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Hangouts Chat (referred to as “Chat” from here on out) is Google’s messaging-for-work service within its Google Workspace program. As Google Workspace is the backbone of our email, calendar, and shared document system, it’s a natural fit for us to use Chat for all HCO messaging. Chat is easy to use — if you’ve used Slack, you already know how it works, aside from some interface and keyboard shortcut differences — and the following guide should help get you up and running quickly, and answer questions you may have.
Please Note: Best practice is to be logged in to Chat on at least one device during business hours. You can install the Chrome App (essentially a Chrome plugin that launches as its own app) on your Mac or Windows computer; if you are on a shared machine, we encourage you to use the Chrome URL, or install the Chat app on your mobile phone.
updated: 2021–11-30
ACCESSING CHAT
You can access chat via logging in to native apps, or via the Chrome browser
App page: https://get.google.com/chat/
iOS App: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hangouts-chat/id1163852619?ls=1&mt=8
Android App: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.dynamite
Chrome URL: https://chat.google.com/
Log in to the app or web page using your HCO Email / Google Account credentials
INSTALLING THE MAC (OR PC) CHROME APP
Sign in to chat.google.com with your HCO account.
Use one of these methods:
If the app isn't already installed, a pop-up window opens to download the app.
Tip: This pop-up window might appear shortly after you first use Google Chat.
At the top right of Google Chrome, in the URL bar, click Install [Computer Monitor icon with a "Download" arrow) and then “Install”.
At the top right of Google Chrome, click the “3-vertical-dots” icon ⋮ and then “Install Google Chat”.
BASICS
Chat is Google’s version of Slack, so if you’ve used Slack, you’ll understand Chat
Everyone with an HCO email address has a Chat account; in fact it’s the same account
This means everyone will autocomplete as you start typing for recipients — no need to manage an address book
There are 3x ways to talk:
Rooms
Can be named
Users must be added by a member to join a Room
Cannot be deleted, but you can leave and hide them
Direct Messages
Between you and one other person
No one can join or leave, thus is private
Group Messages
Basically a Direct Message between multiple people
No one can join or leave, thus is private to the original group
For more information on the differences between the three, please see this page
Rooms are organized by Department or Project
Room names should conform to: Department name or Project prefix, followed by a colon and then the room description.
There are a few exceptions to this, such as the “HCO Bulletins” room
Users may create Rooms as they see fit
Please be sure to name your Rooms per above
IT assistance is not needed to create Rooms or invite members
Users may add (and remove) other users to Rooms as they see fit
Any member may add a new member to join
You can add a user to a Room by @mentioning them (described below in "Messaging")
You can add a user to a Room by clicking the Room name at the top of the window, and selecting "Add people & bots" from the menu
You can also invite an HCO email group to join a Room
In this case, Users are not automatically added, but can see invites via the "Browse" menu item and chose to join at their lesiure
Any member may remove another member (if, say, someone was invited by accident)
Navigate to the Room name at the top of the window, and select "View members" from the menu
Click on the “3-vertical-dots” icon ⋮ corresponding to a user, and select "Remove from room"
You can “pin” Rooms or Direct Messages to keep them in your sidebar
Pinned Rooms/Direct Messages will sort alphabetically in sidebar
Click on the “3-vertical-dots” icon ⋮ corresponding to the Room or Direct Message, and select "Pin"
The "Browse Spaces" menu option allows you to see a list of Rooms to which you have been invited and not yet joined, or have left and not been removed from
You can leave a Room at any time
As long as another user has not "Removed" you from the room, you may re-join it at any point
You can search across a single Room or Direct Message, or across all Rooms and Direct Messages you are a member of
You can access Chat via the Chrome web browser, or through native Mac, iOS, and Android apps
MESSAGING
Start a new Direct Message, or find/create a new Room, by clicking/tapping on the “+” icon on the upper-left of the app
Start typing the name of a user or Room, or type Group Message or Create Room if you are creating something new
Please note that the Browse Rooms interface will only show you Rooms you are not already a member of
As Rooms should be named with either a 3-character project prefix, or a department name, a search for either term will show you all Rooms from that Project or Department of which you are not yet a member
Room chats are based around the concept of “Conversations” — basically the same thing as an email thread
You can start a new Conversation, or reply to an existing one
Please note that Direct and Group Messages do not use Conversation threads
In a Room, you can use @mentions to trigger notifications to either specific users, or for the entire channel
You can @mention a specific user by typing the “@” symbol followed by their name
Chat will then suggest auto-complete options as you type the name; hit enter when your desired user is selected
Remember that this will also add the User to the Room if they are not already a member
You can type “@all” to send a notification to all members of the current Room
Access the menu for an individual Room by selecting it, navigating to the top of the Room screen, and clicking/tapping the “▼” symbol
You will see menu items to:
View members of the Room
Add people or bots to the Room
Rename the Room
Pin the room, to keep it in your sidebar (or unpin if already pinned)
Mute notifications for the Room
Leave the Room
Accessing this menu on a Direct or Group Message will show you menu items to:
View members
Pin/Unpin
Mute notifications
Currently, there is no way to delete or archive a Room
If you are finished with a Room, you can leave it
If a Room is no longer needed, everyone can leave and “hide” it, so it doesn’t show up in your sidebar
Someday, we expect the ability to archive a Room to be added — we will update here at that time.
