Chat

Instant messaging (or chat) allows users to exchange text messages or files during video calls or group video conferences. You can use chat not only during video calls or conferences, but every time you need to send a message to other users.

When a user is signed in on multiple devices, the chat history will be synchronized across these devices.

If your TrueConf Server instance is below v. 5.0, chats will not be synchronised across your devices.

With this messaging platform, you can:

• Send text messages

• Edit, forward, and delete text messages

Please note that your server administrator can restrict the time during which users can edit messages which have already been sent. If you are participating in a public conference (webinar) as a guest, the availability of editing is determined by the settings of the server where the event is hosted.

• [Search for words and phrases] (#search-of-message) within chat messages

• Send files

• Create a quick conference with all participants of the selected chat or only some of them.

In the message input window, you can enter up to 20,000 characters. If a message contains more than 4,096 characters, it will be sent as multiple messages, each up to 4,096 characters long.

Editing and deleting messages

All chat messages can be edited. To do it, right-click on a message and select the Edit option. An edited message will be marked as edited (the date of editing will also be specified).

If you want to delete a message, use this option in the same dropdown menu. You can remove your own message either just for yourself or also for the other person. To do this, check the appropriate checkbox in the window that appears when attempting to delete a message:

Please note: This checkbox appears only when deleting your messages. If you select multiple messages for deletion, including both your messages and those from the other party, you will be offered the option to delete only your messages for both parties, while the others will be deleted only for you.

Message formatting

To format a message, right-click on the selected text in the input field and in the Formatting option select the correct format: bold, italic, underline, strike-through or use Markdown (opens new window). The following special characters are supported:

**text**— bold

__text__ — italic

~~text~~ — strike-through.

Additionally, you can use the Insert link function, which allows you to add a link to specific text. Note that if you have already copied the link you want to insert before using this function, it will automatically appear in the required field.

You can also format the selected text via the context menu which can be opened up by right-clicking on the chat line:

If you need to remove all formatting, use the Plain text option.

It is also possible to use hotkeys to quickly format messages in the chat. You can view them on the right side of the option name in the menu, or in the section Settings → Hotkeys.

Built-in spell check

In the TrueConf client application, the spell-check feature is enabled by default. As you type a message, the application's internal dictionary will check the spelling and highlight any misspelled or unrecognized words in red.

You can expand your application's vocabulary by right-clicking the highlighted word and selecting the Add to dictionary option from the context menu.

Keep in mind that the dictionary is linked to a specific application. If you log into your account on another device or a different copy of the application, you will need to add required words to the dictionary once again.

To correct a word, right-click on it. After clicking, you will see a suggestion which you can apply by left-clicking.

Status "typing"

If your contact is typing a message in a personal or group chat, you will see a notification at the top of the message list.

In a group chat, the typing status will be displayed only if there are no more than 100 participants in the chat. If more than 2 people are typing at the same time, the names of the 2 contacts, who started typing first, will be shown, along with the count of other users who are typing at the moment.

Searching for messages

To find a chat message click the button which will open an input field. Enter the text in the input field and, as you type, the messages matching your query will be highlighted.

If multiple messages have been found, you can switch between them with these buttons: and . Right next to these buttons, there is a counter indicating the number of messages that match your query.

If you double-click on a chat in the list, it will be scrolled down to the very bottom.

Sending files to a chat

To send files, simply drag and drop them into the chat window, or use the paperclip button located to the left of the message input field.

You can select multiple files by pressing CTRL or clicking on the Add button in the preview window.

When sending multiple files at once, you can:

• remove the extra image from the group (1);

• replace the image (2) with any other image from your device;

• Send all images as a single group or as separate messages. Note: By default, the checkbox (3) for this setting is enabled.

• compress the image (this option is also enabled by default). If you want to send uncompressed files, deactivate the checkbox (4).

You can also send video files in the chat. When such files are opened, the built-in media viewer is used. Supported formats include .mp4, .avi, .mkv, and .webm.

Important! If a video file of an unsupported format is sent in the chat, it will be opened in the default media viewer installed on the device.

Please note that all files sent in the chat can be opened either with the built-in file viewer or with the default viewer installed on your device. Right-click on the desired file in the chat and select the option to open it with the default viewer.

You can also type an additional message in the Description field. This message will be sent together with the files.

Documents in certain formats can be viewed directly in the chat (but not edited). Viewing is supported for .pdf, .odp, .odt, .odg, .ods, .odf files. For all these formats, except for pdf, LibreOffice version 7.5.0.1 or later must be installed on your PC. Instructions on how to check for an office suite and configure its path, if necessary, are provided in the presentation import description.

Even if the user is currently offline, you can send them an "offline" message, which they will receive as soon as they log in.

Please note that when viewing .pdf files, you can quickly open them with the default system program by clicking the appropriate link above the content control bar.

The default location of downloaded files is:

• %USERPROFILE%/Downloads for Windows

• /home/$USER/Downloads for Linux

• ~/Downloads/ for macOS

To change the download folder, go to Settings → Preferences → Tools menu in the application window. Then click the button in the File Transfer section and specify the required folder.

A subfolder named TrueConf, which will store all chat attachments, will be automatically created in the folder selected for downloaded files.

To open the list of all sent files in the chat, click on and select Files.

If needed, you can configure automatic downloading of chat files or disable it. To do it, go to the Tools section and navigate to the Media auto download block. Here, you can configure automatic file downloading for private and group chats; to do it, click the Change button and select the necessary options in the context menu.

"Favorites" chat and message forwarding

If you need to save any messages and files from private or group chats, you can use the Favorites chat.

To forward messages to this chat:

1. Right-click on the message you want to save.

2. Select Forward in the context menu.

3. Select Favorites in the list of recipients (it will always be at the top of the list).

You can also write any messages or upload files to the Favorites chat, so they are saved as your notes.

To jump to the Favorites chat, click the button above the chat list.

In the Favorites chat, you are not only able to view messages or files. You can also open the original message in the chat where it was sent. To do it, click the button on the right side of the message.

Please note: when forwarding a message from the Favorites chat to any other user, your name and the label indicating that the message was forwarded will not be displayed.

How to disable notifications

You can disable notifications about chat messages (for both group and private chats). To do it, right-click on a chat and select the Disable notifications option in the context menu.

You can also activate this option by clicking the button in the upper right corner of the chat window and selecting the corresponding option in the menu.

The notifications from the selected chat will no longer be displayed. You can enable these notifications in a similar way.

In addition to permanently disabling notifications for individual chats (both personal and group), the client application offers a feature to disable all notifications at once. To do this, find the icon of the running TrueConf application in the system tray and right-click to open the menu:

In the Mute chat notifications section, you can choose between two options: Forever or For a specified period. If you select the second option, an additional window will open where you can either use one of the suggested mute durations or specify your own:

If you are in a call or conference while selecting the option, an additional item will appear – During the current conference, allowing you to avoid setting the interval manually.

Drafts

Keep in mind that drafts are also automatically saved on the server side and synchronized between devices. For example, you can start writing your message in the TrueConf mobile app and then continue on your laptop.

Mark as unread

If you accidentally open a chat that you intend to read later or just want to return to the conversation at a more convenient time, you can mark the chat as unread. To do it, right-click on the selected chat in the list to open the context menu and select Mark as unread.

If this feature is used, the chat will be marked similarly to any unread chat, but without the message counter. The mark which is set manually will increase the overall counter of unread messages: the displayed number will be increased by 1.

Pin the chat

Among other things, you can pin an important chat. To do it, right-click on the chat and select the corresponding option in the context menu. Pinned chats will not move down the chat list even when new messages are sent to other chats.

You can sort pinned chats in any order by dragging them with the mouse.

Chat archive

If you need to hide any of the chats for a while, for example, an inactive chat from a recurring conference, you can use the Archive button. When this button is clicked, an additional item will be displayed in the list of chat categories — Archive:

This item is hidden if there are no archived chats.

In the chat, right-click on a message to:

• Reply

• Edit

• Forward

• Copy

• Delete

• Select, for example, choose multiple messages to delete, copy, or forward them all at once.

Multiple messages can be selected in the same way the text is selected. To do it, left-click on a message and drag the mouse up or down.

Click on the button in the upper right corner of the application to access additional features:

• View additional information about a user or a group chat

• Check the list of all sent files

• Clear chat history

• Delete a chat (you can also delete it for the other user by marking the corresponding checkbox)

• Block a contact.

Please be careful when clearing chat history or deleting a chat. This action cannot be reversed. Even if you are added to this chat afterwards, you will not be able to view previous messages because all chat history has been removed.

The same group chat will be used for a virtual room or a recurring conference. It will be synced with the conference.

Group chats

To create a group chat, select the Chats option in the application menu. Next, click the button, enter the chat name and select its avatar, if necessary. Click the button Create a group chat. You will see a pop-up window where one can select and add participants from the address book to the created chat.

The group chat owner can change its title by clicking the button to edit group information (1) or click below the avatar area to add an image (2). To do it, click the button and go to the Information menu.

Additionally, in the Information menu, you can make further chat settings. By clicking , you can enable the Display chat history for new participants function, or by pressing , you can enable/disable notifications from the group chat.

The group chat owner can grant moderator rights to other participants or even fully transfer ownership rights. To do it, click the button, and right-click on a participant in the opened list. Select Appoint as moderator or Appoint as owner in the context menu depending on your needs. A moderator can add/remove participants, appoint other moderators, delete messages, and change the chat name or avatar. The chat owner is marked with in the list of participants while moderators, if there are any, are marked with the icon.

Only the owner can delete a group chat for all its participants.

Mentioning a contact in a chat and adding links

You can mention a user in a message by specifying their TrueConf ID prefixed with the @ character. As a result, the user's name, which links to their profile, will be displayed in the message.

In the same way, you can select all participants with the @all tag.

You can also change the contact's mentioned name while keeping the link to the user's page unchanged. This can be done in one of two ways:

1. Select a part of the text with the left mouse button and press the Ctrl+K shortcut (used by default).

2. Right-click on the selected text and choose Formatting → Insert link.

By clicking, you will open the pop-up window where one can type the name of the link:

For your convenience, any links inserted into the message text are immediately recognized and become active, meaning you can click them and automatically navigate to the specified address. Any URL is considered a link, provided certain conditions are met:

1. Any text starting with http:// or https:// will be considered a link.

2. Without specifying the protocol, URL links are automatically recognized if the top-level domain is on the standard allowed list. For example, example.com is recognized, but example.some is not.

3. A link should not end with the following characters: :\ ? # [ ] @ ! $ & ' ( ) * + , ; . { } ^ as they will not be included in the link. This rule does not apply to the characters - _ ~ % =. If an allowed character is followed by a forbidden one, the link will end at the last allowed character, excluding everything that follows.

4. If the link does not end with a single closing bracket but rather one that is paired with an opening bracket, then such a bracket will be recognized.

Examples of properly formatted links:

• http://example

• http://example.example

• example.com

• https://example.net/blog

• video.example.com/#anchor

List of users who have read the message

A user can check which participants of the group chat have already read his/her message.

This feature has a number of specific restrictions:

1. It is applicable for chats with up to 20 participants.

2. A message cannot be older than 7 days.

Chatbots

In addition to chatting with other users, the client application also allows you to communicate with chatbots that have been pre-integrated into your server. The list of commands that the bot can "understand" depends on the programmer who created it. Commands are sent as text messages. In a conversation with a bot, you can instantly find out the list of available commands for interaction by entering the / character in the message line.

Please note that the integration of bots on the server is handled by your system administrator. If you want to learn about all the features of these bots, you can refer to our guide on migrating chats from other platforms or explore the Python library for creating other integration options.

Chat folders

To organize your current chats, you can use chat folders. The list of these folders can be found in the Chats tab, on the left to the list of chats and groups.

To create a folder, select the corresponding option in the menu. By clicking, you will open the pop-up window where one can enter the folder name and add selected chats (both private and group chats).

Please note that the folder name cannot exceed 20 characters. For convenience and brevity, you can use emojis.

You can add new chats to an existing folder at any time. To do it, right-click on the selected folder and choose Folder settings from the context menu. In this menu, you can also select the Delete button. Deletion of a folder will not delete the chats stored in this folder.

Among other things, you can mark all the chats stored in the same folder as read at once.

A user can sort the list of folders in any order by dragging them.

Hotkeys

These hotkeys are available only in the Chats window. To view other hotkeys, please check the settings.

Up and down arrows will later be referred to as ↓ and ↑.

If you are using macOS, press ⌘ (Command) instead of Ctrl .

Formatting selected text

• Ctrl + B — bold

• Ctrl + I — italic

• Ctrl + U — underline

• Ctrl + Shift + X — strike-through

• Ctrl + Shift + N — clear formatting

For chats

• Alt + ↓, Ctrl + Tab, Ctrl + PageDown — switch to the previous chat

• Alt + ↑, Ctrl + Shift + Tab, Ctrl + PageUp — switch to the next chat

• Esc — leave the chat or undo the current action.

For messages

• Ctrl + ↑ and Ctrl + ↓ — select a message for a quick reply

• Ctrl + ↓ — cancel the reply

• ↑ — edit the last message

• Del — delete selected messages.

In the chat list

These hotkeys work only if no chats are opened.

• ↑ and ↓ — navigation

• Enter — open the selected chat.