Start a conversation
Open a direct message with someone in your institution from the Chat sidebar, and find people quickly with search, the A to Z index, and filters.
A direct message is a private, one-to-one conversation between you and another person in your organization. It is the simplest thing you can do in Chat and the right choice whenever a message is meant for exactly one other person. Direct messages appear under Direct Messages in the chat sidebar.
Why it matters
Not every message belongs in a group. A quick question to a single colleague, a private note to a student about their progress, or a one-off request is clearer and more respectful of everyone’s attention as a direct message than as a post in a shared channel. Starting the conversation in the right place from the outset keeps discussions tidy and makes them easy to find again later.
Before you start
Only active members of your organization appear in your contacts. If you need a group conversation rather than one-to-one, see Create a channel instead.
Start a new direct message
Open Chat from the sidebar.
Click New Chat (pen icon) in the chat sidebar header, or use the New message flow when no conversation is selected.
The New message panel opens on the right. Search or browse your Contacts list.
Click a person to open a direct message with them. If a conversation already exists, Fuxam opens that thread instead of creating a duplicate.
Find a user
Use these options in the new-message panel:
- Search contacts — type a name or email to filter the list.
- A–Z index — jump to contacts by first letter when browsing a long directory.
- Filter — switch between All, Contacts, and Courses if you also want to open a course channel from the same panel.
Only active members of your current organization appear in the contact list. Inactive users cannot be added to new conversations.
Best practices
- Use a direct message for anything meant for one person; move to a group channel once a third person needs to be involved.
- Search by email when several people share a name, to be sure you reach the right person.
- Keep sensitive one-to-one matters (grades, personal circumstances) in direct messages rather than shared channels.
Common pitfalls
- No Chat in the sidebar — the feature is not enabled for your institution; ask your administrator.
- A person is missing from contacts — they may be inactive or in another institution.
- Expecting a fresh thread — opening a contact you have messaged before reopens the existing conversation by design.