Chat has a built-in Emoji picker — type a colon (":") and you can type the name of an emoji and have it auto-fill, or you can click on the emoji icon to the right of the text field and scroll through the list of emoji to find just what you are looking for. 👍
You can format messages in the following ways:
To bold text, add asterisks * before and after the text you want bolded — *Tuesday* will display Tuesday
To italicize text, add underscores _ before and after the text you want italicized — _pizza_ will display pizza
To strike through text, add tildes ~ before and after the text you want struck through — ~incorrect~ will display incorrect
BOTS
Bots are automated services you can add to any Room and interact with via Chat
You cannot add bots to Direct Messages
Bots can be added to a Room like any other user — just start typing the bot’s name in the “Add” interface
Common bots include:
Giphy
Allows you to insert random GIFs into a Conversation
Selects gifs based on keywords you add
To use the Giphy bot, type @Giphy < keywords > and send message
IT has already added Giphy to most Rooms created at launch, but feel free to add it to any Rooms where you want it
Polly
Allows you to create quick polls for Room members to vote on
The Polly syntax is @Polly “Poll title/question” “option 1” “option 2” “option 3” with as many options as you want
Google Drive
Allows you to get a Chat notification whenever anyone shares a Google Document with you
Added per user, not per Room
NOTIFICATIONS
By default, notifications will be sent whenever someone:
@mentions you
Replies to a Conversation you have participated in
Sends a message in a Direct or Group Message you are a member of
Mentions @all in a Room you are a member of
You can view all notifications by clicking on the "bell in a circle" icon in the upper-right of the Chat window; like Facebook, this will display a list of your notifications you can click on to navigate to.
Notifications can be enabled for any and all devices you install the Chat app onto
You can configure what types of notifications you get on each device, in the app’s settings
By default, if you have unread @mentions in Rooms or any Direct Messages older than 12 hours, you will be sent an email notification
VIDEO CHATS
Chat uses Google's new video service, Hangouts Meet
Meet replaces the old Hangouts video chat, and is being rolled out across Google's entire G Suite service
Meet still allows you to join any classic Hangouts calls, so you will not be shut out if a client still uses the old service
Meet requires Chrome on a Mac or PC; it is not compatible with other browsers at this time
Meet has dedicated iOS and Android apps, available via mobile App Stores
You can start a Meet video call through Chat, through the Meet app or web page, or via a scheduled Calendar appointment
Additionally, you can join a Meet video call via a direct URL or meeting code
More info on Meet can be found here:
ETIQUETTE
Do not add users to a Rooms without knowing they belong there
Only authorized Operations, Production, and IT members should post to the “HCO Bulletins” room
Before creating a new Room, please confirm that one does not exist that serves the same (or similar) purpose
Remember that anyone can be added to a Room by an existing member, so post accordingly
Members of a Room will see an inline report in the Room telling you whenever a user or bot is added or removed
If you find yourself added to a Room you shouldn't be, post a message asking to be removed and then leave it (just like in real life)
Remember that Direct Messages and Group Messages are private, and cannot be changed to add or remove users once a Conversation begins
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