CONVERSATIONS

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About Chat Conversations

Copy of Chats Quickstart

• This article is a simple copy/paste of the Chats Quickstart
• It's placed here for your convenience

Available for Mobile and Web, SwitchBase Chat simplifies venue-wide communications for everyone.

Open your Group Chats and Direct Messages (DMs) → from the Navigation panel or your Home page.

Create as many Chats as you need for your various Groups, DMs, and special use cases → like this Chat for the Magic Moments team.

To view Dashboards and read messages simultaneously → click the Green Pop-out icon.

Mobile Chat Article

• Learn all about Mobile Chat in our Mobile App Quickstart article

  

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Use Chat

To Chat, simply:

1. Scan the Navigation list for your available Chats

2. Open a Chat → ex. Magic Moments

3. Read

4. Respond

5. Send

   

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Pin Chats

Pin Chats to the top for quicker access. Reorder your list by dragging the Waffle icons to your preferred spot.

To pin and unpin:

1. Hover over any Chat to reveal its Pin → ex. Magic Moments

2. Click the Pin!

   • Pin as many Chats as you wish

   

3. To reposition → click and drag the waffle icon up or down

   

4. To remove a Pin → just click it!

Show more / Show less

5. Choose Show more → to display unpinned Chats

6. Select Show less → to minimize the list

   

seven tips

1. Pinned Chats always appear in the order you set
2. Unpinned Chats appear when a new message is sent to you
3. The number of new messages appears in a bubble
4. New, unpinned Chats float directly below pinned Chats
5. Unpinned Chats are alphabetized when idle
6. Click Show More to view all of your Chats
7. Click Show Less to view only pinned and active Chats

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Edit Messages

To Edit a message you've sent:

1. Hover over your message → and click the ellipsis (...)

   

2. Select Edit from the drop-down

   

3. Make your corrections → and click Save Changes

   

4. To locate altered messages → look for Edited at end of the message

   

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Insert Images

To Add an Image to a message:

1. Hover over your message → and click the Upload Image icon

   

2. Select your Image → and click Open

   

3. Click Send when ready

   • Click x to Delete the image

   

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Delete Messages

To Delete a message you've sent:

1. Hover over your message → and click the ellipsis (...)

   

2. Select Delete → from the drop-down

   

3. Click Delete → in the Delete Message pop-up

   

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Start, Rename, Share, & Delete Chats

If you see elements A, B, C in your header, you have permission to Start, Rename, Share, and Delete Group Chats and DMs. Reach out to your Admin if you need these permissions:

• A. Edit Name pencil → name and rename a DM or Group Chat

• B. Sharing button → share DMs and Group Chats

• C. Editing (...) menu → including:

  • Edit Settings → name and rename a Group Chat or DM
  • Share → share a Group Chat or DM
  • Delete → zap a Group Chat or DM

  

Sharing Group Chats and DMs

• You'll need to Share all of your DMs and Group Chats
• A quick look at the Sharing button indicates its status:

  • Private → the Chat is not shared → only you can see it!

    • Simply click Private to Start Sharing

    

  • Shared → displays the number of Roles or Individuals with whom you've shared → ex. 6

    

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Start a new Chat

To create a new Group or DM for all of your chit-chats:

1. Click the Create Chat + icon

   

2. Name your Chat → ex. Magic Moments

   

3. Invite Roles and/or individual Users

   • Use Search to find Roles → ex. Magic Moments Group

   

   • Find individual Users with Search as well → ex. Sierra

   

4. Set Permission levels for each Role and User → ex. Member is typically the proper setting

   • Learn all about permissions here → Viewer, Member, Access Manager, Owner

   

5. Click Create

   

6. Pin your new Chat if it's important to you

   

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Rename a Chat

To Rename a DM or Group Chat:

1. Click the Edit Name pencil

   

2. Click inside the name box → and Rename the Chat

3. Click ✓ Save Changes → or click Discard Changes if you change your mind

   

Renaming alternative

• Open the Editing menu and choose Edit Settings

• Select the old name → and Rename your Chat
• Press Save Changes

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Delete a DM or Group Chat

To Delete a DM or a Group Chat for which you are the Owner:

1. Open your DM or Group Chat → ex. Concessions Chat

   

2. Select the Chat's ellipsis → ( . . . ) menu

3. Pick Delete

   

4. Click Delete again → poof ~ gone

   

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Share DMs and Group Chats

Flexible SwitchBase sharing ensures that your teams stay focused on the specific communications they need to see and act on. There are 4 steps:

1. Prepare to Share
2. Start Sharing
3. Set the Permission Level
4. Stop Sharing

1. Prepare to Share

Before sharing, you must add yourself to every Role you wish to share Chats with. For example, if you wish to share a Group Chat with the Hospitality Team, you must first become a member of that Role.

To quickly add yourself to Roles

1. Go to Users from the Admin menu

2. Select your User name → ex. Delta

   

3. Add yourself to all the Roles you wish to share with → ex. Director, Team Member, etc.

   

4. Press Save Changes

   

5. Return to the Users page and double-check the results, looking for any missing Roles

   • In this case, Delta can only Share a Chat with these two specific Roles

   

2. Start Sharing

There are two options for sharing; click the Share Button → or pick Share from the Edit menu.

Share Chats with Roles and Users — exactly as you'd share Dashboards and Forms:

• Roles → Chat with Groups via their Roles → ex. Custodial Manager, Team Member, etc.
• Users → DM individual Users → ex. Alpha, Austin, Benji, etc.

