Start a new chat or group

Everything new in Rasum starts with “Start chat” in the bar at the bottom. There you start a chat with one person, create a group or invite friends to Rasum.

Where do I start a new chat?

You start a new chat from the bar at the bottom.

1. Tap “Start chat” in the bar at the bottom.
2. The “Start chat” screen opens.

On the “Start chat” screen you find:

• the search field “Search for someone” at the top,
• “New room” – creates a group (see below),
• “Join room by address”,
• “Room directory”,
• “Invite people to Rasum”.

Android: Below that, under “Suggestions”, are your recent chats with single people.

Start a chat with one person

For a chat with one person, you search for them by their name or username.

1. Tap “Start chat” at the bottom.
2. Tap the “Search for someone” field at the top.
3. Enter the name or the username, for example @name:rasum.chat.
4. Tap the person in the results list.
5. Rasum asks “Send invite?” and “Would you like to start a chat with …?”.
6. Tap “Send invite”.

The other person gets an invitation to this chat. More under Invitations.

Android: If the app does not know the person yet, it asks “Start a chat with this new contact?” instead.

Why does “New room” create a group?

The “New room” entry always creates a group, even if you only invite one person. That is why the next screen is called “New room”.

If you only want to write with a single person, use the “Search for someone” search field instead (see above).

Create a group

A group is a chat with several people.

1. Tap “Start chat” at the bottom.
2. Tap “New room”. The “New room” screen opens.
3. Enter a name for the group under “Add name…”.
4. Optional: enter a topic, that is, a short description.
5. Choose who can join: “Private” or “Public”.
6. Go on to the next step, “Invite people”.
7. Search for the people and select them.
8. Confirm your selection.

Private means: only invited people can join. Public means: anyone can join.

Android: For a public group, you also enter an “Address”. You can also assign the group to a space with “Add to space”. You can postpone inviting people with “Skip”.

If creating the group does not work, the app shows “An error occurred when creating the room”. Check your internet connection and try again.

Invite more people to a chat

You can also invite people to an existing group later.

1. Open the chat.
2. Tap the chat’s name at the top. The “Room info” opens.
3. Tap “Invite” .
4. Search for the people and select them.
5. Confirm your selection.

The app shows notices such as “Already a member” or “Already invited”. If sending does not work, “Unable to send invite(s)” appears.

Invite friends to Rasum

You can invite people who do not have Rasum yet with an invitation text.

1. Tap “Start chat” at the bottom.
2. Tap “Invite people to Rasum”.
3. Your phone’s share menu opens.
4. Choose an app, for example email or SMS, and send the invitation.

The person then installs Rasum and creates an account. More under Getting started.

Join a chat by its address

Public chats have an address. It starts with #, for example #name:rasum.chat.

1. Tap “Start chat” at the bottom.
2. Tap “Join room by address”.
3. Enter the chat’s address.
4. Tap the chat that was found and join it.

Android: While you type, the app reports “Not a valid address”, “Matching room found” or “Room not found”.