My favorite product releases include things that make my daily Pronto use easier and more fun and this release is chalk full of those types of features!
First and foremost, many of our customers have asked, and we are happy to deliver Multi-person DMs. This allows you to create an informal chat with up to 10 users without needing to provide a title or a category. Simply start a DM as usual, and select up to 9 other participants to join you!
Additionally, we are introducing a "Dark Mode" view to the desktop and web versions of Pronto, the ability to send a Direct Message to yourself, new Chat Headers, improved Search, and a new view to the Groups "drawer".
As always, after reviewing the feature release notes, please take a moment to let us know how this production release impacts you by answering this short (sub 3min) survey.
Pronto Feature Release Survey:
For a growing library of documentation on the new Pronto features, visit here.
Multi-Person Direct Messages
We've heard you loud and clear—chatting with a few teammates shouldn't be a hassle! Previously, if you wanted to talk to more than one person, you needed to create a full-on group chat, even if it was just a quick convo with a couple of friends. Awkward naming conventions, duplicate groups, and sorting out permissions were just part of the process.
What's New:
Direct messages (DMs) now support up to 10 people! Gather your crew easily without making an official group.
No more naming drama! DM titles automatically reflect who's in the chat, and they even update if someone changes their name. Magic!
Everyone's equal in a DM! No more worrying about group owners or managing permissions—it's all fair and simple.
One DM per group of people: Forget accidentally making duplicate chats. One unique DM per unique set of teammates.
Blocked users? You can't start new chats with someone who's blocked you, but existing multi-person chats will stay put (just like groups).
Public API is supported! Multi-person DMs are now supported, with Zapier integration coming soon to automate your fun even further.
Dark Mode for Web and Desktop
Always a crowd pleaser, "Dark Mode" is now available across all platforms as it now is can be turned on via the desktop app or web browser. To enable dark mode, click on the gear icon next to your name, select "Appearance" and select "Dark"
Self Direct Message
Creative users of Pronto frequently request the ability to send a message or resource to themselves in Pronto. Many have created group with just themselves where they can store messages, photos or to test our various features. As we were revamping the Direct Message engine, we added a few fun additions, including the ability to start a DM with yourself. When pulling up the "start a new Direct Message" option, if you simply click the start button in the upper right corner, without making a selection, it will start a DM with yourself.
New Group Headers
When creating a new group or starting a new direct message, there is now a new empty state message that serves as the beginning of the chat stream. Previously, it stated that no one had sent a message yet, but now it will show who created the chat, when, and invite you to either add more members if it is a group, and to set your notification preferences for both groups and direct messages.
Other Enhancements
The search function has now been improved to include hidden groups and Direct Message conversations.
In the Pronto Drawer, where all your conversations/chats are listed, you may notice that Direct Messages now have the users' avatar(s), which is a great way to see at a glance who is messaging you, as well as distinguishing between users of the same name.
You can now unhide Direct Message conversations that had previously been hidden by clicking the gear icon next to your name, and selecting Hidden Groups. These are listed alphabetically, and will be labeled as a Direct Message, or have the Category above them if it was a group.