TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Key improvements:
- Quick overview: Existing version of instant messages vs. new instant messages
- Description of functionality
- Badge
- Instant messages
- Information on each conversation
- Supported conversation types
- Supported functionality
- General:
- Options for single conversation (available from settings)
- Search in conversation
- Options for group conversation (available from settings)
- Options for course conversation (available from settings):
- Options on your own message:
- Edit, delete and forward, mark as unread
- Options on a message from another person:
- Edit, delete and forward your own messages
- Comparing existing version of instant messages with new instant messages
- Search
- Adding files to instant messages
- Big courses or groups
- Mass Messaging
We are releasing a revamped and accessible slide in panel for showing messages. We are not going to compete with the most advanced Instant messaging solutions out there but will focus on the core needs to our users. It will still be easy for teachers to reach out to students, both individually and as a group.
We also want to make it clear to our users that instant messaging is a chat and not an email system. Due to the existing design, users expect our messages to act like mails. And to be more consistent, we want the new UI to be like the new notification panel. It will be a modern, accessible, and consistent UI.
In addition, we want to give teachers and administrators more control of conversations. They will be able to remove users from a group chat and they can delete a course conversation.
Key improvements:
- UI Modernisation and Consistency:
- Modern and consistent user interface
- More visually appealing and user-friendly - Accessibility Enhancements:
- Implemented changes to ensure that instant messages are accessible to all users, including optimisations for screen readers, keyboard navigation, and other accessibility features. - Message Deletion Support:
- Teachers and admins can remove users from group chats.-Teachers and admins can delete student's message in group or course conversation.
- Teachers and admins can delete course conversations and start a new one.
Quick overview: Existing version of instant messages vs. new instant messages
Course conversation settings/action:
Previous Version (2016-2024):
New Version (2024-):
Overview of all your conversations
Previous version (2016-2024):
New version (2024-):
Single conversation
Previous Version (2016-2024):
New version (2024-):
Description of functionality
Badge
The main menu icon has a badge displaying the number of unread messages. The number updates when a conversation with unread messages is visited.
Instant messages
- Using SignalR, conversations should update instantly on any change.
- Clicking on the main menu icon opens a slide-in panel with a list of conversations.
- The main menu icon is a chat bubble.
Information on each conversation
- Icon/Avatar
- Name of who sent last message
- Brief part of last message (One line)
- Timestamp when the conversation was last updated with a change
- Visual difference when a conversation contains unread messages
Supported conversation types
- 1-1 conversations (icon = profile picture of the other person, if no profile picture = circle with avatar)
- Group conversations (icon = avatar showing 3 people)
- Course conversations (icon = course icon with background colour)
- Project conversations (icon = colourful project icon)
- Messages sent to multiple people as individual messages (icon = broad outline arrow pointing left)
Supported functionality
General:
- Start new conversations, add participants, courses and projects, remove/add participants
- Admins and teachers can remove participants from group chats also after a conversation is started
- Send and receive messages
- Web links are blue and clickable - open in external browser
- Can send and receive attachments
- Display shared and reply-to messages
- Report abuse
Options for single conversation (available from settings)
Search in conversation
- Mark as unread
- View participants (avatar, name, title)
- Your relationship
Options for group conversation (available from settings)
- Search in conversation
- Rename conversation
- Mark as unread
- Report abuse
- Leave conversations
- Close conversations
- Overview of participants (avatar, name, title)
- Remove participants
- Add participants
Options for course conversation (available from settings):
- Search in conversation
- Mark as unread
- Close conversation
- Delete conversations (teacher and admin)
- Link to course participant page
Options on your own message:
Edit, delete and forward, mark as unread
- Reply directly to a participant
- Add files
Options on a message from another person:
Edit, delete and forward your own messages
- Reply directly to a participant
Comparing existing version of instant messages with new instant messages
Overview of all your conversations
Previous version (2016-2024)
New version (2024)
Single conversation with attached pdf
Previous version (2016-2024)
New version (2024)
Search
Users can search within a conversation and across all conversations.
Search within a single conversation
- Search is available in single conversations, group conversations, course conversations and project conversations. Users can search for text, attachments, and links.
- It’s not possible to search for emojis (same as in old IM), in weekly course updates or in mass messages conversations.
Search across all conversations
- Search for a specific person is for now scoped out!
Adding files to instant messages
Users can attach files when sending a message. It's possible to just send a file without writing any text. There is a limit of 20 mb when adding files to instant messages. If you add a format that is not supported, we will show some information text: Sorry, you can’t send (name of file).
Big courses or groups
If a course or a group has more than 300 participants, it’s not possible to send individual messages, only group messages.
| Case | Should display individual/group radio button | Outcome |
| One individual participant is chosen | No | Treat as Group (yes, 1:1 conversations are technically group conversations) |
| Two individual participants are chosen | Yes | Treat as Group or send individual messages depending on chosen option |
| There's at least one course/project with less than or equal to 300 participants | ||
| There's at least one course/project with less than or equal to 300 participants and anything else, but the total number of UNIQUE participants is less than or equal to 300 | ||
| There's one course/project with more than 300 participants | No | Treat as Course/Project conversation - still possible to send. Not possible to send individually. |
| There's one course/project with more than 300 participants and anything else in addition (any number of course/project/person) | No | Validation error message which prevents you to send message saying you can't send to more than 300 recipients. |
| The sum of individual participants (persons only) is more than 300 | ||
| There's no course/project with more than 300 participants, but the combination of chosen courses, projects and individual persons cause that sum of UNIQUE participants is more than 300 | Yes | Error message after trying to send message. Frontend can't determine the number of unique participants so we should make a call. |
Mass Messaging
No changes is made to how mass messaging work. Admins can still send one-way messages to members of their hierarchies. To send a mass message, users with the mass message privilege must go to admin> Mass messaging.
In the older version of IM, there was a link to mass messaging, that took you to Admin> Mass messaging. This link is removed in the new version of IM.
For more information about mass messaging, see: Mass messaging
How mass messages are displayed in the IM side panel, Notice the new icon/avatar:
