Chat gives you a convenient way to message people in your office. Send a message to the whole team, chat during a meeting, or send a DM to an individual or group of users.

This guide explains the chat experience for Remote Office Spaces when using the Gather Desktop App or a desktop browser. To learn more about chat in Conference Spaces, click here.

Chat on Gather’s Mobile App is currently limited to messaging during meetings.

Overview

There are four types of chats:

1. The Office Channel: Use this to message all Members in the office. Find it at the top of the Chat panel with an icon of a blue building. 
2. Private Area Channels: Use these to message everyone currently in a Private Area with you, including desks. Find them at the top of the Chat panel with an icon of an orange pin.
3. Direct Messages and Groups: Use these to directly message an individual user or group of people within the space. Find them at the bottom of the Chat panel with each person’s avatar.
4. Nearby: Use this to automatically create a group chat with the people around you. After you move away from each other, you can continue messaging the group from Direct Messages.

Members of the space can send chat messages in all forms. Guests can send chat messages in Private Area Channels, Direct Messages, and Groups. Guests are not able to view or send chats in the Office Channel. 

Sending messages

Click the Chat icon in the bottom navigation bar to open the Chat Panel. 

There are four ways to start a new Direct Message:

• Click the pencil icon at the top of the Chat panel and search for the user(s) you want to message
• Create a chat with people Nearby (suggested at the top of the Chat panel) 
• Hover over someone’s avatar on the map and click “Chat”
• Hover over someone’s avatar in the Participants Panel and click “Chat”

You can send a direct message to someone even if they're offline or on Do Not Disturb, however, they won't be able to see your message until they come online or switch their status to Available.

Type your message and hit “enter” on your keyboard to send. To mention someone, add the @ symbol in front of their name. For example, @riley. 

To add an attachment:

• Click the ‘plus icon’ on the left
• Drag and drop your file into the chat
• Copy/paste into your message

The maximum file size is 25MB.

After you’ve sent a chat message, you can copy, edit, or delete it by hovering over it and selecting the menu that appears.

You can also react to chat messages with an emoji by hovering over them. Each time someone adds a reaction, the count will increase.

Settings

To adjust chat settings, click the Main Menu button (the Gather logo) in the bottom navigation bar. Click Settings.

Chat notification sounds

In User > Audio / Video, you can choose whether to play chat sounds for:

• All new messages
• Direct messages
• Never

This notification sound will only play if chat isn’t currently visible or if you’re away from the Gather tab. If you’re in Do Not Disturb, chat notification sounds will not play.

Chat desktop notifications

If using the Gather Desktop App, you can choose whether you want to receive desktop notifications for chat messages. This includes any chat message you receive.

To change this setting, go to Desktop > General > Chat notifications.

Disable Chat

To edit this setting, you must be an Admin of the space.

In Space > Space Preferences, you can disable chat entirely for everyone in the space.

Storage and Security

Message History
The ability to view previously sent messages depends on what type of chat you’re sending.

1. Messages to the Office Channel will be retained for 6 months.
2. Messages to Private Area Channels will only be retained while you’re in that area. If you leave and return, you will no longer be able to see the messages that were previously sent.
3. Direct Messages to individuals or groups will be retained for 6 months.

Read more about Gather’s Privacy and Security Policies and Certifications. If you have any further questions, feel free to contact us.