This guide shows you how to send and receive text messages during live video calls using the chat feature in Togetherly, including how to open the chat panel, type messages, use emojis, and review chat history.

## Prerequisites

- You must be logged in to your Togetherly account
- The session you are joining must have chat enabled (facilitators can enable this when scheduling the session)

## Steps

### Step 1: Join a video call with chat enabled

Open the session you want to join and click the button to enter the live call. Once you are connected to the video call, the chat feature will be available if the facilitator enabled it when scheduling the session. If chat is not enabled for the session, you will not see any chat options.

### Step 2: Open the chat panel

Once you are in the call, look at the right side of the screen. **Facilitators** will see a sidebar with two tabs at the top: **Attendees** and **Chat**. Click the **Chat** tab to switch to the chat view. **Participants** (non-facilitators) will see the chat panel directly in the sidebar without needing to switch tabs. You can also click the chat icon button in the call controls bar at the bottom of the screen to toggle the sidebar open or closed.

![Open the chat panel](https://help.together.ly/rails/active_storage/blobs/proxy/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6MjI1LCJwdXIiOiJibG9iX2lkIn19--adf71ccf9273a299bf66824b768ab188dd6101c6/step_1.png)

### Step 3: Send a message

At the bottom of the chat panel, you will see a text input field with the placeholder text "Type a message...". Click on the field and type your message, then press **Enter** on your keyboard or click the **Send** button (the arrow icon) to the right of the input field. Your message will appear on the right side of the chat in a dark-coloured bubble. Messages from other participants appear on the left side with a light background and the sender's name displayed above the message. Each message shows the time it was sent.

### Step 4: Add emojis to your messages

To add an emoji to your message, click the **smiley face** button next to the text input field. An emoji picker will appear above the input area where you can browse or search for emojis. Click any emoji to insert it into your message. You can add multiple emojis, and combine them with text. Click the smiley face button again or click elsewhere to close the picker.

![Add emojis to your messages](https://help.together.ly/rails/active_storage/blobs/proxy/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6MjI2LCJwdXIiOiJibG9iX2lkIn19--9c337581628e6d997e6fc27ba382600aa1d4b871/step_3.png)

### Step 5: Review chat history after the call

All messages sent during a call are saved automatically. After the session ends, facilitators can view the full chat conversation in the session's activity timeline. Navigate to the session details page to see the complete record of messages that were exchanged during the call.

## Tips

- Messages have a maximum length of 500 characters, so keep your messages concise
- Chat is only available during video sessions, not telephone-only sessions
- All chat messages are permanently saved and can be reviewed by facilitators after the call ends, so keep your messages appropriate

## Summary

You now know how to use chat during video calls in Togetherly. Use the chat panel to send text messages and emojis to other participants in real time, and review the conversation history after the session ends.