Visual Space manual, Chat, Compose Reply And Reference
Use this walkthrough when one message needs to answer an earlier point, reach a specific participant, and keep a durable link to the work being discussed. You will prepare the message in the right topic, send it without losing its context, verify the result, and correct it in place if needed. The workflow applies to both [Activity Chat](../activity-chat.md) and [Direct Messages](../direct-messages.md). Their audiences differ, but their reply, mention, goal-reference, formatting, and editing tool
Use this walkthrough when one message needs to answer an earlier point, reach a specific participant, and keep a durable link to the work being discussed. You will prepare the message in the right topic, send it without losing its context, verify the result, and correct it in place if needed.
The workflow applies to both Activity Chat and Direct Messages. Their audiences differ, but their reply, mention, goal-reference, formatting, and editing tools work in the same composer.
Before You Begin
•
Open a ready topic - In Activity Chat, open an activity with an active published topic. In Direct Messages, select the intended one-to-one or group conversation and its active conversation topic. The composer is ready when you see Type a message.
•
Check the audience - Make sure the people who should read the message can access the current activity or are participants in the selected Direct Message. A mention attracts a participant's attention; it does not grant access to the conversation.
•
Check the reference - Confirm that the goal is available to you and, when practical, to the message's audience. Sharing a goal reference does not grant access to the goal.
•
Choose the parent message - Find the statement or question you are answering. Replies remain in the current topic and chronological feed, so choose a parent that gives readers the most useful context.
Start With The Reply Context
•
Choose Reply - Open the parent message's quick actions or message menu and select Reply.
•
Confirm the parent - Look for the reply indicator above Type a message. It identifies the author you are replying to. If you selected the wrong parent, cancel the reply and choose Reply on the correct message.
•
Keep the response understandable - Begin with the answer or update a reader needs. The posted message will show a compact preview of the parent, but that preview is intentionally short.
Replies stay in the same feed. They do not create a separate thread or move the response away from the selected topic.
Mention A Participant
•
Open participant suggestions - In Type a message, type @ followed by part of the participant's handle. Activity Chat searches people in the current shared chat context. A Direct Message searches participants in the selected conversation.
•
Move through matches - Use the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys to highlight the intended participant.
•
Insert the mention - Press Tab to accept the highlighted participant. Press Escape instead if you want to close the suggestions without inserting anyone.
•
Check the selection - Confirm that the readable @handle appears in the draft. Selecting a suggestion ties the mention to that participant, so it remains reliable if their visible profile details later change. Merely typing a name as ordinary text does not provide the same stable connection.
Replying to someone and mentioning them express different context: the reply identifies whose message you answered, while the mention identifies who needs attention. If both point to the same person in one message, Visual Space avoids sending two pings for that single message.
The unsent draft keeps its parent reply visible while the mention picker identifies UX Explorer by name and handle.
Insert The Goal Reference
Choose the route that matches what you already know about the goal:
•
Choose a space first - Type /goal to begin with your joined spaces, including spaces without a short goal key, and then choose a goal.
•
Narrow by space key - Type a keyed shortcut such as /VS- to browse or search goals in matching joined spaces.
•
Resolve a known goal - Type an exact shortcut such as /VS-42 when you know the current uppercase space key and goal number.
Once the picker opens, use the same compact keyboard flow at each stage:
•
Move through results - Use the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys to change the highlighted space or goal.
•
Accept the highlight - Press Enter or Tab. Choosing a space advances to its goals; choosing a goal replaces the slash command with its readable reference.
•
Leave without selecting - Press Escape to close the picker and keep working on the draft.
•
Verify the insertion - Make sure /VS-42 or the other command has changed into a displayed goal reference before sending. Unselected slash text remains ordinary text and does not become a durable, openable reference.
Check the space, goal label, and title before inserting the reference.
If several joined spaces use the same key, Visual Space asks you to choose the owning space before it resolves the goal. The fuller Share a Goal in Chat walkthrough covers duplicate keys, keyless spaces, and exact-number searches in detail.
Link An Activity When Needed
This option is for Activity Chat. Use it when you want to direct readers to another part of the same space.
•
Type the name - Enter # followed by part of the activity name.
•
Choose the destination - Check the activity and subspace in the suggestions. Select it, or use arrow keys followed by Enter or Tab.
•
Keep the link intact - The inserted #Activity name is an openable reference. If you edit its label, choose the destination again; changing the wording removes the link.
Add Lightweight Formatting
Formatting is optional. Use it only when it makes the update easier to scan.
