## Overview

In Internal Chat, talking to your team works like any modern chat: you type in the message field of a
channel or a direct message and it appears in real time for the other members. Beyond text, you can
**call a teammate with @** by picking them from the channel's member list, **reply** to a specific
message, **react with an emoji**, **record a voice message**, **attach files and images** (or pull a
file straight from the **Media Library**), keep a reminder just for yourself with a **Private note**,
**edit** and **delete** your messages, and **search** messages and channels. All of this is internal
and private between the agents in your account — it never reaches the customer.

## Prerequisites

- The **Internal Chat** module enabled for your account.
- Being a **member** of the channel (or direct message) where you want to talk. In **announcement**
  channels, only people on the authors list can post; everyone else just reads.
- To **edit** or **delete**, being the **author** of the message (or an account administrator).

## Step by step

1. **Send text** — Open a channel or a direct message, type in the field at the bottom and send. The
   send key follows your profile preference (Enter or Ctrl/⌘ + Enter).
2. **Mention with @** — Type **@** and the list of **this channel's members** opens right above the
   composer, with photo and name. Keep typing to filter, move with the ↑ ↓ arrows and confirm with
   **Enter** (or click the name). The chosen name becomes a **highlight** inside the message and that
   person gets the mention notification, respecting their notification level for the channel.
   **The mention has to be picked from the list.** Typing `@ana` as plain text notifies no one — it
   is just text. The list only offers people who are in the channel (you are not in it: mentioning
   yourself notifies nobody), so mentioning someone from outside means **adding them to the channel**
   first.
   The same **@** works in the message that accompanies a shared item in **Share to chat** — there
   the list offers the members of the channel you picked as the destination.
3. **Reply to a message** — Use the **reply** action on the message you want and write your answer. It
   stays linked to the original message (a quoted snippet appears above your reply), making it easy to
   pick up the right thread.
4. **React with an emoji** — Open the message's emoji picker and choose one. The reaction appears for
   all members of the channel. Any member can react; clicking the same emoji again **removes** your
   reaction (it toggles).
5. **Attach a file or image** — Use the composer's **paperclip** to send a file or image. Images,
   audio, video and documents are detected automatically and shown in the right format, with a preview
   (thumbnail and size) before you send.
6. **Record a voice message** — Tap the **microphone**. Recording starts immediately and the waveform
   replaces the text field, with the elapsed time beside it. Use **stop** to finish, **▶** to listen
   before sending, and the microphone again to **discard**. Once sent, the audio appears in the thread
   with a player (play, 1×/1.5×/2× speed, volume and download).
7. **Send from the Media Library** — Tap the **image** icon to pick a file that is already in your
   account's Library. It is attached directly, with no re-upload. The reverse also works: **every
   attachment sent in Internal Chat is filed in the Library**, organised by channel and by author,
   ready to reuse later. Private notes are the exception — they never reach the Library.
8. **Write a private note** — At the top of the composer, switch from **Reply** to **Private note**.
   The box turns amber and whatever you write there is a reminder **only you can see** inside that
   channel: nobody else sees it, nobody is notified, and its attachment does not reach the Library.
9. **Edit a message** — On one of **your** messages, use **edit**, adjust the text and save. The
   message then shows an **edited** marker so it's clear the content changed. While you are editing,
   the attachment, microphone and library buttons are disabled: an edit changes the **text** of an
   already-sent message, and any file you had staged stays staged for your next message.
10. **Delete a message** — On one of **your** messages, use **delete**. It's a **soft delete**: the
    message stays in the conversation, but with its text and attachments removed, showing **message
    removed** in its place.
11. **Search messages and channels** — Use Internal Chat's **search** and type a term. You get the
    messages and channels that match the term, within what you have permission to read.

## Settings & options

- **Send key**: set on your profile page (Enter or Ctrl/⌘ + Enter). The send button shows the active
  shortcut, so you always know which key sends the message.
- **Emoji picker**: available in the composer and on each message (to react).
- **Who appears in the @ list**: the **members of the channel** you are writing in — not the account's
  general agent list. It is the same list as the members panel.
- **Media formats**: images, audio, video and documents are accepted and classified automatically;
  recorded audio becomes a voice message.
- **Maximum attachment size**: follows the limit configured for the installation. A file above the
  limit is refused right away, with the file name and the limit in the message — instead of failing
  mid-upload.
- **Media Library**: the composer's image icon opens your account's Library; and everything sent in
  Internal Chat is archived there automatically, in folders by channel and by author.
- **Personal note**: you can write a note visible only to you inside a channel (a private reminder)
  that notifies no one and never reaches the Library.
- **Search scope**: search only scans the channels you can read — public channels and the
  channels/direct messages you're a member of. Deleted messages don't appear, and neither do **other
  people's private notes**.

## Use cases

- **Ask for help** by mentioning the right teammate with **@** so they get notified.
- **Confirm quickly** with a **reaction** (👍, ✅) instead of one more message.
- **Pick up an old topic** with **reply**, keeping the original message's context.
- **Find a decision** logged weeks ago using **search** with a keyword.

## Tips, limits & best practices

- Mention sparingly: every **@** triggers a notification. Use it when you truly need someone's
  attention.
- **Edits and deletions are on record**: editing shows **edited** and deleting leaves **message
  removed** — it's not a way to make a message vanish without a trace.
- **Search only scans what you can access**: private channels you don't belong to never show up in
  results.
- Prefer **reply** over quoting by hand — the link keeps the history clearer.

## Troubleshooting

- **I mentioned someone and they weren't notified**: the mention has to be **picked from the list**
  that opens when you type **@** — inside the message it renders highlighted. An `@name` typed by hand
  is ordinary text. Also check that the person is a **member of the channel**: the list only offers
  people who are.
- **The @ list doesn't open**: it appears as soon as you type **@** in a channel that has other
  members. In a direct message with a single person, or in a channel where you're the only member,
  there is nobody to mention but you — and you are not in your own list.
- **My audio/file wasn't sent**: if the file is over the installation's limit, the alert names the file
  and the limit and the file is not attached — record a shorter audio or send a smaller file. If the
  send fails because of the connection, you get an alert and **your text and attachments stay in the
  composer** so you can try again.
- **I can't edit/delete a message**: only the message's **author** (or an account administrator) can
  edit or delete it. Other people's messages won't show those actions to you.
- **I can't post in a channel**: in **announcements**, only authorized authors post; in private
  channels, you need to be a member.
- **My reaction doesn't appear**: check your connection and refresh — reactions arrive in real time to
  the channel's members; you only see reactions in channels you can read.
- **Search doesn't return a private channel**: that's expected — search only includes public channels
  and those you're a member of. Ask for an invite to join.

## See also

- [Internal Chat overview](/hc/ajuda/articles/internal-chat-overview-en)
- [Channels, direct messages and announcements](/hc/ajuda/articles/internal-chat-canais-diretas-anuncios-en)