Groups Section

Overview

Standard Groups_, simply referred to as "groups", are to be differentiated from workflow (task) groups and link groups. As the other group types, standard groups can be accessed through the Main Menu Bar or in the Group Panel as sub-groups of other groups. Standard groups are mainly used for communication purposes. Users can be added as participants in the group, allowing them to use the group panel's actions button, access sub-groups, open link groups, access the group's channels, and other resources that can be added to a group and its channels.

Through Channel Workspaces within Standard Groups, users associated to a channel can send messages, share files, answer surveys, and view other users participating in the channel.

Accessing Groups Section

To access the Groups section:

1. Press the Administrator in the Main Menu Bar.
2. Select Groups in the Administrative Panel.
3. The Groups section opens up.

Groups Section Layout

The Groups section consists of a table displaying all the standard groups that exist within the company.

Actions:

• 1. Create group: Press the + icon to open a group settings panel to create a new group.
• 2. More actions: Shows option for displaying disabled groups.

Settings and Options:

• A. Icon: Displays the icon that represents the group in the Main Menu Bar or Group Panel.
• B. Name: Indicates the group's display name.
• C. Channel creation: Indicates if channels can be created in the group.
• D. Last modified: Indicates the last time the group was edited.
• E. Channels | Edit: The respective icons permit either viewing all the channels within the group or editing the group.

Create a Group

From the Groups Section, press the + icon to create a new group. The group settings panel opens up to configure and save the new group.

Edit a Group

From the Groups Section, press the corresponding pen icon to edit a group. The group settings panel opens up to configure and save the new group.

Group Settings Panel Layout

The following settings panel opens up when creating or editing a group.

Actions:

• 1. Deactivate: Disables (or enables) the group's availability.
• 2. Save: Saves current changes made to the group.

Settings:

• A. General information: Basic group settings.
• B. Icon: Configures the group icon shown on the Main Menu Bar or Group Panel.
• C. Help: Sets up onboarding.
• D. Layout: Configures how channels are displayed in the group.
• E. Channel creation: Allows users to create new channels within the group.
• F. Secondary actions: Configures the actions button in the group panel.

A. General information

Basic group settings.

Name:

The group's display name.

It doesn't have to be unique and can contain any characters.

Code:

Group identification name. Must be unique. Only lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores are accepted. The first character must be a letter.

The code cannot be edited once it is saved.

Weight:

A relative number that positions the group on the Main Menu Bar or Group Panel. Smaller numbers accommodate the group near the top, larger numbers towards the end.

If you don't type a number, the system will assign one.

Parent group:

The group can be positioned within another group as a child. The parent group must already exist.

View an example of a parent–child groups.

B. Icon

Configures the group icon shown on the Main Menu Bar or Group Panel.

Select icon:

Choose personalized or pre-designed icon from the menu.

Personalized icons are configured in the "Path" field.

Color:

Choose from the menu the icon's color.

Path:

Must be filled with Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) code.

The path is completed automatically when a pre-designed icon is chosen. For personalized icons, SVG code must be inserted manually.

C. Help

Sets up onboarding when users log in to the app or website.

Activate help for this group:

This function is for mobile apps only.

Currently unavailable.

Display in onboarding:

Will display onboarding instructions when users log into the app or website.

Instructions:

Text that will be displayed.

Instructions will be displayed below the animation.

Frequently asked questions' URL

This function is for mobile apps.

Currently unavailable.

Animation:

Animated image shown in group onboarding. JSON animation format only.

We recommend using Lottie File.

D. Layout

Configures how channels are displayed in the group.

Additional sorting:

Permits you to configure the order in which channels are displayed.

The default option is to sort channels by name, and then by the last message sent.

Collection:

Channels will be sorted by the elements (properties) contained within the selected collection (property type).

If the channels are not related to the selected property type, they will not be sorted.

Order elements by:

Elements will be sorted by the selected option.

Available options are: Created At, Weight, Modified At, and Name

Order channels by:

Channels will be sorted by the selected option.

Available options are: Created At, Last Message, Modified, At and Name

E. Channel creation

Allows users to create new channels within the group. The new channels are created using the actions button on the group panel.

Allow channel creation:

Allows users to create new channels within the group.

Permissions:

Indicates the permissions a user must have in order to create a new channel.

Users require at least one of the selected permissions.

F. Secondary actions

Configures the actions button in the group panel. See below to learn more about actions button setup.

+ Add New Action:

Adds a component in the section for configuring a new "action".

Step-by-step configuration

Name:

Name given to the action. The name will appear as an option in the Actions Menu.

You can use any characters.

Url:

Indicates de URL that will be accessed. URLs can point to external or internal pages. They can also point to sections within the app, surveys, and tasks by indicating their URL.

