Room Options

Rocket.Chat provides a wide range of room options to help teams collaborate effectively. These options allow users to manage channels, teams, discussions, and direct messages according to their needs.

This guide walks you through the common room options available across different room types. For details specific to each type, see the following user guides:

• Manage Channels

• Manage Teams

• Manage Discussions

• Manage Direct Messages

Accessing room options

Room options can be accessed from the menu bar at the top of any room. Click the kebab menu (⋮) to open additional options.

The available options may vary depending on the room type and user permissions.

Let’s explore these options in more detail below.

Video conference

Start or join a video call directly from the room and are identified by video call icon . You can configure and use supported apps such as Jitsi, Pexip, or Google Meet. To learn more about supported providers and setup, see the Integrating Audio and Video Conferencing guide.

View threads

Web/Desktop | Mobile

Tap the Threads icon to view and participate in threaded conversations. Threads help keep related messages organized, allowing you to focus on the most relevant discussions in a room. You can filter threads between All, Following, and Unread, or use the Search icon to find specific messages.

For detailed instructions on creating, following, and managing threads, see the Threads user guide.

View discussion

This option is available in all rooms except discussions.

To learn more about managing and using discussions, see the Discussions user guide.

Search messages

Rocket.Chat lets you quickly find messages in any room using keywords, filters, and advanced search syntax. You can also use regular expressions (regex) to refine your search.

Regular expressions offer advanced flexibility, allowing you to search chat entries in any language, including those that are typically more complex, such as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean (CJK) languages.

To search messages:

1. Click the Search iconfrom the room menu bar.

2. Enter your keywords or expressions in the Search Messages field.

3. (Optional) Toggle Global search to include results from all rooms instead of the current one.

Basic search commands

You can use these commands before or after entering search terms to narrow your results:

• from:me - Finds messages sent by you.

• from:user.name - Finds messages from a specific user. (Use the username format without spaces, e.g., john.doe.)

• has:star - Shows messages you’ve starred.

• is:pinned or has:pin - Displays pinned messages in the current room.

• has:url or has:link - Finds messages that contain a link.

• has:location or has:map - Finds messages that include a location.

• before:dd/mm/yyyy, after:dd/mm/yyyy, or on:dd/mm/yyyy - Filters messages by date. (You can also use dd-mm-yyyy or dd.mm.yyyy.)

• order:desc, order:descend, or order:descending - Sorts messages by descending timestamp.

Viewing results

Select the Options icon next to a result, then click Jump to message to navigate directly to that message in context.

Learn more

For detailed information on regex and advanced filtering, see:

• Wikipedia: Regular Expressions

• Regex 101

• RegExr

• Regex Info

View mentions

You can view all messages where you’ve been mentioned to ensure you never miss important conversations. Mentions are available across all room types, teams, channels, discussions and direct messages.

View and manage members

In some rooms, you can view and manage members directly by clicking the Members icon on the menu bar. This opens the Members panel, where you can search for users, check their online status, and view their assigned roles.

In other rooms (such as team channels), the option to manage members might appear under the kebab menu (⋮) as Add Teams user. Selecting this option allows you to add new users to the team or channel.

View files in a room

The Files option helps you easily locate all documents, images, videos, and other attachments shared within a room.

Once opened, you can:

• Search for files by name.

• Filter files by type (images, videos, audios, texts, or files).

• Use the kebab menu (⋮) next to a file to download or delete it (if you have permission).

View pinned messages in a room

The Pinned Messages option allows users to quickly access important messages that have been pinned within a room. Pinned messages are highlighted, making them easy to find and review later.

Once opened, you can:

• View all messages that have been pinned in that room.

• Jump to message to view the original message in context.

• Click the kebab menu (⋮) next to a pinned message to Unpin or Copy link

Refer to the Message Options guide to learn more about pinned messages.

View starred messages

The Starred Messages option allows you to quickly access messages you've marked as important. Starring a message helps you keep track of key information without pinning it for all room members.

