The Chat tools are the primary communication tools for any mission member. Chats are sent between mission members from ArcGIS Mission Manager or ArcGIS Mission Responder and can be sent to any mission member, group of members, team, or teams. You can access the Chat tool in ArcGIS Mission Responder from the mission map screen.
The Chat tool allows for text chats, sketches, and attachments to be sent, all organized inside a chat thread. Chats to active users are sent in real time. You can send chats to inactive users, but these are stored and sent when the user enter active status. All chat threads that you are participating in appear in the Chat feed.
Chat thread
A chat thread contains all messages sent between a specific group of mission members, including text chats, sketches, and attachments. Tapping the thread in the chat feed opens it for you to view, with the most recent chats displayed from bottom to top. Chats are displayed with date, time, and sender. Sketches and attachments are displayed in the chat thread and can be opened to view them directly.
At the top of the chat thread, the number of participants appears, and tapping the avatar will open the Chat Details screen, which shows information about the thread participants.
Chat feed
The chat feed displays all the threads in which you are involved. Threads are displayed with the following:
- Participants—The mission members, teams, or combination of the two participating in the thread
- Last message—The most recent chat sent in the thread
- Time—The approximate time since the most recent chat was sent
- Sender—The name of the mission member who sent the most recent chat
To open the chat feed from the mission map, tap the chat tool at the lower left of the screen. You can swipe the panel the full screen, scroll through your existing chat threads, or begin a new chat.
Begin a new chat
New chat threads can be created at any time during a mission, and can include messages to offline members. Attempting to create a thread with the same participants as an existing thread results in the original thread being opened. To begin a new chat, complete the following workflow:
- Open the Chat tool.
- Tap Start a new chat.
The list of teams and members appears.
- Specify the chat recipients.
Tapping the first participant name opens a thread that can be used immediately. However, if you need to add more participants, you can continue adding them by searching for their names or by tapping the Add Participants button to the right of the search bar, which allows you to continue scrolling and tapping from the list of mission teams and members.
- Create your initial chat in the thread.
Your initial chat can be a text chat, sketch, or attachment, but it is recommended that you begin a chat thread with a text chat.
- Tap Send.
Sending the initial chat creates the thread, which will then appear in the chat feed. You can then remain in the chat or tap Close to close the chat.
Flag a message as important
Chat threads can marked as important and sent to any other participant. A red flag will be visible adjacent to the message text in the chat thread. To mark a chat as important, complete the following workflow:
- Open the Chat tool.
- Open the chat thread in which you want to send an important message, or create one.
- Expand the chat options by clicking the + icon.
- Select Mark as important.
- Complete the chat message as desired by adding photos, sketches, text or all.
- Tap Send icon.
Participate in an existing chat
Once a chat is created, it appears in the chat feed. To participate in an existing chat, complete the following steps:
- Locate the chat in the chat feed.
- Tap the chat thread to open it.
- Enter your chat, whether text chat, sketch, or attachment.
- Tap Send.
You can remain in the chat or tap Close to close the chat.
View a sketch in a chat thread
Sketches cannot be viewed directly in the chat thread, as they are map based and cannot be viewed without the map to give them context. The following workflow describes how to open the Sketch Details screen from inside the chat thread.
- Open the Chat tool from the mission map.
- Tap to open the thread containing the sketch you want to view.
- Tap the sketch you want to view.
The Sketch Details screen appears; it contains more information about the sketch than is displayed in the chat thread.
View an attachment in a chat thread
Image attachments can be sent as chats independently or associated with text chats and sketches. Attachments appear as thumbnails in a chat thread, but can be opened to view them directly. To view an attachment in a chat thread, complete the following steps:
- Open the Chat tool from the mission map.
- Tap to open the thread containing the attachment you want to view.
- Tap the attachment you want to view.
Depending on your device settings and apps, you may be prompted to select the photo viewer you want to use.
The image attachment displays full screen on your device.