In Discord, there are three ways to communicate with your friends: voice, video, and text. For this article, you'll learn more about where to engage with others through text.
What this article covers:
- Text Channels
- Text Chat in Voice Channel
- Where can I read more about how to utilize text communication?
Text Channels
Text channels, distinguished by the # symbol (also known as the pound sign, hashtag, or octothorp!) in the channel list of a server, are where a lot of text communications will take place!
When you want to utilize text channels, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Selecting a channel in the left-hand panel will highlight it and bring the channel's content to the main view of the Discord client.
- Pressing on the cog wheel next to the text channel's name is how you can edit a channel, if you have the permissions to do so. You may also see a symbol of a person with a plus sign next to the channel name and pressing it will allow you to send an invite to the channel.
- Enter your message in the text box at the bottom of the client and press the Enter key to send the message to the text channel.
- You can also send GIFs, stickers, emojis, and gifts through the text box.
- You can interact with already-sent messages in the text channel by adding a reaction, creating a thread, replying directly to a message, and more, depending on the permissions allowed to you or the role(s) you have in the server.
If you find that you can't interact with a text channel with specific actions, it may be because you don't have the permissions for that server. You can learn more about permissions here.
Text Chat in Voice Channels
As of June 1, 2022, we're excited to introduce text chat in voice channels!
Using the embedded text chat of voice channels, users can send message content, comment on something being said without interrupting the speaker, and share links, memes, and more, all in the dedicated text chat within the voice channel. This feature also means users don't have to switch to a different text channel while in a voice channel, missing the stream you’re actively watching or potentially distracting you from the live conversation happening in the voice channel.
Where can I find the text chat in a voice channel?
Every voice channel has an associated text chat that users can utilize if their role or the channel has the appropriate permissions. Across all clients, you can access the text chat in a voice channel via a message bubble icon by hovering over the voice channel name in the server channel list or in the top-right hand corner of the voice UI (and a swipe-left gesture for mobile!).
Desktop/Browser access point
Android/iOS access point- You can also swipe left!
Desktop and Browser clients
On the desktop and browser clients, the text chat will open up as a right-hand sidebar similar to the experience you presently get when opening up a Thread.
- You can find a voice channel's text chat by pressing on the message bubble in the upper right corner after joining a voice channel.
- You can also browse the text chat messages without connecting to the voice channel. For example, when you want to grab a link to the funny video someone may have shared, you can press on the message bubble icon next to the voice channel name within the channel list. You can also right-click on the voice channel name and select “Open Chat” from the drop-down menu.
Mobile clients
You can find the text chat in a voice channel on your iOS or Android device by going through the steps below:
- Go to the server with the voice channel you want to join and press on the voice channel's name.
- In the following screen that appears, you will see the buttons "Join Voice" and "Join Muted" plus a message bubble icon in the upper right-hand corner of the voice UI.
- Pressing on the message bubble icon will reveal the text chat without joining the voice call. You can also join voice and see the text chat simultaneously.
For an additional way to access chat, simply swipe left on your phone while in the voice channel to bring the text chat into view.
Message Previews and Notifications
If you are in a voice channel but the text chat within that voice channel is closed, you can see message previews in the upper right-hand corner of the voice channel. Message previews will show new messages as they are sent and will disappear after some time or if other messages appear (three at most and truncated after a certain number of characters).
Message previews keep you in the loop of the active message conversation happening in the voice channel without needing to open the chat itself. However, if you want to turn these previews off for whatever reason simply click the three dots icon above and uncheck ‘Show New Message Previews.’
As for other indicators of new messages while in the voice channel - unread mentions will have a red number indicator, while unread messages will simply be indicated with a grey number indicator. Mentions within a text chat will also appear in your inbox, which can be accessed in the upper right corner of the client.
Left: mention notification, Right: unread notification
Where are the permissions for a text chat in a voice channel?
If a user or role does not have the correct perms for a text chat or if the text chat perms for a voice channel are disabled, then impacted users will be unable to write or read previous messages in the text chat.
Like many of the features on Discord, there are permissions that can be customized and managed by a server admin to dictate how various roles or a particular voice channel can utilize the new embedded chat in voice channel feature.
Regarding permissions for users engaging in the text chat in a voice channel, they are:
- Send Messages
- Read Message History
Here's where to find the permissions for text chat in voice channels below.
Desktop and Browser Clients - Voice Channel Permissions
- Press on the cog wheel next to the name of the voice channel you want to edit.
- Select "Permissions" in the right hand panel then choose the server role or add a user whose permissions you want to manage.
- Navigate down the list of permissions until you find the "Voice Channel Chat Permissions" section.
- Edit the permissions and don't forget to save!
iOS & Android app
- Long-press the name of the voice channel you want to edit.
- Select "Edit Channel" from the in-device menu.
- Choose "Channel Permissions" > "Advanced View" > then choose or add the server role or user whose permissions you want to manage.
- Swipe down the list of permissions until you find the "Voice Channel Chat Permissions" section.
- Edit the permissions!
iOS client
Where can I read more about how to utilize text communication?
There is so much you can do through text communication on Discord! You can learn more about how to use text in the Text Chat section of Help Center. Here are some of the articles you'll find there: