Work together in a group
Invite people into a conversation, see who's here and who's typing, and choose what each person can do.
Works on: the phone app, for following, sending and seeing who's here. On the desktop, groups need you signed in, and signing in on the desktop isn't available yet; see Sign in. The web: not available yet.
A group conversation runs on a cloud computer. If yours runs on this computer, inviting says "People can join once this conversation runs on a cloud computer."
Find your groups
Conversations you share with other people sit in the sidebar under Groups. An invite sent to your email shows there too, as "Alex invited you", with Join. Nothing about the conversation shows until you join.
Invite someone
Only the conversation's owner can invite.
- Press Invite at the top of the conversation, or right-click the group in the sidebar and choose Invite people… (S). The palette (⌘K or Ctrl+K) has Invite people… too.
- Type their email address.
- Choose a role: Can approve, Member or Viewer. The line under the choice says what that role does.
- Press Invite.
The sheet then says, for example, "Send this link to sam@example.com." Press Copy link and send it yourself; Codewhale doesn't email invites. When there's no link to copy, it says "sam@example.com is invited." instead.
Waiting to join lists invites nobody has used yet, each with the day it ends. Invites last seven days. Press Cancel invite to turn one off.
With the keyboard: Tab to Invite and press Enter. Focus starts in Email; Tab moves to the roles and the arrow keys choose one.
Join a group
Under Groups in the sidebar, press Join beside the invite. The conversation opens with your role, and People lists you.
Opening an invite link isn't available yet; the invite waits under Groups once you're signed in with the email it was sent to.
What Codewhale can say about an invite:
| You see | What it means |
|---|---|
| This invite has expired. | It's older than seven days, or the owner cancelled it. Ask them for a new one. |
| This invite was already used. | Someone already joined with it. Ask for a new one. |
| This invite is for someone else. | You're signed in with a different email. Press Switch account. |
| This invite link doesn't work. | Codewhale can't find this invite. Check the link, or ask for a new one. |
See who's here
Open People in the side panel's Overview. Each person shows their role, and a dot beside their initials while they have the conversation open. When someone is writing, "Sam is typing…" shows just above the message box. You never see yourself typing, and a Viewer never shows as typing.
What each role can do
| Role | Can do |
|---|---|
| Owner | Send messages and answer approvals; invite people, change roles and remove people |
| Can approve | Send messages and answer approvals |
| Member | Send messages |
| Viewer | Read along. A Viewer sees "You can read along here." instead of a message box |
In a group conversation on the desktop, your message is sent as soon as you press Enter, even while a reply is running; nothing waits in a queue. Nobody can steer or stop a reply from the desktop yet. On the phone, see Stop or add to a reply.
Change someone's role
Owners only. Right-click the person in People (or focus them and press Shift+F10), choose Change role (R), then the new role.
Remove someone, or leave
To remove someone, the owner right-clicks them in People and chooses Remove from conversation… (⌘⌫ or Ctrl+Backspace). Codewhale asks once: "Their waiting messages are dropped. Work they started keeps running." They leave People, and stop showing as here or typing, right away.
To leave a group yourself, right-click it in the sidebar, or your own row in People, and choose Leave conversation… (L). "Your waiting messages are dropped. Work you started keeps running." The owner can't leave their own group.
Right-click a person and choose Mention (M) to add @their name to your message.
On your phone
- Press the "3 people · 1 here" line under the conversation's title to open People: everyone, their role, and a dot for who's here. It's read-only.
- While a reply is running, Add to this reply sends your message into it, and Stop shows for the owner and for whoever sent the message that started it.
- Inviting, joining, changing roles, removing people and leaving: not available yet on the phone.
On the web
Not available yet.
Not available yet
- Delete for everyone…
- Opening an invite link in Codewhale.
- Sending invites by email. Copy the link and send it yourself.
- Your own group settings, such as pinning a group or marking it unread just for you.
Related
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