# Message people in your organization

> Message anyone in your organization one to one, start a group, or talk on a booking. Type @ to point at a person, an aircraft, a booking or a work order, and each reader sees only what they are allowed to open.

Source: https://www.aerscheduler.com/docs/getting-started/messages
Section: Getting started. For: Owners, Admins, Dispatchers, Instructors, Students, Renters, Technicians.

Open **Messages** (the **Messages** button in the bottom-right corner of every console page,
or the bell on Home in the app), then the pencil for a new message. Pick one person for a direct conversation or several for a group. On a
booking, use its **Conversation** card to message everyone on it. Type **@** to mention a
person, an aircraft, a booking or a work order.

## Three kinds of conversation

| Kind        | Who is in it             | Who can read it                                              |
| ----------- | ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Direct**  | You and one other person | Only the two of you                                          |
| **Group**   | The people you picked    | Only the people in it                                        |
| **Booking** | Everyone on the booking  | Everyone on the booking, plus owners, admins and dispatchers |

Direct messages and groups are private, admins included. A booking conversation follows the
booking: the people flying it hear about new messages, and the desk can read and join in.
A dispatcher who writes on a booking's conversation becomes one of its participants.

## Start a conversation

1. **Open Messages**

   In the console, click **Messages** in the bottom-right corner of any page. It opens over the
   page you are on, so you can keep working beside it, and shows a count of unread messages
   while closed. Click the expand arrows to open Messages larger, over the whole window; close it
   to land back where you were. In the app, tap the bell on Home, then **Messages**.

2. **Choose who it is with**

   Click the pencil beside search, then type names in **To** and pick people from the list. One
   person opens your direct conversation with them (there is only ever one). Two or more start a
   group, and you can give it a name.

3. **Write and send**

   Press **Enter** to send in the console, and **Shift+Enter** for a new line. In the app, tap
   the blue arrow.

## Talk about one booking

Open the booking's page in the console (from the calendar, double-click it) and use the
**Conversation** card. In the app, open the booking and tap **Conversation**. Nothing exists
until somebody writes, so an untouched booking shows only the box to type in.

## Mention a record with @

Type **@** and start typing a name, a tail number or a booking. Pick one from the list and
it becomes a chip in the message. Anyone who can open that record can click or tap the chip
to go straight to it.

> **Note:** Mentions respect each reader's role. If somebody cannot open a work order, they see the words
> "a work order" instead of a link. The record never leaks to a person who could not see it
> anyway. Work orders can be mentioned from the console; the app's mention list covers
> people, aircraft, bookings and squawks.

Mentioning a person in the conversation always notifies them, even in a burst of messages.

## Notifications

New messages arrive live while Messages is open. When it is not, you get a push to the app.
To keep a busy conversation from buzzing your phone, several messages in a row send one
push, and a mention always gets through. While you are using the web console, your phone
stays quiet: you can already see the message there.

Email is never one message at a time. Turn it on and you get one email with what you have
not read 15 minutes after it arrived, across all your conversations. If you read it in the
console or the app first, no email goes out.

- **Choose how you hear:** your notification settings have a **Messages** row under Push and
  under Email. Push is on and email is off to start. In the app, it is under Settings →
  Notifications.
- **Quiet one conversation:** open it, click its name at the top, then **Mute**. In the app,
  use the gear. Muted conversations still count as unread, they just never push or email.
- **Leave a group:** click its name at the top, then **Leave**. Somebody still in it can add
  you back.

Clicking a conversation's name also shows who is in it, a link to the booking or the person's
profile, and every record mentioned in it. In the console you can also right-click a
conversation in the list to mute it, leave it, or open the person or booking.

## Change or remove what you sent

In the console, hover over your own message and open its menu. **Edit** is there for 15
minutes after sending: the message turns into a text box where it sits. Press **Enter** to
save or **Escape** to cancel, and the message then shows **Edited**. **Delete** removes the
message for everyone straight away. In the app, press and hold your message to delete it.

## Common questions

**Can an admin read my direct messages?**

No. A direct message or a group is read only by the people in it, admins and owners included. A conversation on a booking is different: everyone on the booking and your organization's staff (owners, admins and dispatchers) can read it.

**Why does a mention show as "a work order" instead of a link?**

Each person sees a mention only if they could open that record themselves. A student who is mentioned alongside a work order sees the words "a work order", because students cannot open work orders.

**Can I turn off message notifications?**

Yes. Messages has its own row under Push and under Email in your notification settings. Push is on and email is off to start. Email is one roundup of what you have not read after 15 minutes, never an email per message. To quiet one busy conversation instead, open it and choose Mute.

**Can I delete a message?**

You can delete your own messages, and they disappear for everyone right away. In the console you can also edit a message for 15 minutes after you send it.