Messages

Overview

The Chats application icon

The Chats application handles different kinds of messages and chats, collecting them together in the same user interface.

Locate the icon shown above in the app drawer and press it to launch the application.

First launch

When you start Chats for the first time, you will be shown the Chats page and prompted to add new contacts and accounts.

Choose a contact

Initial view of the Chats application prior to account configuration

Preferences

The Preferences menu allows users to add chat accounts and customize application behavior.

To adjust preferences:

  1. Tap the menu (menu) button at the top-right of the screen.

  2. Tap the Preferences option.

Opening the application menu Application preferences

Configure SMS/MMS

APN and MMSC parameters must be configured to communicate over SMS or MMS protocols. Proxy parameters are not always required, but may be entered for certain use cases.

  1. Within the Preferences menu under the Protocol Settings section, tap the SMS and MMS Settings option.

    Protocol settings in Chats
  2. Enter the APN and MMSC parameters for your cellular network carrier.

    Configuring SMS/MMS settings in Chats

Add an XMPP account

XMPP is a protocol shared by many platforms. An XMPP chat account must be added prior to sending or receiving any messages using the XMPP protocol. To add a new account:

  1. In the Accounts section, tap the Add new account… button.

The Add Account page lets you add accounts on XMPP servers.

Adding an XMPP account

Enter your user ID and password for the XMPP chat service and press the Add button to add the account and return to the Preferences page.

The new XMPP account

The new account should now be shown in the list. By default, the account is active – the switch next to the account details will be blue when it is in the on position.

An animation may be shown to indicate that the server is being contacted.

If you wish to disable the connection to the server for the account, slide the switch left into the off position.

Start a new chat

On the start page, press the add (add) button at the top-left of the screen to start a new chat. If you have already started chats, these will be shown below the search bar.

Starting a new chat

Tap one of the contacts to continue chatting with them.

SMS

To begin an SMS chat session with a new recipient, tap inside the search bar and enter a phone number. An item should appear below the search bar as the number is entered.

Starting a new chat with a phone number

When you have entered the phone number, tap the item to start an SMS chat.

To start an SMS chat with a new contact, press the button at the top-right of the screen to add a new contact. This will open a page that lets you input the name and phone number for your contact. Select SMS as your chat account if it is not the default option.

Adding a new SMS contact Adding a new SMS contact with an XMPP option present

Press Add to Contacts to add the contact – this will open the Contacts application. You can send a message to the new contact from within Contacts or return to Chats to start a conversation from the Start Chat screen.

When a new conversation has started, it will be shown in a layout like the image below, with incoming messages on the left and outgoing ones on the right.

Composing an SMS message

To return to the main Chats page, press the back button at the top-left of the screen.

XMPP

Before starting an XMPP chat you need to add an XMPP account to Chats.

To start an SMS chat with a new contact, press the button at the top-right of the screen to add a new contact. This will open a page that lets you input the ID of your contact. Select your Jabber/XMPP ID as your chat account if it is not the default option.

Adding a new XMPP contact Adding a new XMPP contact with details filled in

When you have entered the Jabber ID and an optional name for your new contact, press Add Contact to add the contact and start composing a new message. If the contact’s ID is already known, the Add Contact button will be disabled.

When your contact sends a message, you will be asked to authorize them – to accept or reject them as a contact. Press either the Reject button or the Accept button to do this.

Authorizing a new XMPP contact

If you accepted the contact, you should be able to continue the chat with them.

Continuing an XMPP chat

Individual conversations can be configured by accessing the Chat Details page via the menu at the top-right of the screen.

Opening the XMPP chat menu Viewing the XMPP chat details

As well as details about the connection, you can enable and disable notifications for newly received messages specifically in this conversation.

You can return to the Chats list by pressing the back button at the top-left of the screen.

Leave a chat

To leave a chat, press the menu (menu) button at the top-right of the screen and choose Leave Chat.

Opening the chat menu

This will close the chat and return you to the Chats page. The chat will have been removed from the list.

You can start a new chat with the same contact to recover the chat history.

Delete a chat

To delete a chat, press the menu (menu) button at the top-right of the screen and choose Delete Chat.

Opening the chat menu

You will be asked to confirm that you want to delete the chat and the conversation history.

Confirming chat deletion

Pressing Delete will close the chat and return you to the Chats page. The chat will have been removed from the list. The contact will also have been deleted from the Start Chat page.

Edit or delete an account

To edit an account, press the label with the account details. This will open the Edit Account page.

Editing an XMPP account

You can press the pencil icon to update the password, if required. This can be useful if you accidentally entered the wrong password when adding the account.

If you want to delete information about the account on the phone, press the Delete Account button. Note that this does not delete the account on the server.