Annex OrbisOffice · Chat
Team chat in channels, not personal group texts.
A #dispatch channel for the office and the drivers, a private one for the owners. Mention a teammate, answer the exact message, pin the gate code, and bring a broker into one channel by email link.
Illustration · fictional names and data
Where it works
The full set on the web. Channels in the apps.
Chat runs in the ANNEX ORBIS web app, on a computer or in a tablet’s browser. The tablet and mobile apps carry its channels. A phone’s browser can’t open the workspace; it opens guest links only.
Web · Tablet · Mobile
- WebIn testingEverything on this page, on a computer or in a tablet’s browser: channels, replies, pins, guests, direct messages and meetings.
- TabletIn testingThe tablet app does channels: read, post, react and create. For direct messages and files, open the web app in the tablet’s browser.
- MobileIn testingThe same channels on a phone, in the app. A phone’s browser opens guest links, not the workspace.
The apps are test builds on company devices, not in any app store. No surface sends chat notifications yet.
Channels
A channel for each part of the work.
Dispatch, the yard, billing, safety. Each gets a channel the right people can read. The conversation stays with the company when someone leaves.
- Organization channelsAnyone in the company with Chat access can read and join.
- Private channelsOnly invited members can see them. Owners need an invitation too.
- Managers and team membersManagers add and remove people. Someone removed loses access at once; their messages stay.
- Read without postingA person can be given read access without the right to post.
Illustration · fictional names and data
Mentions, replies, reactions, pins
Answer the exact message.
Every message has its own actions. Use them, and the channel stays readable for the next person who opens it.
- MentionThe Mention button puts the author’s @name in your message. Their mention count goes up beside the channel.
- ReplyReply to one message. The reply posts in the channel with a Reply tag, so everyone sees the answer. There are no side threads.
- ReactA ✅ answers “loaded?” without another message.
- PinA channel manager pins the gate code. The pin mark shows on it for everyone in the channel.
No edit or delete. An author can withdraw a message with a reason, and the original stays in its history.
Illustration · fictional names and data
Guests
Bring a broker or receiver into one channel.
A channel manager invites a person outside the company by email. They read and reply in that one channel, and never become a member of your company.
- They sign in with the address you invited, and see only that channel.
- You choose the history: messages from when they accept, or the whole channel history.
- Access ends when the link expires, after 1, 7 or 30 days. Revoke it any time.
- The guest page opens in a web browser, on a phone too.
Illustration · fictional names and data
Tablet and mobile apps
Channels go with you.
The ANNEX ORBIS tablet and mobile apps carry Chat’s channels: read, post, react and start a new channel. The rest stays on the web.
Illustration · fictional names and data
In the apps
- Read a channel and load earlier messages
- Post text and react with a long press
- Create a channel (channel managers), join an Organization channel
- Unread and mention counts on each channel
- A send on a weak signal keeps your text; retry, and it posts once
On the web only
- Direct messages
- Attachments
- Replies, mentions and pins
- Guests and channel members
- Meetings from Chat
No notifications yet: open the app to see what’s new. The apps are test builds on company devices, not in any app store.
Direct messages · web
Direct messages, encrypted in your browser.
One-to-one and small-group messages on the web. Your browser encrypts each one before it’s sent, with a key protected by a passphrase you set.
- Keep the recovery keyANNEX ORBIS can’t recover a lost passphrase. Save the recovery key file and keep it with your passphrase.
- Check safety codesCompare safety codes to confirm you’re writing to the right person.
- On the web onlyThe apps point you to the web for them. New direct messages don’t appear live yet.
Illustration · fictional names and data
Meetings from Chat
When typing takes too long, start a meeting.
The video button in Chat starts a meeting now or schedules one, with the teammates you pick. The meeting opens in the web app.
- Start now, or schedule a date and time.
- Invite people from your company. Meetings don’t take outside guests yet.
- Starting a meeting from Chat is on the web.
Illustration · fictional names and data
Status, plainly
What works today, and what doesn’t.
Available is live in production. In testing is built and running, not yet proven with real customers. Coming is planned or partly built.
Channels and messages
- Organization and private channels, with managers and team membersIn testing
- Mentions, replies to a message, reactions and pinsIn testing
- Unread and mention counts on every channelIn testing
- Withdraw a message with a reason; the history staysIn testing
Beyond the channel
- Guests by email link: one channel, chosen history, expiry and revokeIn testing
- Direct messages encrypted in the browser, on the webIn testing
- Start or schedule a meeting from ChatIn testing
- One attachment per message on the web; larger files may not go through yetIn testing
Where it runs
- Web app: everything on this pageIn testing
- Tablet app: channels to read, post, react and createIn testing
- Mobile app: the same channels on a phoneIn testing
- Guest page in a web browser, phones includedIn testing
Access and storage
- Messages and files stored encryptedIn testing
- Each company’s chat kept apart from every other company’sIn testing
- Read access without posting rights, person by personIn testing
Not offered
- Threads (replies show in the channel)
- Searching channel messages
- Notifications on any device
- Typing indicators
- Read receipts
- Editing or deleting a message
- Direct messages and files in the apps
- Chat in a phone’s browser (guest links aside)
FAQ
Questions teams ask about Chat
Can drivers use Chat on their phones?
Through the ANNEX ORBIS mobile app, which is in testing: a test build on company devices, not in any app store. It does channels there: read, post, react and create. A phone’s browser can’t open the workspace; it opens guest links only.
Does it have threads?
No. You can reply to a specific message, and the reply shows in the channel with a Reply tag. There’s no separate thread pane and no reply count.
Will my phone buzz when someone mentions me?
No. No surface sends chat notifications today: no push, browser or email alerts. Unread and mention counts show beside each channel when you open Chat.
Can we bring in a broker without opening up everything?
Yes. Invite them by email to one channel. They sign in with that address, see only that channel and never become a member of your company. You choose whether they see earlier messages, the link expires after 1, 7 or 30 days, and you can revoke it at any time.
Can I send a rate confirmation or a BOL photo?
On the web, one file per message, stored encrypted. Attachments are in testing, and larger files may not go through yet. The apps show that a message has an attachment and send you to the web to open it.
Can I search old messages?
No, not channel messages. The search box in Chat finds channels and people by name. Encrypted direct messages can be searched in your browser on the web.
Keep exploring
The rest of the office suite
- PhoneYour business line in the browser: place and answer calls, with a call log for the office.
- EmailCompany mailboxes and shared inboxes like dispatch@, with per-person access.
- TextsTexts from the company number, with consent and quiet hours checked before every send.
- MeetingsMeetings in the browser on a computer or tablet, with the host admitting each person.
- FilesOne shared drive for rate cons, permits and contracts, with folders and sharing roles.
- VaultSealed folders for named key holders, and how each company’s data is kept apart.
- E-signatureSend it, sign it and keep a tamper-evident record, with signing order, reminders and Verified ID.
- AccountingA bank feed, a review queue, the ledger and core reports on the same sign-in.
- CRMOne record per customer, with the customer’s email filed onto it.
- WorkOne queue for everything that needs a person, with an owner on each card.
- PeopleHiring, credentials, time clock and leave for the whole team.
Move dispatch out of group texts.
Tell us how your office and drivers talk today. We’ll walk you through Chat with channels like yours.
Talk to us