You can obtain the URLs for surveys, tasks, and other app objects by going directly to them and copying the address directly from your navigator's URL bar.

Use authentication:

Sends the user's authentication token to external sites.

This is needed for external sites that require Cotalker authentication. For security reasons, use only on trusted sites.

Open link in a new tab:

If activated, the URL will be opened in a new tab in your browser. Otherwise, it will open inside the Cotalker app window.

Select icon:

You can choose between personalized or pre-designed icons.

The color cannot be changed.

Path:

Must be filled with Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) code.

If the icon was selected from the list of pre-designed icons, the path will be completed automatically. If a personalized SVG is desired, its code must be inserted manually.

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About the Actions Button

Overview

In standard groups, through the actions button –a green floating button that appears at the bottom of the group panel– users can create new channels and choose from a list of links to external or internal URLs.

The actions button and its corresponding actions menu will look something like the image below:

"Actions" in the actions button menu are usually used as links to important tools or information, either within the Cotalker platform or on the web.

Only in standard groups can users create new channels.

Create Channels

To allow users to create new channels through the actions button, do the following:

1. Go to the Channel Creation section.
2. Turn on the Allow channel creation option.
3. Save when done configuring the group.

Create URL links

To add links to the actions button menu, do the following:

1. Go to the secondary actions section.
2. Press the + Add New Action button to open up more settings:_
3. A field component representing the new action appears. Press on the component to open up the settings panel.
4. Configure the action's settings.
5. If more actions need to be added, press the + Add New Action button again and complete the configuration
6. Save when done configuring the group.

note

• Go to the secondary fields section for more information on settings.
• The action components can be dragged and dropped to sort them in the order you wish them to appear on the actions button menu.

Access the Channels Panel

To access the channels within a group:

1. Go to the Groups section.
2. Select the list icon of the group containing the channels you wish to view.
3. The Channels Panel will open up displaying a table with all the channels within the group.

Channels Panel Layout

The Channels Panel is a table that displays all existing channels within a group.

Actions:

• 1. Create channel: Opens the channel settings panel to create a new channel.
• 2. Search: Search for channels within the group.
• 3. More options: Allows viewing disabled channels.

Settings and Options:

• A. Icon: Displays the avatar that represents the channel.
• B. Name: The channel's display name.
• C. Code: The channel's unique identification code.
• D. Number of participants: Amount of users associated to the channel.
• E. Edit: Opens the channel settings panel to edit the corresponding channel.

Create Channel within a Group

From within the Channels Panel, you can create a new channel by pressing the + icon. This will open up the Channel Settings Panel, where you can configure and save a new channel.

Edit a Channel within a Group

From within the Channels Panel, you can edit an existing channel by pressing the pen icon. This will open up the Channel Settings Panel, where you can configure and save a new channel.

Channel Settings Panel Layout

Whether creating or editing a channel, the following settings panel will appear.

Actions:

• 1. Save: Saves current channel configuration.

Settings:

• A. General information: Basic channel setup information.
• B. Participants: Sets the users that can participate in the channel.
• C. Elements: Indicates elements associated with the channel.
• D. Options: Configures special channel options.

A. General information

Basic channel setup information.

Name:

Indicates the channel's displayed name.

Code:

The channel's unique identification name.

Only lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores are accepted. The code must start with a letter. Once you create and save the collection, you cannot change the code.

Group:

Indicates the group the channel belongs to.

Users will be able to access the channel through the [group's panel](/docs/documentation/client/groups).

B. Participants

Sets the users that can participate in the channel.

Users:

Indicates the users that have access to the channel.

Bots:

Indicates bots that have permission to run in the channel. Only needed if the bot does not have global access.

See this tutorial on how to make a bot that works within the channel.

C. Elements

Lets you add an element to your channel. Useful when setting up a routine or survey associated with a particular _element. For example, if you add elements associated with a survey to the channel, the survey will be available through the actions button found in the channel's workspace._

+ Add Element:

Opens up a settings panel that permits you to select the elements and their corresponding collections.

Collection:

Indicates which collections (property types) are associated with the channel. Used for classifying channels or making surveys available, among others.

Elements:

Indicates the collection's elements (properties) which have been chosen for the channel. Used for classifying channels or making surveys available, among others.

D. Options

Configures special channel options.

Permissions for sending messages:

Indicates if users can write messages in the channel.

Options are `all` or `none`.

First element overrides channel name:

Indicates if the display name is overridden by the channel's first elements

If off, the manually added display name is used; otherwise, the display name is overridden.

Activate video call on this channel:

Enables users to start video calls within the channel.

A small video icon will appear in the upper-right corner of the channel workspace if active.