Create group chat rooms

To create a group chat room, use the +-button at the top end of the left sidebar. This will open a dialogue box where you need to enter a name for the room in the text field. You also have the option here to open the room directly for other CAU Cloud participants or for external guests. Confirm your selection with the button Add participant. A text field should appear in which you can search for the desired participants. Enter the name or the identifier in the text field and wait for the suggestions. Select the name of the participant from the list of suggestions, this will show the participants below the text field as user for the room and you can invite other participants. You can also invite circles (in german) to a room. Confirm your choice with the button Create conversation to create the room. The room now appears with the chosen name in the list of rooms in the left sidebar.

Manage participants of a group room

Add participants

To add a participant to an existing group chat room, select the room from the room list in the left sidebar. This also opens the right sidebar with the tab Participants next to the chat content. Enter the name or identifier of the participant in the text field above the list of participants and wait for the suggestions. Select the name from the suggestions to invite the user to the room.

Remove participants

To remove a participant from an existing group chat room, select the room from the room list in the left sidebar. In addition to the chat content, the right sidebar also opens with the tab Participants. Next to each participant you will find a context menu behind the ...-button, select Remove participant in this menu to remove the participant from the room.

Edit participant permissions

To adjust the permissions of the participants in an existing group chat room, select the room from the room list in the left sidebar. In addition to the chat content, the right sidebar also opens with the tab Participants. Next to each participant you will find a context menu behind the ...-button where you can edit the permissions. Here you can choose whether you want to grant the participant all permissions or, on the contrary, revoke all permissions. As a third option, you can assign individual permissions by selecting Edit permissions. Then you can choose whether the participant should be able to Start a Call, Skip the Lobby, Activate the Microphone, Activate the Camera, or Share the Screen. In the conversation settings, you can set the default permissions for all users in the room.

Naming moderators

In group chat rooms, it is possible to appoint moderators who have almost the same permissions as the creator of the room. This means access to all conversation settings, including deleting the room itself, but also managing participants and their permissions. To make a participant a moderator in an existing group room or to revoke this permission, select the room from the room list in the left sidebar. This opens the right sidebar with the tab Participants in addition to the chat content. Next to each participant you will find a context menu behind the ...-button where you can edit the permissions. Select Promote to moderator to grant the permission or Demote from moderator to remove the permission. The moderator permission cannot be taken away from the creator of the room!

Group Room Settings

Change notifications

By default, a group room only sends notifications when a participant has been @mentioned, but you can edit the default behaviour. In the left sidebar in the room list, open the conversation settings in the context menu behind the ...-button. The window with the conversation settings opens. Here you can select the item Notifications in the left menu bar and can choose whether you want to be notified about all messages, only @mentions, or not at all (Off). You also have the choice of whether you want to be notified about calls in the conversation.

Change description text

To change the description of a group room, open the conversation settings in the left sidebar in the room list in the context menu behind the ...-button. The conversation settings window opens. Here you can select the item Description in the left menu bar and enter a description of the room in the text field on the right. You can save the description by clicking on the tick next to the text field.

Publish room for CAU Cloud participants

To publish a group room for other CAU Cloud users, open the conversation settings in the left sidebar in the room list in the context menu behind the ...-button. The conversation settings window opens. Here you can select the conversation settings item in the left sidebar and make the room accessible to other CAU Cloud users on the right side with the option Open conversation for registered users. You can also optionally open the room for guest app users here.

If another CAU Cloud participant now enters the name of the published room in the text field at the top of the left sidebar above the room list, the room will be listed in the search results and the participant will have the opportunity to join the room. This does not require permission from a moderator if the room has been published.

Open room for external guests

To open a group room for guests, open the conversation settings in the left sidebar in the room list in the context menu behind the ...-button. The conversation settings window opens. Here you can select the item Guest access in the left menu bar and activate the option Allow guests. This creates a public link allowing external people to join the room. If you have allowed guest access, you can optionally set a password that becomes necessary when entering the room via the public link. To do this, activate the Password protection option and enter the desired password in the text field and confirm your entry by clicking on the arrow next to the text field. You can copy the public link to your clipboard by clicking on the Copy conversation link button. In addition, you can copy the link in the context menu behind the ...-button next to the name of the room with the option Copy link.

If the public link to the room is opened, the password for the room must first be entered and confirmed with Enter or a click on the arrow next to the text field. In the right sidebar, guests can choose a display name. The default name is Guest, but a click on the Edit button opens a text field in which a name for the guest can be chosen. With Enter or a click on the arrow next to the text field, the name can be confirmed.

Create Lobby

Sometimes it is preferred that a room is only available from a starting point of a meeting. For this purpose, a lobby can be activated in which participants can gather until the meeting starts. To activate the lobby for a group room, open the conversation settings in the context menu behind the ...-button in the left sidebar in the room list. The conversation settings window opens. Here you can select the Meeting settings item in the left menu bar and switch on the option Activate lobby. You can then optionally enter a start time for the meeting, as long as the conversation remains, but is only open for moderators. Moderators can deactivate the lobby again in the participant list in the right sidebar and thus reopen the room for all participants.

Participants who are not moderators will only receive an overview with the name and description of the room and the start time of the meeting, if this has been set, while the lobby is activated.

Important for moderators: All chat messages written during the lobby are visible to all after the lobby is opened!

Lock conversation

The moderators of a group room have the option to lock the conversation. This means that no more messages can be written in the room and no more calls can be started. To lock a conversation, open the conversation settings in the context menu behind the ...-button in the left sidebar in the room list. The conversation settings window opens. Here you can select the item conversation settings in the left menu bar and activate or deactivate the option Lock conversation.

Empty and delete group room

Two quite drastic measures in a group room are to delete all messages in a room, or to delete the room itself. To do this, open the conversation settings in the left sidebar in the room list in the context menu behind the ...-button. The conversation settings window opens. Here you can select the item Danger Zone in the left menu bar and here select the button Delete Chat Messages to delete all messages. Or you can use the button Delete conversation to delete the entire room. You must confirm both activities in the pop-up menu with the button Yes.

You can also delete the room by selecting the option Delete conversation in the context menu behind the ...-button next to the name of the room and confirming this in the pop-up menu with the button Yes.

Attention: Both actions cannot be undone!