Managing Groups

Refer to this page to learn the basics on creating a group, assigning ownership privileges to a group, and more.

Creating a Group

If you’re starting a new project or if you’re on-boarding new members to Webphone, you’ll want to create new groups for your teammates.

Browser

To create a group from your browser:

1. Click on the (plus icon) at the bottom left corner of Webphone.
2. Click on the option Create a New Group.

3. Select the privacy of the Group and click next.

4. Add your chosen teammates to your Group. You can also skip this step and add new teammates at a later time.

5. Give your Group a self-explanatory title and a description.

6. Your Group has now been created!

Mobile

To create a group from your mobile device:

1. Select the group icon in the bottom center of your app screen.

2. This will display the Groups tab. Your user groups will be shown at the top under Your Groups, while all other groups that are a part of that Webphone will be shown beneath Other Public Groups.

3. Click on the purple group icon above your avatar image:

4. From here, you'll be guided through a series of prompts to setup the new group. Choose if you'd prefer the group to be private or public, add groups members, and then finalize changes by adding a group name and description.

Leaving a Group

If you decide to leave a group for any reason, leaving a group will not delete the group from Webphone, but it will simply stop communications and notifications from being received by that user.

Webphone members have the option to rejoin a public group after leaving, but are unable to rejoin a private group unless re-invited by a group member.

Browser

To leave a group from your browser:

1. Select the group name to open the group conversation.

2. Click on the three-dot menu icon () in the top right corner.
3. From the sub-menu, select Leave the Group.

4. This will prompt a dialogue confirming the action to leave. You may proceed with leaving or select Cancel to exit.

Mobile

To leave a group from a mobile device:

1. Within the group conversation, select the information icon in the top right corner of the screen. This will open a details page containing information about group members and group topics, as well as the option to Invite New Teammates or Leave the Group.

2. Select Leave the Group to proceed:

3. A dialogue window will display confirming the action to leave, or to Cancel and exit the screen.

Group Owner Privileges

Webphone users become owners once they initially create a group. The owner can also assign ownership to another group member or administrator, so long as they are apart of that group.

Assigning an Owner

To assign ownership, proceed with the following steps:

1. As an owner, hover your mouse over the user that you wish to assign ownership credentials. A menu will display for More Options. Select Set as Group Owner, which will then prompt a confirmation dialogue.

2. The confirmation dialogue contains two options. Select from either:

• Set Owner: This option immediately gives owner permission to the selected member.

• Cancel: This option closes the dialogue and does not save the user as an owner. The dialogue is also dismissed by clicking outside of the window.

When a member is granted ownership permission, they will receive a notification as a Missed Activity. This stays visible until the user dismisses it or marks it as read. They will also receive a notification via screen message that, if selected, will direct them to their newly-owned group. If the notification is not selected, the browser will automatically dismiss it.

Leaving a Group as an Owner

Group owners can only leave a group when two owners exist within that group. If they are the sole owner, they must assign ownership to another member upon exiting. To assign a new owner, select Leave the Group. This will prompt a dialogue with the following choices:

• Set Owner: This option will close the dialogue and open a separate group details page with the members section expanded. From here, the exiting member can select the new group owner.

• Cancel: This will cancel the action and close the dialogue.

Note: All members of the group can view the owner of that group, as well as admin (if applicable). The corresponding title will appear under their name in the group.

Deactivating Group Owners

When a sole group owner becomes deactivated (such as when leaving an organization), Webphone automatically assigns ownership to the first added member of the group. If more than one owner is assigned to that group at the time of deactivation, all other ownership statuses remain the same.

All groups can have unlimited owners, except for groups entitled 'Everyone', which are comprised of all members within that Webphone. In this scenario, administrators are designated owners of the group and cannot assign other owners.

Removing Users from a Group

Group owners and admin (when part of the group) are both eligible to remove members from a group. A few reasons members might be removed, for example, include a teammate joining another group or an employee resigning from a company.

Group Members

To remove members from a Group, proceed with the following steps:

1. Hover over the profile icon of the member you wish to remove. A dialogue will then appear for More Options. This menu is only visible to owners or administrators.

2. Click on the More Options menu, which will then display a choice to 'Remove from the Group.' A secondary menu then opens prompting the user to select from the following:

• Remove: This action immediately removes the member from the group.

• Cancel: This option closes the menu and dismisses the action to remove a group member.

3. The user that deleted the member will receive a message indicating that the member has been successfully removed. The removed member will also no longer appear from the list of members within the Group's details page.

Removed members receive the following messages once removed:

• Missed Activity: This is visible until it is either dismissed or Marked as Read.

• Browser Notification: The user is notified as to who removed them.

Admin and Other Owners

Removal for authority users is a two-way street. Group owners can remove other owners as well as admin, while admin can remove group owners. Once removed, an owner loses their status; if invited to the same group again, their ownership status is not revoked. The steps to remove admin and owners can be followed as above in the Removing Group Members section.

Administrators that are removed from a group do not lose their admin privileges.

Deleting a Group

Both owners and admin have the permissions to permanently delete a group. To proceed with deleting a group:

1. Hover the mouse over the group name. The More Options icon will appear. Under this, select Group Settings. Once selected, a series of options will display, including:

• Edit Group Details

• Archive Group

• Delete Group

2. Select Delete Group. This will prompt a confirmation dialogue with the option to proceed or to Cancel the action.

3. A confirmation checkbox will appear (not checked by default). Check the box, which will then enable the button to be selected for Delete Group. Select the button, and the group will then be deleted.

4. Once the user has deleted the group, they will be brought back to the Everyone group space.

Note: Deleting a group removes all topics and missed activities from the group. It will also no longer appear on the groups list for that particular Webphone.

Archiving a Group

All groups members are able to archive a group. When a group is archived, it can be searched for at a later time to retrieve group details, topics, and more. For example, a user may desire to archive a group for a work project that has just finished; though the task is complete, it's important to save that information to refer back to, if needed.

To archive a group:

1. Hover the mouse over the group name. The More Options icon will appear. Under this, select Group Settings.

2. From this menu, select the option Archive Group. From here, select either Cancel to exit out of the action, or the Archive Group button to confirm.

3. Archived groups can be located by searching for them in the main search bar. This will open a specific space containing archived groups, only.

Removing a Group from the Archived Space

To remove a group from being archived, the user must search for it first (the word Archived will appear next to all groups in this space). After locating the group, proceed with the following:

1. Select the group of choice. After hovering over the group name, the More Options icon will display.

2. Choose from the following within the More Options menu:

• Unarchive Group: This option will remove the group from being archived. All functionalities (messaging, etc.) will be restored.

• Delete Group: This will delete the group entirely from Webphone. Refer to the Deleting a Group section within this page to review the actions associated with deletion.