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How To Use Google Chat – In this guide you will learn how to use Google Chat: the different options you have, how to install bots and much more.
Chanel Greco January 4, 2021 4:14 pm How to use Google Chat [Information] If you want to know how to use Google Chat you have come to the right place! In this post we will show you how to use Google Chat and explain in detail how this messaging works. We’ve also created a video tutorial about Google Chat that you might want to check out. How to get started with Google Chat Before we dive into learning how to use Google Chat let us first answer the question: What is Google Chat and who can use it? Google Chat is Google’s messaging app and it is one of the many apps that are part of Google Workspace. As such no additional license is required and using the app incurs no additional costs. If you have a Google Workspace account then you have and can use Google Chat. All you need to do is log into your Google Workspace account, click on the Google Apps icon and then click on the Chat icon. You can also type into your browser the URL: chat.google.com and it will take you to the app. Go to Google Chat Message Options In Google Chat we have two options for sending messages: Direct messages (called Chat in the app menu): These are 1-on-1 chats between two people or language group. This is important to understand: You cannot add people from outside your organization to a message board. Room: Room is meant to be a central place where people can share information, share tasks, and connect. They are great for collaboration or cooperation and communication. Rooms allow you to add people from outside your organization. To send Direct Messages To start a direct message with someone you can click on the + icon in the Chat section or click in Find people, rooms and bots reply. In both cases you will be presented with a list of people you often talk to as well as the option to find someone. Two options to start a chat with someone To start a group chat click in Search people, rooms and bots text field and then in Start group chat. Add all the people you want to the chat group and then click on the round blue button. You can start a group chat by clicking on the + icon in the Chat section. Then just add all the people you want and click on Create button. Create a chat group by searching for people, rooms and bots. Sending your message is easy: type everything you want to say and press Enter on your keyboard or click on the Send icon. Send messages with Google Chat (group messages in this case) Add options to your messages In Google Chat you can send more than text in your messages. You can add emojis (A), share files from your device (B), share files from Google Drive (C), or start a speed dial (D). In the screenshot below you can see that Jane added a quick video call to the message by clicking on the Add video chat icon (D). Different options to add to the message How to create a Room in Google Chat As with direct messages, you have two ways to create a new room: by clicking on Find people, room and bots reply and then on Create Room or click on the + icon in the Room. No matter what you choose you will be presented with an interface where you must determine the status of the unit. The obvious decision is the choice of emoji (A), the name of the room (B) and the members of the room (C). These three factors can be changed when building a room. Next you need to decide whether the conversation room should be threaded (D) or unthreaded, which is the problem. The idea behind threads is that you sort the discussion into topics (aka threads) such as “Feedback”, “Bugs”, “important comments”, etc. Finally, you must decide whether you want to give permission to people outside your organization. go to room (E). The last two fields cannot be changed once you have hit the Create button. So be sure to book a place before going. Places when creating a room Some insights into the room with some existing restrictions: If you @mention someone in the message, who is not a member of the room, they will let as added to that special room. To create a new thread in the threaded room you click on the + New Thread in the [Room Name] button. This button is located at the bottom of the Google Chat user interface in the room. In a threaded room a maximum of 8,000 participants can participate. In the room without media however, only more than 400 participants could participate. Members are notified of conversations they are in or when @mentioned. Members of a room can leave and rejoin at any time. Rooms cannot be canceled! So be careful when creating a new room. Creating and Assigning Tasks in the Room As mentioned in the beginning of this post, the room is designed for work and contains tasks. To assign a task to a member of the room we need to switch to Gmail. In Gmail we can choose the room we want to create and assign a task. Click on the Tasks tab, then add your task and assign it to a member of the room. If you don’t see the forum in Gmail you may have to open it in settings. Here are the instructions on how to do it. In Gmail you can create and assign a task in the Manage Direct Messages and Rooms For direct messages as well as rooms you can find additional functions and information by clicking on the name of the room or the names of the participants in the discussion. This is where you will add people or bots to your groups and rooms after you have started setting them up. A yellow sign with the text Outside indicates when someone outside your organization is a member of the unit. Menus where you can directly manage messages and rooms In the main menu on the left hover over a discussion or room name. Click on the three vertical lines that appear to bring up a small menu with some options. See the screenshot below to follow the options. A) Pin the conversation to the top of your left menu. This is similar to starring a file in Google Drive. B) Turn off notifications to only allow @mentions to be notifications. C) You can block specific people if you don’t want to receive 1-on-1 direct messages from them. Please note that you cannot block people in message groups or rooms. D) You can hide the conversation (direct message). When you talk to that person or group again, however, the message will reappear. E) You can delete the conversation, including its history, that you have with the person. But you can’t delete history for a group or room. Additional options to manage messages Please note that depending on the settings your Google Workspace Admin has enabled you can change whether the conversation is saved or not. When someone in a group chat changes history or leaves, all chat members will be notified. In the room, on the other hand, historical discussions are always on. Don’t interrupt! Conversation is all well and good but sometimes you need silence. In such cases you click on the Active button at the top of the menu and choose how long you want to close Google Chat notifications. Unfortunately, there is no way to adjust the duration of the invisible notification. Instead, you have to choose from the time available. What is a Bot? In Google Talk you can install chatbots provided by Google, third parties or your company. Please note that your Google Workspace Administrator is required to enable the installation of bots for your organization. To add a bot to Google Chat click on the + sign in the Bots section. When adding a bot you can send it a message or add it to the room so that all members can interact with the bot. And now for you By now you should have a good understanding of how to use Google Chat. Let me know what you think of this blog post.
