Not every conversation needs a channel. Direct messages in Tandem App are for a quick word with one colleague, and group messages are for a small group of up to nine people. This guide explains how to start them and how they differ from channels.

Starting a conversation

  1. Click New message in the sidebar.
  2. Use Find someone to search by name and pick the person you want.
  3. For a group, pick more people. A conversation can include up to nine people, counting you.
  4. Click Message. The conversation opens and appears under Direct messages in the sidebar.

There is one conversation for each set of people. If you start a new message with the same people again, you go back to the conversation you already have, with its history.

You can also press Ctrl/⌘ + K, type a colleague's name to open their profile, then click the Message button there.

Who can see them

Direct and group messages are private to the people in them. Owners and admins get no special access to them, and they are left out of the workspace export for the same reason. Search only shows you conversations you are part of.

Guests can't send or receive direct messages. To talk with a client, use a channel they've been added to.

What works the same as in a channel

The message box is the same one you use in channels, so you can:

  • Attach files, add emoji and format text with **bold**, _italic_ and `code`.
  • Reply in threads, react, pin messages and run polls.
  • Use Save, Remind me and Forward… on any message.
  • Schedule a message with the ▾ next to Send.

What's different

  • Conversations have no Tasks or Docs tabs. If a chat turns into real work, move it to a channel, or forward the key message there and use Make a task.
  • You can't add someone to an existing conversation. Start a new one with the larger group instead.
  • Conversations can't be renamed or archived.

Notifications

By default you're notified of every new message in a direct or group conversation, including by browser push if you've turned it on. Use the bell at the top of the conversation to change that:

  • Every new message or Nothing.
  • Mute greys the conversation out in the sidebar and hides its unread count.

Pushes show the sender's name, never the message itself. See notifications and do not disturb for the rest.

When to use a channel instead

  • The conversation is about a project or client that others may need to follow later.
  • You want tasks or shared files alongside the chat.
  • More than nine people need to be involved.

See public and private channels for setting one up.