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Replies and mentions

Two ways to point at something specific: reply to a message so your answer quotes it, or mention a person with @ so they are notified and can find the message later.

Reply to a message

PlatformHow to start a reply
WebDouble-click the message, or open its menu and choose Reply
iOS and AndroidSwipe the message to the right, or long-press it and choose Reply

Once you are replying, a bar appears above the composer:

  • It is headed Replying to message, with up to two lines of the message you picked.
  • If the message you picked had no text, it reads Replying to an attachment.
  • The composer prompt changes to Replying to a message....
  • The close control on the right cancels the reply and leaves your draft intact.

Send as normal. Your message is posted with the original quoted inside it.

Reading a reply

A reply carries a quoted block at the top of its bubble. The block is labelled according to who is replying to whom:

LabelWhen it is used
Replying to myselfYou replied to your own message
Replying to meSomebody replied to your message
Replying to and the sender's first nameAny other reply

Select the quoted block to jump to the original message. The conversation scrolls to it and highlights it briefly, so you can pick up the thread and then scroll back.

Mention someone

Type @ in the composer and a suggestion list opens above it. Keep typing to narrow it down, then choose a person — the composer replaces what you typed with their username and adds a space, so you can carry straight on.

Each suggestion shows the person's name with their username underneath. You are never in your own suggestion list.

Platform

On the web you can move through the list with the arrow keys and confirm with Enter; hovering a row selects it too. On iOS and Android, tap the person you want.

Mention everybody

In a group, the list also offers @all, described as "notifies all participants". Choosing it mentions everyone in that group at once. @all is not offered in a one-to-one conversation.

What counts as a mention

Only names you pick from the suggestion list — and @all in a group — are turned into real mentions. An @ followed by something that matches nobody in the conversation is left as ordinary text, so a typo is never silently sent as a mention of somebody else.

In the conversation, a mention is shown as a link. Select it to open that person's profile card.

Find messages that mention you

Everything you have been mentioned in is collected in one place.

PlatformHow to get there
WebOpen the menu in the Conversations header and choose Mentioned messages
iOS and AndroidOpen the same menu and choose Mentioned messages

The screen is titled Mentioned Messages. Each row shows the conversation name, when it happened, who mentioned you — their name followed by mentioned you — and the first lines of the message. Selecting a row opens that conversation at that message.

If nobody has mentioned you yet, the screen reads "No one has mentioned you yet!".

Keyboard shortcuts

ShortcutAction
Ctrl/ + KFocus search
Ctrl/ + NNew conversation
Ctrl/ + Shift + MToggle mentioned messages
Ctrl/ + /Show keyboard shortcuts
EscapeClose overlay
Platform

Keyboard shortcuts are a web feature. On iOS and Android, use the on-screen controls instead.

tip

Ctrl/ + Shift + M is a toggle — the same keys open the mentioned messages list and close it again.