When chat messages or sessions are synchronized from the server, the application will display a yellow indicator below the navigation bar. The application is fully synchronized with the server when the loading indicator disappears. If you log in with a mobile application for the first time, synchronizing recent chat sessions may take a few seconds.

If chat is not enabled for you on PBXware, the application will not display the “Chats” module.

Banner message to indicate that the chat server is down: A yellow banner will be displayed on the chat list and chat screens to indicate that the server is unavailable.

Direct chat

One-on-one chats represent exchanges between two participants using the same PBXware. When you access a chat from the bottom bar, you can compose messages, like in any messaging application. Communicator also offers the ability to send files, with a default size limit of 50 MB, adjustable in PBXware.

In the navigation bar, you can see the name of the person you are chatting with as well as their presence status. On the right, you will find the "Call" button that will allow you to start a call with the extension. The "Add participants" button opens a new screen where you can select other participants to add to the conversation, thus creating a new group chat with its own history. The "Additional options" button offers three choices:

• "Request attention" (sends a nudge to the selected person)
• "Create an instant meeting"
• "Info" (opens the screen containing the chat information and options)

On the chat information screen, an option allows adding additional participants, thus creating a new group chat with a blank history. There is also an option to start a meeting directly from this screen.

The "Request attention" button represents a simple yet effective way to attract someone's attention. When this button is activated, a confirmation dialog box appears, offering the "Yes" and "Cancel" options, where "Cancel" is the default option. The nudge can be sent every 30 seconds.

In addition, it is possible to delete the chat from the information screen, with this deletion being visible only to the person who performed it.

Group chats

Participants can initiate a group chat by tapping the “+” icon on the “Chats” item in the bottom menu, or by creating a new group chat from a one-on-one chat on the chat information screen.

The user interface for group chat remains similar to that of one-on-one chat. However, the call button has a different function, and in group chat it triggers a dynamic conference with the group members. If the group has more than 20 members, calls will be disabled.

Group chats generate events to inform participants of changes such as renaming the chat, or certain users joining or leaving.

The information screen of a group chat differs from that of a one-on-one chat. In the information screen of a group, users can add other participants, view all group members, mute group notifications, and start a dynamic conference for that group. The group administrator also has the power to rename the chat.

It is possible to leave the group, thereby synchronizing the message history up to that departure on the client applications. Another option is to delete the group, making the history inaccessible and removing the group chat for the user.

By pressing a participant in the chat information screen, users can view the profile, make a call, or start a one-on-one chat. Group administrators can name other participants as administrators or remove them from the group chat.

When the group chat session is muted, users will not receive notifications (push and in-app) for that session. The mute option is synchronized across the devices of all participants, and a muted session will be indicated by a mute icon in the chat list.

Mention

Mention is a great way to attract someone's attention in a group conversation. Only group participants can be mentioned in a message. When mentioned, the user will receive a push notification that will override any mute action set by the user for the group. Mentions start with the symbol @ followed by a name. When the symbol @ is typed in the input field, a drop-down menu will appear with a list of participants. The mention feature supports smart autocomplete based on the user's input.

Information about the status of chat messages

Message information allows users to see the delivery and read reports for messages. The message information window can be accessed by long-pressing a message, then selecting information from the context menu. The message information option is only available in group messages.

The message information window opens from the bottom of the screen and occupies a small part of the screen. It is possible to expand the message information window to full screen by dragging it upward, or to minimize it by dragging it downward. The window can be closed either by pressing outside the message information window or by pressing the close button in the upper-right corner of the message information window.

The message information screen is organized to display the name of the person who sent the message, the message content, and two tabs. The seen tab and the delivered tab. By selecting the Seen tab, you will see a list of users who sent the seen report. Users will see their name and the time at which they sent the report printed. Similarly, by selecting the delivered tab, you will see a similar list, but in this case, the users who sent the delivered report. If either tab is empty, an appropriate message will be displayed.

If the information window is opened on a device connected to an earlier version of the server, a message will appear in the message information window indicating that the action is not supported.

