Start a Chat Conversation

Using the Collaboration chat feature, you can communicate and collaborate with other members of your team in real time, send an inquiry to a helpdesk, and find a user or helpdesk.

When the Collaboration feature is enabled, you can also start a chat from several locations throughout the Web interface, including the Hints box. Look for the links labeled Start Chat.

1. From the Collaboration window, click the new conversation icon .
2. Click Search Contact to search for a user.
   You can tap or click a user’s name from your address book to start a chat instantly.
   A list of users that match your search criteria appear.
3. Click the user’s name from the search list.
   The chat window opens. If you are the receiver, you will receive a chat notification. Some points about the messages:

   • You can add new line messages in Collaboration using Shift and Enter. In mobile devices, you can use the Enter key. The messages are left aligned in the chat window.

   • You can click URL links in the chat window, only if the protocol with proper formatting (for example, http or https) is entered with the link.

   • The Collaboration message box expands automatically with a scroll option for large amount of text. However, you can only enter 1000 characters in the Collaboration message box.

4. If you receive more than one message, click the scrollbar lock icon to lock the chat.
   The chat window doesn't scroll down automatically when new messages arrive. The chat window includes these features:

   • Unread chats are indicated with an orange circle with the count of unread messages.
   • The time of the last message received is displayed above the counter.
   • One day old chats are displayed with "Yesterday" instead of showing the time of the last message received.
   • Chats older than a day are displayed with the date. The operator can view the total duration of the chat in the Helpdesk Chat window.
   • You cannot see your name when you send or respond to chat messages.
   • The Collaboration icon displays the count of new messages, only for the new messages in chats. However, when you click the Collaboration icon, the count disappears. When you log in or refresh the browser, the unread counter displays the total number of new chat messages.
   • If you initiate a chat with a helpdesk group, the conversation is considered active until you leave the conversation. Any new messages you send to the same helpdesk is treated in the context of the same conversation, and that it appears as a new message on the same chat. If you want to initiate a new chat with a helpdesk user, you must leave the current conversation and initiate a new conversation.
5. Click the send icon.
   The message is sent to the recipients. However, if you type a message and don't send it, it is saved as a draft. A draft message is shown with a pencil icon and is available in the Chats tab.