SERENESTUDIO

Chat: Channels and Direct Messages

Chat provides real-time communication between team members. It is separate from the mail module — mail handles external correspondence; chat handles internal team conversations.

Accessing chat

  1. Open the admin portal.
  2. Select Communications → Chat in the sidebar, or use the Chat icon in the sidebar rail.

The chat panel shows the channel list on the left and the active conversation on the right.

Channels

Channels are topic-based group conversations. Any team member can see and join available channels.

Browsing channels

The channel list is displayed in the left panel. Channels you have joined appear at the top. Channels you have not joined appear below under All channels.

Unread messages in a channel are indicated by a count badge or bold channel name.

Joining a channel

  1. In the channel list, find the channel under All channels.
  2. Select the channel name.
  3. Choose Join channel. The channel is added to your active list.

Creating a channel

  1. Select New channel (the + icon at the top of the channel list).
  2. Enter a channel name. Lowercase, hyphenated names work well (e.g. client-reviews).
  3. Add an optional description.
  4. Select Create channel.

The channel is created and you are automatically joined. Invite team members by selecting Invite members in the channel header.

Posting a message

  1. Open a channel.
  2. Type your message in the input field at the bottom of the conversation.
  3. Press Enter to send. Press Shift+Enter for a new line within the message.

Reading message history

Scroll up in any channel to read older messages. History is preserved from when the channel was created.

Direct messages

Direct messages (DMs) are private conversations between you and one or more team members.

Starting a DM

  1. In the chat panel, select New message (compose icon near the top of the sidebar).
  2. Search for or select the team members to include.
  3. Select Open. The DM conversation opens.

Messaging in a DM

Type in the input field and press Enter to send. DMs support the same input as channels.

Group DMs

You can include multiple team members in a single DM thread. All added participants can read and post in the thread.

Next steps