Discussions

The chat area is the app's messaging service: one-to-one conversations, groups, exchanges with your clients and, for professionals, a permanent thread with the whole team.

Opening the chat area

Tap the Chat button in the button bar at the bottom of the screen (or behind the "more" button if it isn't shown directly).

At the top of the list, you will find:

• New discussion: start a conversation;
• the person icon with a "+": add or invite friends and family (see Friends and invitations);
• the bell icon: choose to be notified, On the phone and/or By email, when a new discussion is created.

Discussions with unread messages carry a badge showing how many. Pinned discussions stay at the top; those with no message for more than a week are grouped under Old discussions.

On a large screen, the list and the conversation are shown side by side.

Messaging a friend in one tap

Under Your friends, a strip shows your friends' avatars. Tap one: if you already have a conversation with that person, it opens; otherwise, a new message is prepared for them.

If you don't have any friends yet, an Add your loved ones card offers the Find friends button.

Creating a discussion

1. Tap New discussion.
2. Choose the participants in Participating friends (or Chat members if you belong to a professional organisation): your friends are suggested, and you can search for someone else by name.
3. Give a Title of the discussion.
4. Write the First message; you can attach up to 4 photos with Add photos.
5. If needed, turn on Pin the discussion to keep it at the top of the list.
6. Tap Send.

For a member of a professional organisation, the Visible to the whole team option opens the discussion to all members: there is then no need to choose participants.

In a conversation

• Type in the field at the bottom then tap the send button.
• The + button to the left of the field attaches a photo or a file (4 at most per message), or creates a poll.
• The heart under a message lets you like it; the number next to it shows how many people have liked it.
• A message's three dots offer Quote, to reply to it by including it in your message, and Delete if it is yours.
• A notice shows when someone is typing, and a new message button takes you back to the bottom of the conversation.
• Tap a photo to view it full size.

Calling someone's attention with @

In a group discussion, type @ (or tap the @ button next to the field): the list of participants appears. Choose a name to mention them; the person is notified even if they have reduced their notifications for this discussion.

Adding people

The person icon with a "+" at the top of the conversation creates a new group with the current participants and the people you add (at least three people in total). The original conversation stays private.

Creating a poll

1. In the conversation, tap the + to the left of the field, then Add a poll.
2. Enter the Question or title.
3. Turn on Multiple choices allowed if everyone can tick several answers.
4. Turn on Users can add choices if participants may suggest their own answers.
5. Fill in the Choices available: a new row appears as you type, and empty rows are ignored.
6. Tap Save.

The poll appears in the conversation. Everyone answers by turning on the switch for the choice they want; the percentage for each answer updates, and tapping that percentage shows who chose that answer. If the Users can add choices option is on, every participant can add to the list with the Add a choice field below the poll.

Discussion settings

Tap the gear icon (or the title) at the top of the conversation:

• On the phone / By email: be notified of new messages in this discussion;
• Only when someone mentions me (@): in a group, only be notified when someone calls on you;
• Chat Members: the list of participants.

The person who created the discussion can also change the Title, pin it, make it Visible to all members, change a group's members or delete it.

For professionals: chatting with the team

When you are a member of an organisation, the chat area is arranged to keep work separate from everything else:

Messages sent by your clients to your organisation appear in the Clients tab.

The assistant

The Discussion entry in the list opens an automatic assistant that quickly answers your questions, by keyboard or by voice. It is no substitute for a vet: the window also shows the contact details of your saved vets, so you can call them in one tap (see Vets and emergencies).

Does an answer seem inappropriate? Report it with the red icon next to it.

Frequently asked questions

I can't find the person I want to write to

The participant picker first suggests your friends (and your colleagues for professionals). Type at least two letters to search for other registered people: only those who have agreed to be visible in searches appear. If the person hasn't signed up, invite them (see Friends and invitations).

I get too many notifications from a group

Open the discussion settings (gear) and turn on Only when someone mentions me (@), or turn off notifications for this discussion.