Conversations

In VIA, conversations are recorded text messages between different users. These conversations can be related to the system as a whole, board related or card related. They can be private conversations that only the invited members can see or they can be public and can be seen by any user with the right permissions. Conversations can also be initiated and participated in with VIA mobile. Finally, they can be freform or they can consist of standardized messages called macros. This section will cover everything you need to know to get starting using conversations in VIA.

Where Can I Create a Conversation?

Conversations can by created in the following areas:

Home screen - You can start a conversation using the slideout menu right off the main home screen. These would be general conversations that are not necessarily related to any one board or specific card.
Boards - You can start a board specific conversation that may be related to a specific dispatch board, or carrier board without being related to one card. To create one of these conversations you can use the slideout menu and navigate to the conversaton option.
Cards - If your conversation is related to a card you can create a conversation directly on a order, trip, truck or any other type of card. Simply open the card and click on the slideout menu and select the conversation icon.

How to Start a Conversation

Starting a conversation on the home screen, from a board or card - Click on the slideout menu on the right side of the screen. Click on the conversations icon:

From the conversation menu item click on the + Start Conversation menu item to begin a new conversation
Starting a conversation from a card - Open the card and click on the slideout menu on the right side of the screen. Click on the conversation button as shown above. When you click on the conversation button while a card is open the conversation will be linked to the card.
When you start a conversation you will be asked to give you conversation a name and to select the privacy level of your conversation.

Give your conversation a meaningful name. Especially for board and home screen conversations you may end up with a number of conversations and being able to tell them apart will be helpful. Under the Title field is a note that the conversation by default will be public. Any public conversations on cards or boards will be visible to all users and they will be able to participate in them. This does not apply to home screen conversations where you can only see conversations that you are part of. If you click on change on the start conversation screen and change your conversation to private then only the people that you invite into the conversation will be able to see it.

Adding More People to Your Conversation

What is a conversation without someone to talk to? Let’s add some people to the conversation so that you can share ideas within the conversation. If this is a brand new conversation then VIA will prompt you to add some people to the conversation. If you already have users added to the conversation, the method to add more will be the same. Press the + button on the top left side of the conversation. This will open a search screen. Start typing in the username and press enter to search, the results will appear in a list below the search box. Click on the name you want to add.

Your new conversations will appear along the bottom of your VIA screen. To enlarge the conversation click on the blue box with the conversation name that you want to view. To minimize a conversation, press the - button on the right side of conversation and it will hide the conversation down to the bottom of the screen.

Finding you Conversations

Once you start a conversation it will display at the bottom of the screen. These mini cards for the conversation will stay in this part of the screen while you are in the board. Board and card conversations will both appear here. If you card has any new activity on it the mini conversation will appear with a red exclamation mark. For example, in the screen shot below there are three conversations and one (ETA) has a new message in it

Each conversation at the bottom of the screen also has an X beside it. The conversation will stay at the bottom and minimized until you press the X and close the conversation. You can always find them again by clicking on the sidebar and selecting the conversation icon. Within this menu there is a menu item called my conversations where all your conversations are stored. If you have closed a conversation but there is a notification on it the conversation will show the exclamation mark. For example, the Carrier Selection conversation has an update that has been made to it by someone else in the conversation

The my conversation section of the slideout menu will allow you to search the conversations in your list to find them easier.

Creating and Using Macros

VIA allows you to create and re-use standardized messages in conversations using macros. These macros, once created can be re-used as often as you like and can save time when you have to use standardized instructions or questions. The following section will look at macros, how to create, use and delete them. The screen shot below will outline some of the parts of the macro screen:

Category drop down field - This category provides a way for you to group your macros in a meaningful way. For example, you may want all your driver related macros to be stored together, all your internal macros also stored separately
Macro Listing - This section shows all the macros that you have currently created for the category that you have selected in the first section of the screen.
Consignee fields - These are the fields that you have in the macro
Add and Edit Buttons. You can add a new macro by clicking on the + button or edit the existing macro by pressing on the edit button
Send - If you have selected a macro that you want to use in you conversation you can press the send button and utilize the macro.

Creating Macros

Before you can use a macro you have to first define the macro. This process will show you how to create a new macro. You can find the macro button on any active conversation by pressing the </> button on the top right side of an open conversation screen.

On the macro screen, press the + button on the top right side of the screen to create a new macro. In the first filed (labelled Untitled) enter in the name you want to give you macro. This name will be displayed in the macro list on the left side of the macro screen so make sure it is a meaningful name.

The second field will be the category you would like to group this macro under. If the category you want already exists then you can enter the category name here. If you would like this macro to be in a new category you can enter it here. Finally, enter the text that you want to see in the macro in the final field. When you are done you can click on the save button in the screen and your macro will be saved.

It is possible to insert data fields into your macros assuming you know the field name you want to add. These fields will only be visible on the mobile device. So, if you wanted to send a driver a macro that showed the order number for example you might want to write your macro as follows:

Editing Macros

If you have an existing macro that you want to update you can do that in the macro screen. When you have a conversation open click on the macro button (top right side of the screen) and when the macro screen comes up select your group and macro from the list. When you have selected your macro from the list on the left side of the screen press the edit button that appears above your macro details:

Make any changes you want to the name, category or macro body and press the save button when you are done.

Deleting Macros

If you have a macro that you no longer us you can delete it from your macro list. To delete a macro open the macro screen by clicking on the </> button on the top right side of one of your conversations. Select the group/category and then scroll down to your macro. Highlight the macro that you want to delete and press the delete button at the top of the screen

Using A Macro from the Web portal

When you are logged into VIA you can use a macro on a conversation with a driver using a mobile version of VIA or you can use the macros to create a formatted message for a conversation within VIA desktop. To send a macro, open the conversation that you want to use a macro on and press the macro button on the top right side of the conversation <\>

VIA® Documentation