Channels

Channels bring organization and clarity to your work — when you have a channel for everything, you can concentrate on the conversations and tasks that truly matter to you and not get lost in group chats and endless email chains.

While Dialpad group messaging is limited to the number of participants, there is no limit to the number of members in a channel. 

Channel types

Dialpad offers two types of channels:

1. Public Channel- Available for anyone to join
2. Private Channel - Users must be invited to the channel

Easily tell the difference between channel types from the channel icon on the left-hand sidebar. 

If the channel is private, you'll see a lock icon. If the channel is public,  you'll see our standard channel icon.

Public channels may be made private at any time, but private channels may never be made public.

Create a channel

Creating channels is a piece of cake and can be done by anyone.

To create a channel:

1. Head to the All Channels section of the Diapad app
2. Select Create new channel
3. Name your channel
4. Write a channel description (optional)
5. Choose to make your channel private or public
6. Select Create channel
7. Search users by name to add them to the channel

That's it! Your new channel will appear in the channel section of your sidebar and is now searchable in the channel list. 

You can also create a new channel from the left-hand sidebar of the app by selecting 'Create new channel' from the channel options menu (that's the 3 vertical dots).

Add users to a channel

There are three ways to add users to a channel:

1. From the add users dialogue when creating a channel
2. From the add members button in the channel
3. By @mentioning a user who is not yet part of the channel

Find a channel

Easily discover new channels by browsing your company's channel directory. 

To find a channel, head to the All Channels section of the Dialpad App.

1. If you know the name of the channel, enter it in the search bar
2. Hover over a channel name to view, join, delete, or leave the channel

Company admins can see private channels but will be unable to join them.

Voice channels

Voice channels are always-on audio rooms that channel members can enter or leave at any time. When a channel is created, it is automatically assigned a voice channel. 

To join a Voice Channel:

1. Open the channel you wish to engage with
2. Select Start Voice Chat
3. A pop-up on the left sidebar will displays who is in the voice chat

Mute yourself, or click the red X to leave the voice chat. 

Notifications

Notification can be set on a per-channel basis. 

To edit your channel notification preferences:

1. Click the channel name 
2. Click the information icon ℹ️
3. Click the settings menu (that's the gear icon)
4. Select Manage Notifications
5. Choose the desired notification frequency:
   • All Messages - you will receive notifications for all messages (including @mentions) in the channel
   • @mentions only - you will only receive a notification when you are @mentioned in the channel
   • Mute Channel - you will not receive any badge or push notifications for this channel

      6. Select Save Changes 

Frequently asked questions

Can company admins control all #channels?

Company admins can view, edit and add members to public channels. They can view all private channels, but cannot read, post in, edit, or remove private channels.  

Do #channels work the same on the Dialpad mobile app?

No, you can send and receive #channels messages on mobile, but can’t browse, join or create #channels via mobile.

Can I use #channels to talk to people outside the company?

No, #channels are internal only.

Can I transfer channel ownership?

You can't currently transfer channel ownership to another person, but stay tuned, we're working on it.