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Team chat
Chat is where your crews, supervisors and office staff talk to each other inside Site Connect: group conversations, one-on-one messages, threads, files and photos. It's internal only — everyone in it is someone in your workspace (plus any bots you add).
Where to find it
Menu: Chat · Address: hub.siteconnect.ai/chatWho can use it: everyone in the workspace, as long as Chat is switched on for your workspace. No extra permission is needed. It's also the page you land on after you sign in.
On the phone
The same conversations are in the Site Connect mobile app — see Chat on the mobile app.
How the screen is laid out
- Left — your conversations. Groups, direct messages, followed threads, Saved messages and Reminders, most recent activity first. A number shows unread messages; Draft: means you started a message and didn't send it.
- Top of the list — Search… (or press Ctrl+K / Cmd+K), the Filters button, and + (Create new).
- Right — the open conversation. Tabs across the top: Message, Pinned, File, Task and Members (direct messages have no Members tab). On the right of the header: Add members (groups only), search, the notification bell, and ⋯ to open the info panel.
The Chat item in the left menu shows your total unread count, and it updates live.
Start a group
- Click + at the top of the conversation list, then Create group.
- Type a Group name. Click the icon next to it to pick a Color and Icon.
- Choose the Group type:
- Chat — a continuous message stream. This is the default.
- Topic — posts with comments underneath, like a forum. Good for a project where several subjects run in parallel.
- Optional: turn on Approve new members. Anyone in the group can still add people, but an owner or admin has to approve them before they join.
- Under Members, pick people — or a whole team or department to add everyone in it. You can invite more people later.
- Click Create group. The group opens and you're its owner.
Send a direct message
- Click +, then New message.
- The search opens on the People tab. Type a name and pick the person.
- The one-on-one conversation opens — start typing.
You can also open the Members tab of a group and click Send DM next to someone.
Write and send messages
- Enter sends. Shift + Enter starts a new line. Basic formatting works:
**bold**,*italic*,~~strikethrough~~. - Mention someone: type @ and pick a name. In a group you can also mention
@all(Mention every member),@here(Only tag people online) or a whole team. If some of the team's people aren't in the group yet, Site Connect asks whether to Add to the room or Only tag people in the room. - Photos and files: drag them onto the conversation, paste an image, or click + (Add…) below the message box and choose Images & Videos or Files. You can draw arrows and circles on an image before sending it.
- Emoji and stickers: the smiley button below the message box.
- Longer posts: the expand button opens a bigger editor where you can mix text and images.
- Quick commands: type / at the start of the box to see Quick commands — for example
/remind 30m Call the supplier,/mute 1hor/dnd 8h(do not disturb).
Send later
- Type your message.
- Click the small arrow next to Send (Send options) and choose Schedule send….
- Pick a time (In 1 hour, Tomorrow 9:00 AM, Next Monday morning, …) or Custom, then click Schedule.
A banner above the message box shows what's waiting to go out. Use Edit to change the time or Cancel message to drop it.
Polls and tasks
From + (Add…):
- Poll — ask a Question, add options, and choose Allow multiple choices or Anonymous poll (votes are hidden), plus how long it stays open.
- Tasks — create a task right from the conversation. See Turn a message into a task.
Work with a message
Hover over a message to get quick buttons: React (add an emoji reaction), Reply (quote it), Reply in thread, a pin button, Save to Saved messages, and ⋯ for everything else. Right-clicking a message opens the same full menu:
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Reply / Reply in thread | Quote the message in the conversation, or answer it in a side thread so the main stream stays clean. |
| Forward | Send it to another person or group. |
| Select multiple messages | Tick several messages to forward, copy or delete them in one go. |
| Create task | Turn the message into a task (see below). |
| Follow message | Get notified about replies in its thread. |
| Mark as unread | Bring the conversation back as unread so you don't forget it. |
| Set a reminder on this message | Pick a time (15 minutes, 1 hour, Tomorrow 9:00 AM, Custom, …), add the Reminder content and click Set. |
| Save message | Keep a private copy in Saved messages. |
| Pin for the room / Pin just for me | Pin it for everyone (owners and admins of a group, or either person in a DM) or only in your own view. |
| Copy link | Copy a link that opens this exact message. |
| Edit | Change your own message — within 24 hours. |
| Revoke | Remove your own message for everyone — within 24 hours. |
| Delete message | Hide your own message on your side only. Others still see it. |
Threads
Click Reply in thread to open the thread panel next to the conversation. Use Follow in the thread header to get notified about new replies. Followed threads also show up in your conversation list.
Turn a message into a task
- Right-click the message and choose Create task.
- The Create a task from the message form opens with the title filled in from the message. Pick the project, assignee and dates as usual.
- Save. The task keeps a link back to the original message.
Every task created from a conversation is listed on that conversation's Task tab. For more on tasks, see Task details.
Find something
- Search the whole workspace: click Search… at the top of the list or press Ctrl+K / Cmd+K. Tabs: All, Message, People, Channel and File.
- Search one conversation: use the search icon in the conversation header. Click Remove the room restriction to widen the search.
- Browse files: the File tab lists every photo, document and link shared in the conversation, with Download and View the original message.
- Pinned tab: everything pinned in the conversation.
Organize your conversation list
- Filters: click the filter button to choose All, Unread, Mentions, Pinned, Group, Direct message, Threads or Hidden. Mark all as read clears every unread badge at once.
- Pin to top: right-click a conversation and choose Pin to top.
- Labels: right-click a conversation, choose Add label, and create your own labels (for example one per job site). Filter by label from the Filters panel.
- Hide a conversation: hover over it and click the ✓, or right-click it and choose Done — hide from the list. No messages are lost — it comes back as soon as someone writes, or you can reopen it from the Hidden filter.
Control notifications
Click the bell in the conversation header (This room's notifications):
- Notification level: All messages, Only when @mentioned, or Off.
- Mute temporarily: 1 hour, 8 hours or 24 hours. Unmute turns it back on early.
If your browser asks whether Site Connect may show notifications, allow it — you'll then get alerts for new messages even when the tab is in the background.
Manage a group
Open the group and click ⋯ in the header to see the info panel.
- Add members: the person-plus icon in the header. Everyone in the group can add people (with approval if Approve new members is on).
- Members tab: see who's in the group and their role. The room owner and admins can remove people, change roles and transfer ownership.
- Bot (owners and admins): in the info panel under In the room, add one of your workspace's bots so it can post here — see Bots.
- Settings in the info panel: Mute notifications, Mute @All notifications, Pin to top, and — for owners and admins — Room type (switch between chat and topic forum) and Chat background.
- Clear history (my side only): hides the old messages for you only.
- Archive group (owners and admins): members can still read past messages, but nobody can send new ones. Unarchive group reopens it.
- Leave room takes you out of the group. Owners and admins can also Delete group — all messages, files and history are deleted for everyone, and it can't be undone.
Chat from any page
On every other page of the hub there's a round chat button in the bottom-right corner. Click it to open a small chat window without leaving what you're doing. To hide it, hover over the button and click the small power icon — a thin tab stays on the right edge so you can bring it back.
Good to know
- Saved messages is your private notepad: message yourself notes, photos and files. Only you can see it.
- Reminders in the conversation list shows the reminders you've set and when they're due.
- Notifications from the rest of Site Connect — task assignments, approvals waiting for you — arrive as chat messages from built-in bots. You can change who gets them in Automation.
- To put every employee in one company-wide group automatically, use General chat group.