---
title: Messages
summary: Chat with your project team in groups, send text and pictures, see who is typing, and see who read your message.
menu: Messages
route: /chat
who: Everyone who is a member of the project. No special permission is needed.
---

Messages is the chat of a project. Site staff, engineers and managers of the same project talk here, so decisions stay with the project and not in private phones.

For example, the site engineer of Acme Heights sends a picture of a cracked slab to the group of the structure team. The team replies in the same group, and everyone sees the history.

![The Messages screen. Mark 1 is a group in the list of groups. Mark 2 is a message in the conversation. Mark 3 is the picture button. Mark 4 is the message box.](../media/chat-screen.png)

## Before you start

- Select the project at the top of the screen. The chat belongs to that project.
- You must be a member of the project.

## What the groups are

The list on the left shows your groups. A group is a department that you belong to in this project. One more group, **General**, holds everyone in the project. Each group shows the time of its last message, or **No messages**.

A number badge on a group is the count of messages you have not read. The **Messages** item in the left menu also shows a badge when a new message arrives.

## How to send a message

1. Click **Messages** in the left menu.
2. Click a group in the list on the left (mark 1). The conversation opens.
3. Click the message box, **Type your message..** (mark 4).
4. Type your message and press Enter, or click the send button at the end of the box.

Messages about material deliveries can also appear in the chat. Your messages show on the right side. A single tick on your message means it was sent. Two ticks mean it was delivered. The two ticks turn green when the other people have read it.

While someone types, the group shows **is typing** under its name. If many people type, it shows how many.

## How to send a picture

1. Open the group.
2. Click the picture button next to the message box (mark 3).
3. Choose a picture on your computer or phone.
4. A box titled **Confirmation** says that the picture will be posted to the group. Click **Yes**. Click **No** to stop.

Click a picture in the conversation to see it larger.

## How to see who is in a group

Click the people icon at the top right of the conversation. A list shows the names of the members of that group.

## What you see in a conversation

| Item | What it shows |
| --- | --- |
| Text | The message and the name of the sender. |
| Picture | A small picture. Click it to enlarge. |
| Video | A video that you can play in the conversation. |
| Task | The name of a task. Click it to open the task. |
| Contact | A contact card. Click it to open the card. |
| Time under a message | How long ago it was sent. Hold the pointer on it to see the exact date and time. |

## Rules to know

- You see only the groups that you belong to, and **General**.
- You cannot send an empty message. Superwise shows **Enter message**.
- If the live connection is lost, Superwise shows **Live chat is not connected**. Reload the page. Until you reload, new messages do not appear and you cannot send.
- Opening a group marks its unread messages as read.

## If something goes wrong

| What you see | What to do |
| --- | --- |
| **Live chat is not connected** | Reload the page. |
| **Enter message** | Type your message before you send. |
| **The file could not be uploaded to the chat. Please try again later.** | Try again. |
| You cannot see a group. | You are not a member of that department in this project. Ask your administrator. |

## Related pages

- [Start by role](../start-by-role/index.md)