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Groups

Group Chat

The Group Chat tool allows your groups to communicate right in the app, without having to rely on third party tools! Once Group Chat is enabled for a group in MinistryPlatform, the currently active group members can create conversations and send each other messages.

Tip: Want to hear some use cases and learn how to use this tool to bring your people together? Check out the Emojis Optional webinar in the MinistrySmart Academy!

Group Chat Security

Security is of utmost importance when group members chat together. Because of this, sending attachments is not supported, so stick to text-only messages.

Your app can be configured to make links clickable in Group Chat. Then, when someone pastes a link into a message, the URL is automatically detected and converted into a clickable link. Just be aware of the potential risk this introduces if your group members decide to misuse link sharing. Contact Support to enable this feature, which is optional and disabled by default.

All Group Chat messages are recorded in the Platform, providing both security and transparency.

Enable Group Chat

  1. Go to PocketPlatform > Group Messages Groups.
  2. Click New Group Messages Group.
  3. Select the group you're enabling Group Chat for.
    Note: The Last Message and Last Message Date fields are automatically populated as the group chats.
  4. Set Group Enabled to Yes.
  5. Click Save.

Disable Group Chat

CAUTION: To disable a Group chat, do not remove its Group Messages Groups record. Instead, you can add it to the disallow chat list.
  1. Go to PocketPlatform > Group Messages Groups.
  2. Select the group that will no longer be allowed to chat.
  3. Click Edit Record.
  4. Set Group Enabled to No.
  5. Click Save.

Use Group Chat in the App

Once a user belongs to a group with Group Chat enabled, they can interact with their fellow group members.

Group Chat displays the user's nickname, if available, instead of the first name.

Note: When your Groups chat, conversations are recorded in the Platform. Go to PocketPlatform Lookups > Group Messages to review as needed.
  1. Tap your picture to access the User Menu.
  2. Select My Group Chat.
  3. Select the group you'd like to chat with, if you're in multiple groups with Group Chat enabled.
  4. Select the conversation if the group has multiple conversations, or select Create New Conversation.
  5. Enter your message, and click Post Message.

Delete a Message or Conversation

Warning: Once you delete a message or conversation, you can never retrieve it. Keep in mind that you may need a record of conversations that occur between church members. In fact, you may be required by law to maintain such records.

Rather than delete these, we recommend reassigning a conversation to a hidden group. This way, the conversation and messages no longer display to anyone, but they are not lost forever in case you need them later.

Delete a Message:
  1. In the navigation menu, click PocketPlatform Lookups > Group Messages Conversations.
  2. Locate and open the record of the relevant conversation and group.
  3. Click the Messages tab, and search for the message you want to delete.
  4. Select the message(s) you want to permanently delete.
  5. From the Actions menu, select Delete.
  6. Confirm your deletion.
Delete a Conversation:
  1. Go to PocketPlatform > Group Messages Groups.
  2. Locate and open the record of the relevant group.
    • If the Last Message field is a message in the conversation that you want to delete, you must assign a message in a different conversation for this group.
    • If there are no other conversations for the group, clear the Last Message field.
  3. Go to PocketPlatform Lookups > Group Messages Conversations.
  4. Locate and open the record of the relevant conversation and group.
    1. Edit the record, clear the Last Message field, and click Save.
    2. Click the Messages tab, and select all the messages you want to permanently delete. In the Actions menu, select Delete, and confirm your selection.
    3. Click the General tab. In the Actions menu, select Delete. You're warned about related records in the Group Messages Meta page. Select Delete All for this.
    4. If any other related records display, start the process over to ensure you remove all relationships before deleting the conversation.

Reassign a Conversation

Rather than deleting a conversation, we recommend reassigning it. That way, you can still see it if you need it later.

  1. Make sure you've added a hidden group where you can keep old conversations.
  2. Go to PocketPlatform Lookups > Group Messages Conversations.
  3. Locate and open the record of the relevant conversation and group.
  4. Edit the record, and set the group to the hidden group.
  5. Click Save.
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Last updated: October 30, 2024