{"id":23710,"date":"2015-04-20T21:01:46","date_gmt":"2015-04-20T13:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/?p=23710"},"modified":"2018-05-26T20:42:47","modified_gmt":"2018-05-26T12:42:47","slug":"hipchat-for-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/hipchat-for-team\/","title":{"rendered":"HipChat Keeps Your Team Connected Across Multiple Platforms"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note: This article is brought to you by HipChat<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Communication can be a problem when it comes working online and remotely<\/a>. Requirements, reminders and reiterations can get lost when a message gets passed from one team member to the next. There are also so many things that could impede the workflow or work process of your team<\/strong>, things like working in different time zones, or even working on different operating systems.<\/p>\n

If this is you, then you might want to try out HipChat<\/a>. HipChat is a group chat service that caters to most, if not all, of the major desktop and mobile platforms out there. It is also available as a web app, and provides written, audio and video conferencing tools to help you get your message across<\/strong> to your team members.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tRead Also:<\/strong>\u00a0\n\t\t\t\t\t10 Chat Tools for Better Team Communication<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Getting Started With HipChat<\/h2>\n

To register, HipChat needs your name, work email and password. You can start inviting team members at this point or leave it for later. Check your email for a nudge by HipChat to confirm your email address. Once you activate your account, you will end up here.<\/p>\n

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You can download the native HipChat app for your Mac, Linux <\/strong>or Windows<\/strong>, or get it on mobile for Android <\/strong>(4.0 and above) and iOS<\/strong> (iOS7 and above), or if you aren\u2019t at your own computer, launch the web app<\/strong> instead to begin chatting.<\/p>\n

Note<\/strong>: This review will center around the web app.<\/p>\n

Getting Around In HipChat<\/h2>\n

Once inside the web app, you will be at the Lobby<\/strong>, where you can find all the Rooms that were created and People<\/strong> who are on HipChat. Toggle betwen the two groups to get a more filtered list; or if the place is too crowded, the filter search bar<\/strong> can help narrow down your destinations.<\/p>\n

Once you click into any of the rooms or any of your team member\u2019s name, the item(s) will be added to the left sidebar. This makes it easy to jump from one chatroom to the next.<\/p>\n

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Availability<\/h3>\n

The availability status of each team member helps give you an idea of when is a good time to approach them. There are three statuses available: Available, Away <\/strong>and Do Not Disturb<\/strong>, depicted in the customary green, yellow and red signal colors. To change your own status, you can do so at the top right hand side of the interface, or use the commands: \/away<\/code>, \/dnd<\/code>, or \/back<\/code> (for Available).<\/p>\n

New Chat<\/h3>\n

Click on any of the available Rooms<\/strong> to start chatting with your team members, or click on a team member\u2019s Name<\/strong> to go into 1-on-1 chat mode. At any time you want to start a new room, click New Chat<\/strong>. Give it a name<\/strong>, and a topic<\/strong> and choose the privacy access<\/strong> (Open or Private) for the room.<\/p>\n

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Room Features<\/h3>\n

In the conversation threads (rooms), you can use emoticons, share files of up to 50 MB per file, links and even gifs (check the Integration section). With the native apps, you can also find support for video calls, audio calls and screensharing<\/strong> (only during the trial period).<\/p>\n

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In 1-on-1 chat mode, all shared files <\/strong>and recently shared links<\/strong>, on the right sidebar. In rooms with a larger pool of participants, you will find an additional list of participants for the chatroom, along with options to rename your room, topic and toggle access settings<\/strong> on the right sidebar. Here\u2019s also where you can find the Integrations<\/strong> feature.<\/p>\n

Integrations<\/h3>\n

One thing HipChat does that takes it up a notch compared to other group chat services is that you can extend its capabilities<\/strong> via add-ons<\/a>. HipChat comes with 59 add-ons you can get including Asana, GitHub and Hip Gif (to add gifs with the \/gif command). These integrations feed notifications from those services into HipChat. Now, you no longer have to pick a tool for all your team mates to migrate to \u2013 you can have them all.<\/p>\n

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Pricing Plans And Features<\/h3>\n

During the 30-day trial period, you will have access to all the features. The moment the trial period is up, you lose access to screensharing, audio and video calls<\/strong>, and searches on unlimited chat history<\/strong> (which will be capped at 25,000 messages for the basic plan).<\/p>\n

The file storage capacity is also now capped at 5 GB<\/strong> unless you opt for its premium plan, HipChat Plus. Rates are at $2\/user\/month, and you can cancel at any time and will only need to pay for the last billing period. HipChat can also be deployed to your own server<\/a> on special pricing rates (check out this link for discounts for academic<\/a> organizations).<\/p>\n

Limitation<\/h3>\n

During the testing period, I had a couple of connection problems.<\/p>\n