Once you opened, you can:

• Jump to message to view it in context.

• Unstar messages directly from the list.

• Review all your starred messages without scrolling through the full chat history.

For more information on starring and managing messages, see the Message Options guide.

Manage notification preferences

Rocket.Chat allows you to update the notification preferences for any room you are a member of. By default, you receive notifications whenever someone mentions you or uses the @all mention in a room.

Room notifications are sent only if the desktop or web client has been inactive for over five minutes. Changing your status to away does not affect this period. Depending on the privacy settings configured by the administrator, notifications on your mobile device may include the sender’s name, room name, or the first line of the message.

The Alert options available for desktop, mobile, and email are:Default, All Messages, Mentions, and Nothing. Select your preferred option to specify which messages you want to receive alerts for.

View keyboard shortcuts

You can maximize your efficiency in Rocket.Chat by using keyboard shortcuts (hotkeys) to perform common actions quickly.

Click Keyboard Shortcuts icon from the kebab menu (⋮) in the room header to view the full list available in your app.

Prune messages from a room

The Prune Messages option allows administrators and room owners to quickly delete messages from a room based on specific criteria. This feature requires the clean-channel-history permission.

Using this option helps maintain a clean and relevant conversation history by removing unnecessary or outdated messages. Visit the Retention Policy guide to learn more about automated message and file retention policies.

Pruned messages and files are permanently deleted and cannot be recovered. Use this feature carefully.

To prune selected messages:

1. Click the kebab menu (⋮) from the room menu bar and select Prune Messages from the drop-down menu.

2. Configure the available options to define which messages to delete:

3. Click Prune to confirm.

Export messages

The Export Messages option allows you to export the entire conversation history of a room or specific messages. You can send the export by email or download it, depending on your permissions and settings.

To export messages in a room, follow these steps:

1. Click the kebab menu (⋮) from the room menu bar and select Export Messages .

2. Choose your preferred export method and fill in the required fields

3. Once you’ve entered all the details, click Export to send or download the conversation.

Export methods

Send email

Use this method to send the selected messages directly to users via email.

• Method: Select Send email from the drop-down menu.

• Output format: Only the HTML format is supported.

• To Users: Select the users who should receive the exported email.

• To additional emails: Add any external email addresses separated by commas.

• Subject: Provide a subject line for the email.

• After completing the fields, click Send.

The selected users will receive an email containing the exported messages.

Send file via email

Use this method to receive the exported messages as a downloadable zip file via email.

• Output format: Supports HTML and JSON formats.

• From and to dates: Enter the date range for the messages you want to export.

• Click Send, and you will receive an email with a downloadable zip file of the export.

Download messages

Use this method to download the exported messages directly to your device.

• Method: Select Download from the drop-down menu.

• Output format: Only the JSON format is supported.

• Choose the messages you want to export and click Download.
  The messages are saved locally in JSON format.

If the room is end-to-end encrypted, see the End-to-End Encryption User Guide for instructions on how to export encrypted messages.

View calls

The Calls option allows you to view the conference call history within a room. This helps track previous audio or video calls made by members of the room.

This option is available in channels and discussions only.

To view the call history in a room, follow these steps:

1. Click the kebab menu (⋮) from the room menu bar and select Calls from the drop-down menu.

2. The call history for the room appears.

   • If there are no previous calls, a “No history” message is displayed.

Outlook calendars

This option is available only when the Outlook integration has been configured for your workspace. If you don’t see this option, it means your workspace administrator has not enabled the Outlook integration.

The Outlook calendar option allows you to view the calendar associated with the room or workspace, enabling quick access to scheduled meetings and events.

This option is available in channels and discussions only.

To view the Outlook calendar in a room, follow these steps:

1. Click the kebab menu (⋮) from the room menu bar and select Outlook calendar from the drop-down menu.

2. The Outlook calendar for the room is displayed.

   • If no events are linked, a “No history” message appears.

3. Click Open Outlook to launch the Outlook app and view the full calendar.

For more details, see the Outlook Calendar guide.