3. Set the Permission Level

There are five permission levels to select from:

• Owner → has full access to view, message, edit, share, and delete the Chat
• Access Manager → can view, message, and share the Chat with others
• Team Member →can view, and message
• Viewer → can only view the conversation
• Custom → refine access with hand-selected permissions
  • Read Custom Access & Permissions for more detail

every Chat needs an Owner

• As you create a Chat (Group or DM), you'll automatically be its Owner → ex. 'Karl' in Step 5 above

  • You can reassign Ownership
  • Multiple Owners are allowed
  • Warning: If you try and Delete the last Owner, you'll be stopped cold when you try and Save!
    • Assign a new Owner to continue

  

4. Stop Sharing

many reasons to block Chat access

• Teams don't wish to be inundated → ex. Guest Services may not need see the Group Chats from Patrol or Maintenance
• You may need to keep some Chats confidential → ex. keeping the Security or Risk Team Group Chats private

To stop sharing a Chat with either a User or a Role:

1. Click the Share button → or pick Share from the Ellipsis (. . .) menu

   

2. Click X to remove an Individual or a Role-based Chat altogether

   • Notice that Every Chat Needs an Owner. See below

   

3. Click Save Changes

every Chat needs an Owner

• If you are creating a Chat, you will automatically become its Owner

  • You can assign multiple Owners
  • If you try and Delete the last Owner from the Chat list, you'll be stopped

  

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How to Apply Sharing

There are at least three variations of DMs and Group Chats:

1. Share with a Role
2. Share with a User
3. Custom Access & Permissions

1. Share with a Role

To share a Group Chat with Users assigned to a specific Role:

1. Click the Share button → or pick Share from the Ellipsis (. . .) menu

   

2. Pick a Role from the Add users or roles drop-down → ex. General Manager

   

3. Set the permission level by selecting a category → ex. Access Manager

   

4. Click Save Changes

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2. Share with a User

To share a DM or Group Chat with a User:

1. Click the Share button → or pick Share from the Ellipsis (. . .) menu

   

2. Pick a User from the Add users or roles drop-down menu → ex. Sierra

   • Use Search if you have a long list of Users

     

3. Set the permission level by selecting a category → ex. Viewer

   

4. Click Save Changes

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3. Custom Access & Permissions

The standard SwitchBase permission levels (Viewer, Member, Access Manager, and Owner) cover almost every scenario. Custom permissions are rarely needed because they usually just replicate these pre-set levels.

For example, granting a user both View and Message permissions effectively makes them a Member by definition.

About the *Update Permission

The primary reason to use Custom access is the Update permission. This is an Ownership-level power that allows a user to Edit a Chat's Settings to Rename a Group Chat or DM.

Assigning "Update" without giving the power to "Delete" is ideal for SwitchBase Admins who need to delegate the ability to manage a Chat's identity without the risk that a Chat Group or DM will be deleted accidentally. Remember, Deleting a Chat removes all of its messages and any record of it ever existing. Ouch.

Refer to this table for further insight:

Custom Option	Equivalent Role	Description
View	Viewer	Read-only access to the assigned Chat
Message	Member	Includes View access, plus the ability to send messages
Share	Access Manager	All the above, plus the power to Share/Unshare the Chat with other Roles or Users
*UPDATE	Partial Owner	All the above, plus the ability to open "Edit Settings" and Rename the Chat
Delete	Owner	Full control, including the permission to permanently Delete the Group Chat or DM

To set Custom settings:

1. Select Custom next to any person or Role → ex. Sierra

2. Check (or uncheck) the permissions you wish to set (or remove) → ex. View, Message, Share, Update, & Delete

   

3. Click Save Changes

You must have permission to customize roles

• You can only Assign Custom Permissions at or below the level of your Role
  • See Prepare to Share

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Set Chat Notifications

SwitchBase can ping your phone with notifications when a Chat (DM, Group, or Announcement) is sent.

• Check out our Mobile App Quickstart to learn all about Enabling & Pausing Notifications

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3 Unique Use Cases

The way you Share your Chat can change dramatically depending on the use case — of which there are 3 main types:

1. Team or Group Chats →

   • Used for team-level communication and collaboration
   • Any Role-based Team can be invited to a Chat quickly
   • Individual Users can also be added as needed
   • Visible to all members of a defined Role-based Group

2. Announcement Chats →

   • One-way communication Chat to multiple teams, groups, or individuals in a venue
   • No response is required → ex. "The doors are now open," "Finalize your post-event reports," etc.

3. Direct Messages →

   • Invite individuals within your organization
   • The Chat is visible only to the invited participants

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1. Team or Group Chats

While you may often add multiple teams to a Group Chat → in this example, we'll share a Chat for a specific Team.

To share a Team-level Group Chat:

1. Open your target Chat from the Chat list → ex. Concessions Chat

   

2. Click the Share button → or click Ellipsis (. . .) and pick Share

   

3. Search the name of a Role and pick it → ex. Team Member - Concessions

   

4. Set the access level to Member

   

5. Click Save Changes

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2. Announcement Chats

Announcement Chat are one-way communications — often from a Command Center to multiple teams and individuals at a venue on a need-to-know basis. No responses are expected or needed for Announcements.

To share an Announcement Chat with multiple Groups or Teams:

1. Open your target Chat from the Chat list → ex. Announcement

   

2. Click the Share Chat button → or click Ellipsis (. . .) and pick Manage Access

   

3. One-by-one, select all the Roles (and/or Individuals) → that should see your Announcements

   • Guest Services Team
   • Team Member-Command Center
   • Team Member-Custodial

4. Drastically limit each Role-based group or individual by selecting Viewer

   

5. Click Save Changes

   

with Announcements, there is no way to reply

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3. Direct Messages

To Create a Direct Message (DM):

1. Click the Create Chat + icon

   

2. Name the DM Chat → ex. Alpha & Delta

3. Add the members of the DM

   

4. Click Create

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