This article exists to help parents, guardians, students, and teachers to stay engaged with Finalsite Chat. For teacher-specific management tools (muting users, moderation), see Manage your chat room participants.
💡Quick answers
- How are files attached to a message? Tap the paper clip icon in the message input area and select files from the device. Up to 30 files can be attached per message.
- How is a chat room silenced without leaving it? Long-press the room name on the home screen and select Mute. Notifications stop but messages remain visible when the room is opened.
- Can messages be edited or deleted after sending? Yes. Long-press any message you sent to see options to edit, copy, or delete it. Administrators retain an archive of all messages for safety and compliance.
- Can you tell if a message has been read? A check mark icon next to a sent message shows how many participants have read it.
- How is a direct message started? Tap the + or Compose icon in the Direct messages section on the Chat home screen, then select one or more recipients.
- Can I report a message? Yes! Long-press the message, tap Report, and select a reason. School administrators are notified immediately.
- Why do some family members show a label like "Mother of Rebecca" instead of just "Parent"? Family members appear with their specific relationship (Mother, Father, Guardian) and the name of the student they are connected to. This helps teachers and staff confirm they are reaching the right person. These labels appear when adding members, in member profiles, and in the Chat room settings Members area when Show relationship is toggled on.
In this article
- Communicate in Chat rooms
- Send and receive Direct Messages
- Report a message
- View member connections
- Next: Manage notifications
Communicate in Chat rooms
Chat rooms appear in the top half of the Chat home screen. These are group conversations assigned by the school based on rosters, classes, teams, or clubs. A chat manager (typically a teacher or staff member) moderates each room.
Send a message in a Chat room
- Tap a room name to open the conversation.
- Enter text in the message area. Use the formatting toolbar to apply bold, italic, or strikethrough.
- Tap the paper clip icon to attach images or files (up to 30 per message).
- Tap the paper airplane icon to send.
React to a message
Tap and hold a message to react with an emoji. This is a quick way to acknowledge a message without typing a full reply.
Edit, copy, or delete a message
Long-press any message to reveal options to edit the text, copy it to share elsewhere, or delete it.
⚠️ Important Note on editing and deleting messages
District and school administrators retain an archive of all edited and deleted messages for safety and compliance.
View read receipts
A check mark icon appears next to sent messages. The number next to it shows how many participants have read that specific message.
Mute, unmute, or leave a chat room
- Mute: Long-press the room name on the home screen and select Mute to stop receiving push notifications for that room without leaving it. An unread count still appears on the home screen.
- Unmute: To unmute, long-press the room again and select Unmute.
- Leave: Wish to Leave a chat room? Scroll down at any time and click the Leave chat room button and you will no longer be a member of this chat room.
Pin a chat room
Keep frequently used rooms at the top of the chat room list by pinning them for quick access. Long press on a chat room name to open up the quick menu below and tap the Pin button. Now the pinned room will populate at the top of the list of chat rooms!
Unpin a chat room
Change your mind? You can always Unpin a chat room. Long press on the pinned chat room's name until the quick menu displays at the bottom of your screen. Click the Unpin button.
Pin a conversation within a room
It's helpful sometimes to pin messages so that you can refer to them to your users, especially messages that include information that is needing to be referenced. Long-press a selected message inside a room and select Pin to keep it visible at the top of that room's settings screen for easy reference.
Once a message is Pinned, it can be referenced and will appear in the Pinned Messages area in the Chat room settings. Pinned messages will display in the chat interface with a small pin next to them, designating that these are pinned messages.
Join a room via QR code
If the school shares a QR code for a chat room, scan it with a mobile device to join the room instantly.
Send and receive Direct Messages
Direct messages (DMs) appear in the bottom half of the Chat home screen. Use DMs for private one-to-one or small group conversations outside of a shared chat room.
Start a new Direct Message
- Tap the + button in the Direct Messages section.
- Select one or more recipients to start the conversation.
- Type a message, attach files if needed, and tap the paper airplane to send.
React to a message
Tap and hold a message to react with an emoji. This is a quick way to acknowledge a message without typing a full reply.
Pin a DM conversation
Long-press a DM thread in the list and select Pin to keep it at the top of the Direct messages section.
Mute or unmute a DM
Ready to give a DM less of your attention? You can Mute a DM! Open a DM you'd like to mute or long-press the participant names and select Mute to silence push notifications for that thread while still receiving messages.
Report a message
To report inappropriate communication, long-press the message, tap Report, and select a reason. School administrators are notified and can take immediate action.
Learn more about how content is moderated in Chat for families: Security and privacy.
View member connections
There are multiple ways to view connections between members. When toggling on Show relationship, more information will populate beneath a potential member's name, allowing you to add family members at the same time, if you wish.
Option #1: View relationships when adding a new member
In the Add members window, toggle on next to Show relationship populates below, allowing you to select connected family members at the same time.
Option #2: View relationships via Profile
Open any user's profile and scroll to the Relationship section to see linked family members and their roles. This helps confirm the right family member is being contacted within a room or DM.
Option #3: View relationship via Chat room settings > Members area
Another way to see relationships between members in an existing chat room is in the Chat room settings screen in the Chats feature. Scroll down to the Members area. Toggle on next to Show relationship. This will expand out more information beneath each member of a Chat room.
Next: Manage notifications
To configure when and how the app sends alerts for chat messages, see Mobile App + Chat for families: Manage subscriptions and notifications.
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