Chat View

Send and receive text, photos, videos, voice notes, PDFs, and locations in a single conversation.

The Chat View is where the conversation happens. You can type a message, attach media, record a voice note, reply to a specific message, react with emoji, and search the thread. Messages are grouped under date headers, and tapping a photo or video opens it full-screen. Press and hold any message for the actions that apply to it.

Overview

Control	What it does
Header name	The conversation name. Tap it to open the group's details or the person's profile.
Three-dot button	Opens a small menu containing Search.
Message list	The thread, oldest at the top, newest at the bottom.
Date header	A band above each day's messages reading Today, Yesterday, or the date.
Message field	Type your text here; the field grows as the message gets longer.
Attachment (+) button	Opens the attachment sheet.
Microphone button	Press and hold to record a voice note.
Send button	Sends the typed message.
Reply preview	A strip above the message field showing the message you are replying to.
Reaction chip	The emoji and count on a bubble. Tap it to see who reacted.
Back button	Returns to the Messages list.

Getting Here

1. Open the Messages module from Home.
2. Tap any conversation in the Chat, Group, or Campaign list.
3. The conversation opens scrolled to the most recent message.

A brand-new chat opens with the keyboard already up, so you can start typing at once.

Read the Thread

• Messages are grouped by day. The header above each group reads Today for today, Yesterday for the previous day, and the calendar date for anything older.
• Your own messages and other people's messages sit on opposite sides of the screen.
• In a group, each incoming bubble is labelled with the sender. If a name is shortened to fit, tap it to see the full name.
• Tapping a link in a message opens it. Locations and shared incident references appear as tappable items rather than plain text.
• Scrolling the list closes the keyboard and stops any voice note that is playing.

Send a Text Message

1. Tap the message field at the bottom of the screen.
2. Type your message. The field expands to fit several lines.
3. Tap Send. The message appears in the thread straight away and is uploaded when you have a connection.

Attach Media and Files

Tap the attachment (+) button to open the sheet. The choices are always the same four, plus Cancel.

Option	What it sends	Notes
Camera	A photo or video you take now	Video recording is capped at 60 seconds.
Photo/Video Library	An existing photo or video from your device	Video selection is also capped at 60 seconds.
Location	A place chosen on the location search screen	Sent as a tappable location message.
PDF	A PDF document chosen from your files	Only PDF documents can be picked.
Cancel	Closes the sheet without attaching anything

1. Tap the + button to the left of the message field.
2. Choose Camera, Photo/Video Library, Location, or PDF.
3. For photos and videos, a preview screen opens where you can add a caption before sending — see Image Preview.

note

The first time you choose Camera, the device asks for permission to use the camera. Choosing from the library asks for permission to read your photos. If you decline, that option cannot be used until you allow it in your device settings.

Record a Voice Note

Voice notes are recorded by holding the microphone, the way a radio button works.

1. Press and hold the microphone button next to the message field. The phone gives a short buzz and a timer appears counting up from 00:00.
2. Keep holding while you speak. The message field, the attachment button, and the Send button are hidden while you record, and a slide-to-cancel hint is shown.
3. Release to finish. The phone buzzes again and the voice note is added to the conversation.

Cancel a recording

Slide your finger to the left while still holding the microphone. You get a warning buzz as you approach the cancel point, and once you have dragged about a third of the way across the screen the recording stops, is thrown away, and the input bar comes back. Nothing is sent.

1. Keep holding the microphone.
2. Drag left past roughly 30% of the screen width.
3. Let go. The timer resets to 00:00 and the recording is deleted.

note

Recording needs permission to use the microphone. The first press-and-hold asks for it; if you decline, nothing is recorded.

Received voice notes play inside their bubble. Tap the play control to start and tap again to pause. Starting one stops any other that was playing, and scrolling the list also stops playback.

Reply, React, and Manage a Message

Press and hold any message bubble to open the actions popup. It shows a preview of the message at the top and only the actions that make sense for it.

Action	Available when	What it does
Reply To	Always	Attaches your next message to this one.
React	Always	Opens the emoji picker.
Copy	The message has text	Copies the text and shows a "Copied" toast. For a location it copies the coordinates.
Delete	You sent the message	Removes it from the thread.
Save	The message is a photo, video, or PDF	Saves the file to your device and shows a "Saved" toast.
Resend	The message has not been delivered yet	Uploads and sends it again.

