Redesigned Zoom Team Chat sidebar experience
The redesigned Team Chat sidebar is designed to keep you connected with your colleagues, manage your messages effectively, and stay organized as you collaborate on projects. Whether you’re working with your creative team or organizing your chats by projects, this updated layout makes it easier than ever to stay on top of your team’s communication.
Key updates include:
- Chats tab renamed: The DMs tab has been renamed to Chats for clearer and more consistent navigation.
- Expanded tab layout: The sidebar supports up to two rows of tabs, removing the previous five-tab limit and allowing more tools to remain visible.
- Files tab removed: The Files tab has been retired to streamline the interface and emphasize the most frequently used areas.
- Meetings tab improvements: The Meetings tab displays meeting chat names in bold by default instead of showing message counts, with an option to enable message indicators if desired.
- Hot Seat interaction update: Users can open or close the Hot Seat view with a single click, supported by a dedicated X control for quick dismissal.
- Color themes retained: Existing color theme options remain available for users who prefer a personalized interface.
- Updated section icons and spacing: Section icons for folders have been replaced with chevrons, and vertical spacing between channels and chats has been adjusted to reduce visual noise and improve separation between items.
Requirements for using the new Zoom Team Chat sidebar
- All users will have access to the redesigned Team Chat sidebar once they upgrade to the latest desktop app version (6.7.0).
Navigating the redesigned Zoom Team Chat sidebar
Default tab view and customization
When you first open Zoom Team Chat, you'll see the following default tabs:
- All: Displays all your Team Chat conversations in one place.
- Mentions: Shows messages where you've been @mentioned directly, making it easier to stay on top of important notifications.
- Chats: Includes all your direct conversations, from 1:1 chats to group discussions.
- Channels: Lists the channels you've joined, keeping you connected to your various teams and projects.
- Meeting chats: Stores in-meeting chat conversations, which are accessible even after the meeting has ended.
- More section: This section includes additional tools and settings for further customization and enhanced functionality.
These tabs are pinned at the top of the sidebar for quick access. You can add, remove, and reorder them based on your preferences.
Additional tools in the More section
You can access and manage additional tools by navigating to the More section:
- Starred: Messages you’ve marked as important for quick access.
- Folders: Custom folders you’ve created to organize chats and channels.
- Shared Spaces: Displays spaces created for collaboration across different teams, keeping your cross-functional projects organized and accessible.
- Apps: Provides easy access to third-party apps and integrations connected with Zoom Team Chat, helping you stay productive within your workspace.
- Drafts: Messages you started typing but haven’t sent yet.
- Sent: A list of messages you’ve sent.
- Bookmarks: Messages or content you’ve saved for reference.
- Reminders: Notifications you’ve set for messages you want to revisit later.
- Missed calls: Shows your missed Zoom Phone or Zoom Team Chat calls.
- External: Conversations with external contacts or organizations.
- Drag to pin or reorder: Restores the sidebar to its original layout.
Notes:
- Reorder tabs in the sidebar by dragging and dropping them into your preferred position.
- You can also drag tabs in or out of the More section to choose which tabs are visible in your main sidebar view.
Team Chat dropdown
A quick-access menu that lets you customize how your Team Chat is displayed and managed. From this menu, you can separate DMs and channels, limit viewing to one section at a time, choose whether to show unread counts for channels and meeting chats, collapse all sections, or open your chat settings.
Sidebar behavior
- Separate DMs and channels: Organize your sidebar by displaying direct messages (DMs) and channels in different sections instead of grouping them together.
- Open only one section at a time: Keep your sidebar tidy by allowing only one section (DMs, channels, or meeting chats) to expand at a time. Expanding a new section will automatically collapse the others.
- Manage sidebar: Open the Team Chat settings menu to customize your chat preferences.
Badging
- Show unread count for channels: Display an icon with the number of unread messages beside each channel. If this option is off, you’ll see only a red dot to indicate unread messages.
- Show unread count for meeting chats: Display an icon with the number of unread messages beside each meeting chat. If this option is off, you’ll see only a red dot to indicate unread messages.
- Manage badges: Open the Team Chat settings menu to manage badge settings.