Administrator transfer

The administrator transfer feature allows the chat administrator to assign one of the participants in the group chat as the new administrator of the group conversation. By tapping an active participant in the group chat, a dialog box will appear offering the current administrator to assign the selected active participant to the group chat as the new administrator.

One of the group chat participants can also request to become the administrator of that chat conversation after the previous administrator leaves. Once the group chat administrator leaves the chat, the chat information will indicate that no administrator is assigned to the group chat. The remaining group chat participants can request to become administrator by pressing the Assign to me button in the chat information.

If this feature is not available on older servers, a notification message will appear, informing the user that this action is not yet supported and asking them to contact their system administrator for more information.

Messages

There are three types of messages:

Text messages
Voice messages
Message files (photo, video, gif, pdf, zip, etc.)

Each message sent to the server has one of three states:

Sent (the message is sent to the server)
Delivered (the message is delivered to the recipient)
Read (the recipient has seen the message)

Messages can also be pending or failed, depending on network conditions. If the text message contains a URL, users can tap it to open it. All pending messages will attempt to be resent to the server the next time the application starts. Failed messages will not be automatically resent. By long-pressing a message, you can copy its content.

In the top right corner, a button will allow the user to confirm the current selection. There is also a counter that indicates how many files have been selected. After pressing the "Add" button, the user will return to the chat screen and there will be a file counter above the text field where the user can preview the selected images or files. The user can place multiple files in this preview, but there will be a label indicating the limit of the number of files that can be sent. If the user exceeds the limit and tries to send, the system will send them a message indicating that the limit has been exceeded. If at least three media files have been selected, the preview will have a clear button in the top left corner. Pressing the button will clear all the selected files in the preview.

Take photos and videos with the camera in a chat conversation

In addition to sending media files from the gallery, there is an option to take a photo or record a video in the chat conversation screen to provide users with a better chat experience. By pressing a + button, the user has the option to click the button of the camera which opens a camera screen to take a photo or record a video. After taking a photo or recording a video, the user can choose to save the file to the gallery, delete it, or send it in the chat.

Voice messages

Communicator users can send voice messages when they cannot use the keyboard. The maximum recording duration for a voice message in chat is 2 minutes.

An automatic screen lock will be disabled during voice message recording. If, during recording, you intentionally press the back button, lock the screen, or switch to another application, the voice recording of the active chat will be canceled.

When listening to a recorded voicemail, if you return to the chat list, playback of the recording will be interrupted.

While playing a received voicemail, you will have visible control buttons in the notifications, even when switching to another application, thanks to the media player integration. This allows you to keep listening to the playback even if you switch to another application or the home screen.

Chat response mode

The reply option allows users to reply to a specific message. To reply to a message, users must long-press the message they wish to reply to and select the option response in the menu. As a result, the message the user wants to reply to will appear above the message input field. Another way to reply is to swipe your finger to the right on the message the user wants to reply to. By tapping the reply part of the message in the chat, the user will return to the original message.

Delete the chat messages

This option allows users to delete chat messages. To delete the desired message, long-press the message and select Delete in the menu. After pressing the delete action, the confirmation dialog box will appear with two options for outgoing messages:

Delete for me with the following sub-content: « This message will be deleted only for you. Other chat members will still be able to
see it. Are you sure you want to continue?"
Delete for everyone will automatically delete the message for all participants without an additional confirmation dialog.

For incoming messages, there is only one option:

Delete for myself with the following sub-content: “This message will be deleted only for you. Other chat members will still be able to see it. Are you sure you want to continue?”

After deleting the message, the message interface will display with the indicator of deleted message.

Pin chat sessions

Communicator GO allows users to pin their most essential and most frequently used chat sessions at the top of the chat list screen.

This will help users quickly find the groups or contacts they chat with most often.

When users long-press the chat session they want to pin, a menu will open with the option to pin or to unpin the chat session.

Once the chat session is pinned, it will be moved to the top of the screen and will remain there even when users receive new messages from chats that are not pinned.