Overview
Conversations in InfinityOne are categorized into 4 different types:
- Public Channels
- Direct Messages
- Private Channels
- N-way Groups
There are no limits on the number of channels that can be created.
Public Channels
Public channels used for conversations that are open to all users to view and join. New users joining the channel can read all information previously published on the channel.
Channels are useful for sharing information with your users, for example, you can create a “Help” channel to share tips on using InfinityOne.
Public channels bring the most benefit to your organization by improving collaboration among your teams. The issue with tools like Skype, IM, or Direct messages is that the information is not available for the rest of the team. However, with public channels, that information is available to everyone and it is searchable.
Direct Messages
Direct messages are private one-to-one conversations between two users. When you send a chat message to another user, it is automatically a direct message. Direct messages are truly private. Only the two parties involved in the direct message channel can view and respond to the messages. (Note: For security purposes, System Administrators can be configured to view the content of Direct Messages.)
Private Channels
Private channels are private, not open to the public. They are visible only to their respective members. Private channels can be joined by invitation only.
The administrator sets the permissions that determine who can invite others to a private channel. By default, only administrators, channel owners, and moderators can invite others to join a private channel.
Other than their visibility, private channels work similar to public channels. Private channels can be made public and public channels can be made private in the room INFO panel.
On the Mobile interface, you can currently set the Public / Private setting only when creating the channel.
N-way Groups
N-way groups are similar to private channels except membership is limited to those listed in the channel name.
N-way group is created when you @ mention someone else, InfinityOne automatically creates a new private channel and subscribes the mentioned parties. The new channel is named with the mentioned usernames, each capitalized.
If you @ mention another user in the current N-way group, then a new N-way group will be created with the new mentioned user added. There is a limit of 240 character in the channel name, therefore if the channel is created for the purpose of discussing a topic, where the audience will grow over time, it is best to change the N-way group to a Private channel.
To change the N-way group into a Private channel, click on the INFO icon, change the channel name and disable the N-way Group toggle.
Viewing and Managing Messages
Browser interface
Public channels, private channels and N-way groups are grouped together under CHANNELS, while one-to-one private conversations are grouped under DIRECT MESSAGES.
Any channel type, group or direct message can be tagged as favorite and be grouped at the top under FAVORITES.
Mobile Interface
The main Messages screen will list all the channels and direct messages according to your Sort by options selected.
Creating Direct Messages
Browser Interface
A direct message can be created in the following ways:
- Under DIRECT MESSAGES on the left navigation panel, click on “More Users…” link to see all users, then select the user.
- Open the Members List panel on the right icon menu, click on a user’s name. This displays the user’s information, click the CONVERSATION button. You can also access the same panel by clicking on any @ mention in the messages area.
Mobile Interface
A direct message can be created in the following ways:
- Search for the user in the search box while in the main Messages screen. You can select the user from the list of names and channels returned by the search.
- Search for a user in the Directory using the Search by:Users, then select the user.
- Open the Members List in an active channel, select the user you wish to message directly, select Information from the menu, and touch the Message icon.
Joining Channels
Browser Interface
There are several options to join a channel.
- Your channels are listed on the left-hand pane under CHANNELS(X), where X represents the number of visible channels. To view all available channels, (including those you have hidden), click on the “More channels…” link. Clicking on a channel in the list does the following:
- switches to the channel if it is already subscribed
- removes the hidden state if the channel is hidden and switches to the channel
- switches to the channel in preview mode if the channel is not subscribed. If you want to join it, click on the join
button.
- Clicking on a #channel-name reference in any posted message will connect to that channel in preview mode. Click on the JOIN button joins the channel as described above.
- Finally, you can use the join slash command.
/join #channel-name
Mobile Interface
There are several options to join a channel.- On the Messages entry screen, open the Directory, and change the Search by from Users to Channels. Touch the channel to preview, and the Join button to join the channel.
- If you know the name of the channel, you may search for it directly in the search bar near the top of the Messages entry screen, then touch the channel to preview, and the Join button to join the channel.
- Clicking on a #channel-name reference in any posted message will connect to that channel in preview mode; touching the Join button will join the channel.
Invited to Join
You can also be invited to a channel by someone else. The following options are available to invite someone to a channel.
Create a new Channel
You can invite users when creating a new channel.
| Browser Interface | Mobile Android Interface | |
|---|---|---|
| Create a new channel. |  |  |
| At the bottom of the Create Channel dialog box, add the users to be automatically subscribed to the channel. |  |  |
This functionality is not available on iOS devices. You must create the channel first then @mention the user while in the channel.
Default Channel
Channels can be marked as default by an administrator. When a new user creates an account on InfinityOne, they are automatically subscribed to all the default channels.
Slash Commands
There are three slash commands that can be used for inviting users to a room.
/invite @user-name
/invite-all-to #room-name
/invite-all-from #room-name
Slash commands are available on Browser interface only.
@ Mention
To invite someone to an existing channel, simply @mention them while in that channel.
Leaving and Hiding Channels
To hide a channel is to remain a member of the channel but to remove it from your list of channels displayed.
To leave a channel is to no longer be a member of the channel.
Browser Interface
When you hover your mouse over a channel listed on the left-hand pane, you will see two icons appear to the right of the channel name: 
Hide room and Leave room.
Click on the corresponding icon to “hide” or “leave” the channel.
Mobile Interface
When looking at the channel listing on the main Messages screen, swiping left on a channel or direct message provides the option to Hide or Leave that Channel or Direct Message.
Favorites
All conversational types, including public or private channels and direct messages can be added to your Favorites List. Favorites are grouped together for easier access.
Browser Interface
To favorite a channel in the Browser interface, click on the star icon in the upper left corner of the message area (next to the room name).
The star is then highlighted. To unfavorite a channel, just click on the star icon again.
Highlighted channels are listed under Favorites on the left navigation panel.
Mobile Interface
There are two methods:
- From the main channel listing screen, swipe left on the channel and select Favorite.
- From the channel screen, press the channel name at the top to enter the Actions (iOS) or Channel Details (Android) screen, then press the favorite star icon
.