How Parents & Students Use In-App Messaging?

The In-App Messaging feature in the AOne Schools mobile app allows parents and students to communicate easily with teachers and school staff through personal or group chats. 

This guide explains how to use the messaging feature to send messages and stay connected with the school. Use the table of contents below to quickly navigate to the specific topic or action you need:

1. Opening the In-App Messaging
2. Creating a New Personal Message
3. Searching for a Conversation
4. Filtering Messages
5. Mark All as Read on the Conversations
6. Clearing the Chat
7. Understanding Archived User

Opening the In-App Messaging

To access your conversations:

1. Log in to the mobile app
2. Select your role and school 
3. Tap the Message icon in the header
4. You’ll be brought to the Messaging page, where all your conversations are displayed. 

You can simply tap any conversation in the In-App Messaging:

• Inside the Chat Room, messages are grouped by date (Today or a date like Mon, 06 January)
• Each message also shows the time (HH:MM)

Messages are displayed in bubbles:

• Incoming messages → Light blue, left aligned
• Your messages → Darker blue, right aligned 

Creating a New Personal Message

Starting a new conversation is just as simple. You can follow the steps below to create a new conversation.

Steps to Create a Personal Message:

1. Open the Message icon 
2. Tap the “Create Personal Message” icon in the top right corner
3. Choose a user from the list
4. Send you first message 
5. If you exit before sending a message, the draft will be discarded

For your sent messages:

• Single check → Sent to server
• Double check → Delivered to the recipient

Searching for a Conversation

If you are looking for a specific conversation then you can use the Search bar at the top of the Messaging page. The following section provides instructions on how to use this feature.

To search: 

1. Tap the Search bar
2. Type the user or group name 
3. Select from the results

Note: 

• The Search bar works at the conversation level, not on message content. 
• The Search bar also case-insensitive, supports partial matches, and unlimited in character length

Filtering Messages

As your message list grows, filters help you quickly narrow down your conversations. The available filters are listed below, and you can apply a single filter or combine multiple filters.

1. By Status: Read or Unread
2. By Type: Personal Message or Group Message
3. By User Role: Guardian, Teacher, Admin, or Superadmin

When filters are applied:

1. Applied filters move to the first positions
2. Applied filters are highlighted in blue 
3. Filters remain active while you stay inside the Messaging module. 
4. Once you leave the module, they are automatically reset. 

Mark All as Read on the Conversations

If you have many unread messages, you don’t need to open them one by one just to clear the notification badge. You can mark all messages as read in a single step:

1. Go to Messaging page
2. Tap the three dots ( : ) button next to Search bar
3. Select Mark All as Read 
4. Once selected, all unread conversations will immediately change to Read 
5. If there are no unread messages, this option will appear disabled

Clearing the Chat

Refer to the overview below for a better understanding of the chat clearing feature:

• Clear Chat is only available for Group Messages, it will not appear in one-on-one personal chats.
• Any unread messages notification for that group are cleared
• Any files or images you had already downloaded to your device before clearing the chat will still be there on your device. [Only Applicable for In-App Messaging with Premium Feature]

To clear a chat on the Mobile App, follow the steps below:

From the Messaging Page:

1. Tap the Message icon at the top of the screen
2. Find the group conversation you’d like to clear
3. Tap the Action button next to that group conversation
4. Select Clear Chat from the menu
5. A confirmation message will appear asking if you are sure. 
   
6. Click Yes to confirm, or Cancel if you changed your mind

From Inside the Chat Room:

1. Tap the Message icon at the top of the screen
2. Tap on the group conversation you want to clear
3. Tap the Action button at the top of the chat
4. Select Clear Chat from the menu
5. A confirmation message will appear asking if you are sure. 
6. Click Yes to confirm, or Cancel if you changed your mind

Understanding Archived User

Sometimes a user may be archived at the school level. When this happens, the system clearly indicates that the user has been archived while keeping the conversation history intact, ensuring transparency and preserving important communication records.

If the other participant becomes archived:

• The chat is still readable
• An Archived icon appears beside their name
• You cannot send new messages
• The message input field becomes disabled. 
• A banner appears in the chat explaining that the user is archived.