Private messaging is the heart and soul of Workstorm. It enables you to collaborate with colleagues by sharing information, files, insights and more in a secure online app.
Sending Private Messages
Click on Messages in the left side bar, scroll down to “Private Messages” or click on the Private Messages icon in the Messages menu (the third icon to the right of the All tab in at the top of your Messages menu). To open an existing private message, click on the appropriate name from the scrollable list in your Messages menu to expand the one-on-one messaging window into a new tab.
Starting a New Private Message
To start a new private message, click on the blue New+ icon at the top of your left side bar. Select Private Message to bring up a “New private message” modal. Search for an existing connection in the provided text box, select the result and click Create to start a new private message.
Click on Invite by Email in the “New private message” modal to invite a new colleague to Workstorm and start a private message with them when they accept your invite and sign-up.
Note: Company Admins will be able to choose whether a new private message invite joins the company as an internal or external member using the internal/external toggle at the bottom left of the Invite by Email modal aforementioned.
Once you’ve expanded your private message, you can type into the message input box and utilize the available formatting options. Then, press Enter or click on the green Send icon.
The message feed is where you can view and scroll through your entire message history with one individual, whether that private message turns out to last a few minutes, days, weeks, months or years, Workstorm automatically and securely saves your history (in alignment with your company’s policies and settings), so you can refer back to any message at any time.
Search within an expanded private message by clicking the search icon directly above the message input box.
Sorting and Organizing Messages
Similar to your Workstorm Files foldering feature, your Messages left side bar menu can be organized into a nested folder system based on your preferences. Once you have enough messages to make creating folders worthwhile, click on +Add at the top right of your Messages left side bar menu. Select New Folder and enter a name for the folder that pops up in your Messages left side bar menu. Drag and drop existing private and team messages or announcement channels from your left side bar menu into your created folder.
Add multiple private and team messages or announcement channels to any of your folders by clicking the ellipsis menu to the right of an exisiting folder and select + Add Item to Folder. Toggle on the messages you want to add to your folder and click Add to finalize your changes. Delete or Rename your folder from the aforementioned ellipsis menu.
Sorting by A-Z or Recent Messages
Sort your private and team messages or announcement channels in your Messages left side bar by clicking the A-Z/Recent toggle. Customize your default preferences by clicking the Sorting Preferences settings gear icon.
Sending Files
Private messaging also enables you to securely share files with your connections.
Start by clicking on the Upload File icon on the right-side of your message input box to choose to upload a file from your Desktop, Workstorm File Repository or any of your integrated DMS solutions.
Once a file is either shared by or with you, you can Download, Re-Share with other Workstorm connections or preview the file in the View modal.
All files uploaded by or shared with you can also be found in your Workstorm File Repository. You may upload, share, view and search for files there, as well. If you’d like to learn more about about storing and sharing files, check out the help article on Workstorm Files and Folders.
Sending Urgent Messages and @Mentions
Send a message as “urgent” to trigger both a Toast and an Alert to the recipient.
A Toast is a real-time pop-up that overlays the recipient’s message screen, bringing immediate attention to the urgent message while the user is active in Workstorm. Alerts appear more persistently, yet passively, in the Alerts menu found at the top right of your app. These alerts occur when administrative updates or messages occur, or when you:
- Receive an urgent message.
- Receive an @mention in a private or team message or in an announcement channel.
- Get added to a team message.
To send an urgent message, instead of pressing Enter on your keyboard after typing out the message, click the Urgent Message Alert icon next to the left of the Upload File icon on the right-side of the message input box. This will prompt you to send the message marked as “urgent,” instead of sending the message as normal. Once sent, the recipient will receive an Alert in his/her left menu, as well as a Toast, calling attention to the urgent message.
Hyperlinking a member’s name in a message using an @mention is another way to trigger an Alert. To do this, type “@” followed by the first few letters of the member’s name. A dropdown list of members will appear above your cursor. Select the member from the dropdown list and his/her name will be replaced by a hyperlinked @mention.
If you are the recipient of an Alert, click on Go to within the Alerts menu to be re-directed to where the alert originated. To dismiss an alert, either click on Acknowledge or Acknowledge All, to dismiss all alerts.
Sending Emojis, Videos and GIPHYs
Consider adding Emojis to your messages to help convey tone or emotion.
To select an emoji, click on the Emoji (smiley face) icon next to the formatting options above your message input box to bring up the emoji menu, or type “:” and a few letters for a list of suggested emojis.
Choose the emoji that best fits the tone or emotion you’re trying to convey, and it will be added to the body copy of your message. You can also search for an emoji by inputting what you are looking for in the search bar at the top of the emoji library.
Share a YouTube video by copying and pasting the video’s URL into the message box. Press Enter to send the message. The video will automatically embed and populate for viewing within the message feed.
To embed GIPHYs (or animated images) into your message, type “/” and select the GIPHY pop-up above the message box. Then type the word you wish to convey as an animated image and press Enter to send the message.
Using Reactions and Flags
To like a message or react to a message with Workstorm’s set of available message reactions hover over the appropriate message line in the expanded message window and select the reaction you want to use.
Flag and/or color-code important messages for yourself to help you categorize and find those messages later. Here’s an example of what it would like to flag and like a message:
To find a flagged message, click Search directly above the message input box. Choose your desired flag color to filter by and then click the green search icon on the right-side of your message input box. Learn more about personal search optimization with our article on using flags.
Video Calls
Start a one-on-one video call or share your screen with another member by clicking the Video icon on the top-right of your expanded message window.