Work Chat brings conversations about tasks, service requests and purchase orders together in one view. You can read messages, reply to them and add attachments in the browser and in the Android and iOS apps. A conversation always relates to an existing task, service request or purchase order: starting a conversation does not create new work or a new order.

Messages are saved as regular comments on the item. The view also includes regular comments previously added to the item. Task inspection comments are separate and are not included in Work Chat. Work Chat is also a separate feature from messages and measurement data recorded for a Spot.

Permissions

Visibility in the conversation list depends on your permission to participate in the item's conversation. In the browser, a task requires permission to comment, edit or manage the task. A service request requires permission to add comments and files or permission to edit. A purchase order requires permission to edit.

On Android and iOS, permission to read a task may also be sufficient to participate in its conversation. You may also be able to access a purchase order's conversation with permission to read or edit a task or service request related to the order. Service request conversations use the same permission criteria as in the browser. As a result, the same account may not see the same conversations on all platforms.

Finding a conversation

  1. In the browser, open the Manage tasks group in the side menu and select Work Chat. In the Android and iOS apps, select the Home tab at the bottom and tap the Work Chat message icon. If the Latest events feed list is expanded, collapse it by tapping its heading row so that the icon becomes visible.
  2. Select the conversation you want from the list. Conversations are sorted by the time of the latest message, newest first. The number of unread messages is shown alongside each conversation.
  3. Narrow down the list if needed. In the browser, use the search fields in the list's column headers and the type, status or priority filters. On mobile, tap the filter icon in the top right corner of the list to open Work chat list settings.
  4. Load older messages using the Load more messages button above the conversation in the browser or the Load earlier messages button on mobile. The button appears when more messages are available.

The browser list also shows the total number of messages, the sender of the latest message and its time. The total includes your own messages and messages you have read, so it differs from the unread count.

The status filter refers to the status of the task, service request or purchase order, not whether the conversation has been read. Purchase orders have no priority in the conversation list: filtering by priority excludes purchase order conversations from the results. If you cannot find a conversation, remove unnecessary filters and check your permissions. An item appears in the list only once it has at least one regular conversation comment.

Starting a new conversation

  1. In the browser, select New Work Chat at the top of the Work Chat page. On mobile, tap the Add button with a plus sign at the bottom of the conversation list. The view is called New chat on Android and New Chat on iOS.
  2. Select the tab for tasks, service requests or purchase orders. The browser tabs are Task, Service Request and Purchase Order. On Android, the service requests tab is called Service requests.
  3. Find and select an existing item. Before writing, check that you have selected the correct work item or order.
  4. Write the first message. Select Start Chat in the browser's new conversation window, Save in the Android comment window or OK in the iOS comment window.

The item selector shows items you have permission to access that do not yet have regular comments of this conversation type. Task inspection comments alone do not prevent you from starting a conversation. If an item already has regular comments, open its conversation from the Work Chat list.

Confirm that the message was saved by opening the conversation from the list and checking the first message.

Sending a message and an attachment

Open a conversation and write a message in the message field at the bottom. Text is required, and its maximum length is 4096 characters. In the browser, you can send the message by pressing Enter. On mobile, use the send button next to the message field.

Add an attachment before sending the message. In the browser, select the file icon next to the message field, whose tooltip is Attach file, and choose a file. On mobile, open the attachment button in the message field: you can choose a file or an image, or use the camera. On Android and iOS, you can select up to three attachments at a time. Also write a message, as an attachment cannot be sent on its own.

Attachments are saved to the conversation's task, service request or purchase order and linked to the message you send. They are not files stored only on your phone or in the conversation view. There are separate instructions for managing a task's other attachments and comments: Adding images, files and comments to a task.

The text message is saved first, and the attachments are uploaded afterwards. Wait for the upload to finish. If the upload fails, the message may still have been saved and some attachments may already be visible. Reopen the conversation and check the message and attachments before resending the entire message to avoid creating a duplicate. Also confirm that the upload succeeded by opening the attachment from the message.

Editing and deleting a message

In the browser, select the pencil icon next to the message to edit it or the trash icon to delete it. On Android, open the message menu by pressing and holding the message bubble or tapping the message's action icon. On iOS, open the menu using the button with three vertical dots on the message. The menu shows the actions your permissions allow.

Edit the message text and send the corrected message. Editing changes the same comment on the item; it does not add a new message. When deleting a message, confirm the deletion if prompted.

On mobile, you can edit and delete only your own messages. In the browser, permission to edit or manage the item may also allow you to manage other users' messages. Your permission to access the conversation must still be valid.

Deleting a message also deletes the files linked specifically to that message from the item. The item's other attachments remain. If you delete the conversation's last regular comment, the item disappears from the conversation list. The task, service request or purchase order itself remains, and you can start a conversation about it again.

Reopen the conversation and confirm that the corrected text is visible or that the deleted message and its attachments are gone. After deleting the last message, also check the conversation list.

Managing unread messages

Opening a conversation and displaying its messages updates its read status. Unread messages are messages written by others whose send time is later than your user account's last read marker. Your own messages are not counted as unread. If a conversation does not yet have a read marker, the count starts from 19 July 2026 at 17:33:12 UTC: older comments may appear in the conversation, but they are not counted as unread in that case.

You can mark all accessible conversations as read at once. In the browser, select Mark all as read at the top of the Work Chat page; the action takes effect immediately. On Android, tap the mark-as-read button to the left of the filter icon in the top right corner of the list. On iOS, tap the checkmark icon in the top right corner of the list. On mobile, confirm your selection.

This action also applies to conversations hidden by searches or filters that you can access on the platform you are using. It changes the read status for your own user account, not for other users. Marking conversations as read does not delete messages, mark work as completed or change the item's status.

Return to the conversation list and check the unread counts. After marking all conversations as read, you can remove the filters and also check conversations that were previously hidden. New messages from others arriving after the read marker may increase the count again.

Messages and notifications

A new comment on a service request triggers the processing of service request comment notifications. A purchase order message may notify notification subscribers for tasks and service requests linked to the order and send an email to the purchase order's creator if their details include a valid email address. Being able to see a conversation does not mean that every message generates a notification for every reader.

For notification options on your phone, see Mobile notification settings. To send a separate message about a service request to an external recipient, use the service request communication feature.