1. Press and hold the message you want.
2. Tap the action you need. The popup closes and the action runs.
3. To dismiss without acting, tap outside the popup.

See Message Actions (Long-Press) for the full behavior of each action, and Emoji Reactions for the picker.

Replying

Choosing Reply To shows a strip above the message field with the original sender's name — or You for your own message — and a preview of what they said. Media replies also show a small thumbnail: the photo itself, a frame from the video, a document icon for a PDF, or a map marker for a location. Type your response and send it as normal, or clear the strip to drop the reply.

Reactions on a bubble

A bubble with reactions shows the most recent emoji and the total count. Tap that chip to open the list of people who reacted — see Who Reacted.

Search the Conversation

1. Tap the three-dot button in the header.
2. Tap Search. A search bar slides down and the keyboard opens.
3. Type to narrow the thread to matching messages.
4. Tap the cancel control, or choose Search from the menu again, to clear the text and restore the whole conversation.

Open the Details

Tapping the header name goes to different places depending on the conversation:

Conversation type	Where the header takes you
Group with more than two members	Group Chat Details
One-on-one chat	The other person's directory profile
Campaign or support thread	Nowhere — the header is not tappable
Closed, removed, or disabled	Nowhere — the header is not tappable

Closed, Removed, and Disabled Conversations

When a conversation can no longer be used, the input bar changes to tell you so.

State	Message shown in place of the input	What is turned off
Closed or removed	"This Chat Has Been Closed"	Typing, attachments, voice notes, sending, long-press actions, and the header
Disabled	"Sending Messages is Disabled"	The same set of controls

The text is centred and shown in red, and the attachment, microphone, and Send buttons are dimmed. You can still read and scroll the whole history, and you can still play voice notes that are already there.

caution

A conversation usually reaches this state because the incident or group behind it was closed, or because you were removed from it. There is no way to reopen it from this screen.

How This Connects

• Where the messages come from. When you open the conversation with a connection, the thread is fetched from the server and stored on your device. Without a connection the stored copy is shown instead, so the history you have already received is always readable.
• What updates it. New messages arrive through notifications and refresh the thread in place. Returning to the app from the background also triggers a refresh, and opening the conversation marks its messages read — which is what clears the unread badge on the Messages List.
• Sending while offline. A message you send is added to the thread and stored locally first, then uploaded. If the upload has not happened yet, the message counts as undelivered and Resend is offered on long-press. Media, voice notes, and PDFs are kept on your device and uploaded when the connection returns.
• Shared with other screens. The name and color in the header come from the conversation record you can edit through the Messages list's Edit action or Group Chat Details. Sender names, initials, and colors come from your agency directory and Mutual Aid partner directories, which is why a person looks the same here as in the Directory module.
• Chats and incidents. A conversation opened from an incident's Comms tab is the same screen you see here. The incident owns its state: when the incident is closed, the thread becomes read-only and shows "This Chat Has Been Closed".
• Media on your device. Photos, videos, and PDFs are downloaded once and then read from local storage, so a file you have already opened still opens with no connection. Save copies it out to your photo library or files.

Troubleshooting

If this happens	What to do
A message stays undelivered	Reconnect, then long-press it and choose Resend.
The input bar will not respond	Look for "This Chat Has Been Closed" or "Sending Messages is Disabled" in the field — the conversation is read-only.
Nothing records when you hold the microphone	Microphone permission was declined. Allow it in your device settings and try again.
Camera does nothing	Camera permission was declined, or the device has no usable camera. Check your device settings.
A recording disappears instead of sending	Your finger drifted left past the cancel point. Hold the microphone still, or lift straight up.
A video is shorter than you expected	Recording and selection are capped at 60 seconds. Send a longer clip in parts.
A photo or video will not open	The file has not finished downloading. Wait a moment and tap again.
Long-press does nothing	The conversation is closed, removed, or disabled, which turns all message actions off.
Search returns nothing	Search matches message text only. Clear the field and check you are in the right conversation.
A voice note will not play	Another one may have taken over. Tap the play control again; scrolling the list stops playback.

Related Pages

• Image Preview
• Emoji Reactions
• Message Actions (Long-Press)
• Who Reacted
• Group Chat Details
• Messages List

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