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Template. You can change anything about this app by describing it in its build chat. See App templates.
Give your team one place to talk inside Assembly. Your internal users chat in channels and direct messages, reply in threads, and pin the posts that matter. The app is for your team only. Clients never see it. Category: Internal · Used by: your team

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Features

  • Channels with a name and topic, and two that come set up: general for everyone, and announcements, where only admins can post
  • Direct messages with one person, or group messages with two or more
  • Threaded replies that open beside the conversation, with a Threads view of every thread you’re in
  • Emoji reactions, mentions, and a Mentions view of who mentioned you or reacted to your messages
  • Pinned messages in each channel, and a Saved list of messages you want to come back to
  • Search across channels, messages, and people
  • File attachments, formatting, and Draft with AI to write a reply from a short instruction
  • Presence and a custom status, so people can see who’s around
  • Unread counts on every channel and conversation
  • Admin settings for who can create channels, which channels everyone joins, and archiving

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How to use it

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For your team

  1. Open the app and click the browse button next to Channels in the sidebar.
  2. In Browse channels, click Join next to any public channel. Channels you’re already in are marked Joined.
  3. To make a new one, click Create a channel, enter a Name and an optional Topic, then click Create channel.
Channel names are saved in lowercase, with spaces turned into dashes. If your admins have limited channel creation to admins, Create a channel doesn’t appear.
  1. Click the new message button next to Direct messages in the sidebar.
  2. Pick one person for a direct message, or two or more for a group message.
  3. Click Start conversation.
Type in the message box and click Send. Use the toolbar for Bold, Italic, Code, Link, and List, Insert emoji, or Attach file. Use Mention someone to tag a teammate. Mentioning someone who isn’t in the channel adds them to it.To have AI write it for you, click Draft with AI, describe what you want to say, and click Draft reply. The draft uses the last few messages in the conversation as context and lands in the message box for you to edit before sending.
Hover a message and click Reply in thread. The thread opens beside the conversation. Everyone who has posted in the thread is notified of new replies. Open Threads in the sidebar to see every thread you’re part of.
Hover a message to click Add reaction, or open More actions to:
  • Copy text
  • Pin to channel or Unpin from channel. Pinned messages are listed under Pinned messages in the channel header.
  • Save it to your Saved list, or Remove from saved
  • Edit or Delete your own messages
You can only edit your own messages. Admins can delete anyone’s. A deleted message that has replies shows This message was deleted so the thread stays readable.
Open Mentions in the sidebar to see who mentioned you and who reacted to your messages. Dismiss items one at a time, or click Clear all.
Click Find a conversation… at the top of the sidebar and search channels, messages, and people.
Click your name at the bottom of the sidebar to open Set your status. Choose Active or Away under Presence, and add an emoji and a short message under Status.
Open a channel’s menu and choose Members to see who’s in it. Admins can click Add people, pick teammates, and click Add to channel. To leave, choose Leave channel. You can’t leave a default channel.
Admins open Settings from the app’s header menu to:
  • Choose Who can create channels: Any member or Admins only
  • Set each channel’s access under Channels: Normal, Default, or Admins only. Everyone is added to a Default channel and can’t leave it. Only admins can see, join, or be added to an Admins only channel. A channel can’t be both.
  • Archive a channel, which hides it from everyone’s sidebar and from Browse channels
  • Under Archived channels, Unarchive a channel to bring it back, or Delete it permanently with every message, file, and reaction in it
Admins can also choose Archive channel from a channel’s menu.
Only your internal users can open the app. Private and Admins only channels never appear to people who aren’t members, and only admins can archive channels, add members, or change channel settings.

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Notifications

  • When someone sends you a direct or group message, you get an email and an in-product notification.
  • When someone mentions you, you’re notified with the message and where it was posted.
  • When someone replies in a thread you’ve posted in, you’re notified of the reply.
Each person can turn these on or off for email and in-product separately. Opening the conversation in the app clears its notifications. To change who’s notified or what the messages say, see Configuring notifications.

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Set it up

1

Add the template

Click Add App in the Dashboard sidebar. Find Employee communication app under Start from a template, or scroll down to Browse all apps and pick the Internal filter.
2

Try it as your team

The app lands in your sidebar as a draft. Post in general, start a direct message with a teammate, and reply in a thread.
3

Publish it

Publish the app so your team can use it. Clients never see it. See Launching apps.

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Change it with the app builder

This app is a template, so you can change anything about it by describing what you want.
1

Open the build chat

Open Employee communication app from your Dashboard sidebar, click its name at the top, then click Switch to builder.
2

Describe the change

Write what you want the way you’d ask a teammate. Say who it’s for and where it shows up, such as the sidebar, a channel, or the admin settings.
3

Check the preview

The app builder makes the change and updates the preview. Check it as an admin and as a regular team member.
4

Publish

Click Publish when you’re happy. Until you do, your team keeps seeing the last published version.
Changes people often make to this template:
  • “Show who has read each post in announcements”
  • “Let members create private channels from the New channel form”
  • “Add an @channel mention that notifies everyone in the channel”
  • “Let people schedule a message to send later”
  • “Add a Leadership default channel where only admins can post”
  • “Send a daily email digest of unread mentions”
See Iterating on apps for how to describe changes well and how to go back to an earlier version. To rename the app, or change who can see it and how it notifies people, click its name at the top and choose Rename app or Manage app.

Internal wiki

Keep your team’s guides and resources in one place

Client ticketing system

Track and answer client support requests
View this template on assembly.com