Archive, restore and delete chats

Tidy up your sidebar, find older conversations, and remove chats your team no longer needs.

The Chats page listing recent conversations from several projects, grouped by date, with Recent and Archived tabs, a title search and a project filter. — Select Chats in the sidebar to see every conversation you can access, newest first. Example workspace · Select image to enlarge.

Find older chats

Select Chats in the sidebar to see every conversation in the projects you can access, newest first and grouped by date. Type in the search box to filter by title, or choose a project to see only its chats. To search inside messages and answers, use workspace search.

The sidebar shows each project’s most recent chats. Archived chats are not in the sidebar; find them on the Archived tab of the Chats page.

Archive a chat

Archive a chat when the work is done but you may need it later. Point at the chat in the sidebar, select ⋯, then select Archive or press A. You can also right-click the chat, or press ⌘⇧E (Ctrl+Shift+E on Windows) while the chat is open.

The chat leaves the sidebar and the Recent list right away, and a notice offers Undo. Archiving applies to everyone in the project, because chats belong to the project. An archived chat stays readable and searchable, and search results mark it Archived. Nobody can send new messages in it until it is restored. A run that was already in progress still finishes.

A chat's options menu in the sidebar with Archive highlighted and its key, A, next to it. — Point at a chat in the sidebar and select ⋯, or right-click the chat. Then select Archive or press A. Example workspace · Select image to enlarge.

An archived conversation where the message box is replaced by a notice saying who archived it, with Delete and Restore chat buttons. — An archived chat stays readable. Restore it to send new messages. Example workspace · Select image to enlarge.

Restore an archived chat

Open Chats, select the Archived tab, select ⋯ on the chat, then select Restore or press A. Or open the chat and select Restore chat below the conversation. Restoring puts the chat back in its place in the sidebar, and everyone can continue the conversation. Chats from a deleted project can’t be restored.

The Archived tab listing three archived chats with who archived each one and when, and the first chat's options menu open with Restore highlighted. — The Archived tab shows who archived each chat and when. Select ⋯ to restore or delete one. Example workspace · Select image to enlarge.

Delete a chat

Deleting removes a chat for everyone in the project, together with its messages, comments, bookmarks and files. Shared links to the chat stop working. You can’t undo this. If you only want the chat out of the way, archive it instead.

Open the chat’s ⋯ menu and select Delete or press D, or press ⌘⇧⌫ (Ctrl+Shift+Backspace on Windows) in the open chat. Steward always asks you to confirm, and the confirmation also offers Archive instead.

You can’t delete a chat while Steward is working in it or waiting for an approval. Stop the run or decide on the approval first. Usage that the chat already caused stays in your usage reports, and the audit log records who deleted it.

A chat's options menu in the sidebar with Delete highlighted at the bottom and its key, D, next to it. — In the same menu, select Delete or press D. Steward asks you to confirm. Example workspace · Select image to enlarge.

Delete chat confirmation explaining that the chat is deleted for everyone in the project, a warning that this can't be undone, and Archive instead, Cancel and Delete buttons. — Steward always asks before deleting and suggests archiving instead. Example workspace · Select image to enlarge.

Work with several chats at once

On the Chats page, select the checkboxes next to the chats you want to change, then select Archive, Restore or Delete above the list. Hold Shift while selecting a checkbox to select a range. If you can’t delete some of the selected chats, the confirmation says so and keeps them.

Keyboard shortcuts

While a chat’s ⋯ menu is open, press R to rename the chat, C to copy its link, A to archive or restore it, and D to delete it. Each menu item shows its key, and the keys are the same in every language.

On the Chats page, use ↑ and ↓ to move between chats, Enter to open one, X to select it, E to archive or restore, and Delete to delete. Press / to search titles and Esc to clear the selection. Anywhere in the workspace, ⌘⇧O (Ctrl+Shift+O on Windows) starts a new chat. To see every shortcut, press ⌘/ (Ctrl+/).

A chat's options menu in the sidebar with Rename, Copy link, Archive and Delete, each followed by its key: R, C, A and D. — Each item in a chat's ⋯ menu shows its key. Example workspace · Select image to enlarge.

Keyboard shortcuts dialog listing shortcuts to search, start a new chat, archive or delete the open chat, and work with the chats list. — Press ⌘/ (Ctrl+/ on Windows) to open the full list. Example workspace · Select image to enlarge.

Who can do what

People with Contributor or Manager access to a project can rename, archive and restore its chats. Viewers can read archived chats but can’t change them. A chat can be deleted by the person who started it, as long as they can still write in the project, and by project managers. Workspace owners and administrators count as managers in every project. See roles and access.