•
Emphasize the decision - Wrap a short phrase in ** markers to make it bold, or use * markers for italics.
•
Separate parallel points - Use a short Markdown list when the message contains several outcomes or requests.
•
Protect a literal value - Put backticks around an exact command, identifier, or value that readers should recognize precisely.
Keep the parent reply, selected mention, and goal reference intact while editing the surrounding text. A compact message usually needs only one or two formatting choices.
Send And Verify The Result
•
Review the context - Check the current topic, reply indicator, selected @handle, and inserted goal reference. This is the last chance to catch a message prepared for the wrong activity or Direct Message.
•
Send the message - When no suggestion or goal picker is open, press Enter. On a mobile layout, use the send action beside the composer.
•
Confirm the reply - Find your message at the current position in the same feed. A compact parent preview should appear above it; no separate thread should open.
•
Confirm the mention - Check that the selected participant appears as a styled mention rather than unresolved typed text.
•
Confirm the goal - Select the posted goal reference and verify that it opens the intended accessible goal. Another reader without access may see the safe, non-clickable label Goal unavailable instead.
•
Confirm the presentation - Make sure any lightweight formatting is readable and the message belongs under the intended topic divider.
In Activity Chat, everyone with access to that activity context can follow the message. In a Direct Message, the audience remains the selected conversation's participants. The goal can belong to another joined space, but each reader still needs access to open it.
If the row shows Message not sent, choose Retry after checking the error or connection. The reply, references, and attachments remain with that row. You do not need to recompose the message.
Correct The Message If Needed
•
Open Edit - Open your posted message's menu and choose Edit. The current content returns to the composer under the Editing Message indicator.
•
Make the correction - Change the wording, mention, reference, or formatting. Press Enter with the pickers closed, or use the mobile save action, to keep the revised message in its original feed position.
•
Verify the revision - Confirm that the corrected content appears and that the message now shows (edited).
•
Cancel an edit - Press Escape or use the cancel control in the editing indicator to leave edit mode without saving. If mention suggestions are open during an edit, Escape closes the suggestions and also leaves edit mode.
•
Use the Arrow Up shortcut - When Type a message is empty, has no staged files, and is not already replying or editing, press the Up Arrow key to load your latest editable message. This shortcut works in both Activity Chat and Direct Messages when sending is available.
Editing returns the current message to the composer with a clear cancel control; this planned state leaves the seeded message unchanged.
Solve Common Problems
•
Participant suggestions do not appear - Confirm that the cursor follows @, then check the audience. Activity Chat searches its current chat participants; Direct Messages search only participants in the selected conversation. Use Escape to close a stale picker and try again.
•
The posted reference says Goal unavailable - The goal may be deleted, unresolved, or inaccessible to the current reader. The shared label intentionally does not reveal its former title or location. Check access, then use /goal to find an available goal rather than sending unresolved slash text.
•
Type a message is absent or disabled - In Activity Chat, select an activity with an active published topic. In Direct Messages, select a conversation with an active conversation topic. Also confirm that you are signed in and still have access to the conversation.
•
Editing will not start from the keyboard - Empty the composer, leave reply or edit mode, and remove any staged files before using the Up Arrow shortcut. You can always open the message menu and choose Edit instead.
•
You need to abandon an edit - Press Escape or use the cancel control beside Editing Message. The posted message remains unchanged.
•
The draft will not send - A chat message can contain up to 3000 characters. Shorten an oversized draft, then try again after any open mention or goal picker has been resolved or closed.
Meet fellow creators and transform bright ideas into real projects β¦β¦β¦ or just geek out for the fun of it π
Visual Space is built for projects like thisβwhere creators collaborate, organize goals, and grow communities around real work.
Manage Your Cookie Preferences
We use essential cookies to keep Visual Space working. Optional analytics help us understand usage, improve the app, and measure ad campaigns including registrations and return visits.
Essential storage β always active
Keeps you signed in and remembers your preferences. This stays active with either choice below.
Analytics β optional
Only if you allow it, we count page views, daily visitors and recent activity using a random daily device identifier and broad page, source, device and country categories. General audience totals are not linked to your account. Accepting also enables ad campaign measurement for 30 days using a separate random identifier to measure exploration, account creation and returning days. Campaign attribution can be linked to your newly created account. We do not send page addresses.
Analytics totals are kept for 13 months; general audience identifiers expire within 48 hours. Campaign attribution lasts 30 days. Reopen Cookie preferences at any time to change your choice or turn analytics off.
