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Using Sidebar › Sidebar › Conversational Interfaces
Release: Australia · Updated: 2026-03-12 · Official documentation · View source

Create a standalone Sidebar discussion

Create a standalone Sidebar discussion that is not tied to a specific record.

Before you begin

Role required: none.

Starting a Sidebar discussion

Follow this procedure to start a Sidebar discussion:

Procedure

  1. From the top menu, select the Sidebar discussion icon (
Image omitted: sidebar-chat-icon.png
Sidebar icon.\) to display the Sidebar discussions window.
Image omitted: sidebar-discussions-menu-example.png
Sidebar discussions menu.

  1. To access an existing Sidebar discussion, select it from the Sidebar discussion menu.

  2. Start a new Sidebar discussion by selecting New discussion to display the Start a Sidebar discussion window.

Image omitted: sidebar-blank-discussion-window.png
Blank Sidebar discussion window.

  1. Fill out the fields:

    FieldDescription
    Link a recordSelect Link a record if you want to connect this Sidebar discussion to a record. (If you link to a record, the discussion will no longer be a standalone discussion.) A new discussion dialog appears and you can enter the record number of the record you want to link to. Any participants who do not have access to the record are automatically removed from the discussion.
    SubjectEnter a brief description for the conversation.
    Add participantsSelect the user(s) or user group(s) to include in the discussion.
    Include a brief message for participantsEnter a short message for the participants of the Sidebar discussion.
    Private discussionStandalone discussions are always private and access is limited to only the user and other discussion participants. These discussions are marked "private" and can't be converted to not private. Private discussions are not visible to non-participants in search results.

  2. Once you start a discussion, you can edit and delete messages.

OptionDescription
Edit a messageSelect the More options icon
Image omitted: ci_more_options_icon.png
More options icon. next to the message and <strong>Edit message</strong>. The message appears in an Editing window where you can change the text.- You can only edit messages that you sent.
- You can only edit one message at a time. - If you change the attachment of a message that you sent, both the old and new attachments display. - If a message you sent contains a URL, you can delete the message but you can't edit it.
Delete a messageSelect the More options icon
Image omitted: ci_more_options_icon.png
More options icon. next to the message and <strong>Delete Message</strong>. A dialog displays asking if you’re sure you want to delete your message. Select <strong>Delete</strong> to delete the message or select <strong>Cancel</strong> to leave the message.- You can only delete messages that you sent.
- After you delete a message, a notice with the date and time the message was deleted displays. - If you delete a message that mentions someone using @mention, then that @mention is also deleted. - You can't undo a deletion, after you delete a message it's gone.

  1. To mention a user, enter @user (where user is the name of the user) or @ to display a list of users and select someone from that list.

    • The list is divided into users who are currently participating in the discussion (participants) and users who aren’t (non-participants).
    • The user is notified that they were mentioned in a Sidebar discussion message. The Sidebar discussions chat icon displays a number indicating unread messages or mentions.
Image omitted: sidebar-at-mention-indicator.png
Indication of @mention in sidebar discussions.
-   If the user selects the **Mentions** tab, the messages that mention the user with @user display.
Image omitted: sidebar-at-mention-preview.png
Preview of @mention message in sidebar discussions.
-   If the user selects the message preview card, the corresponding message displays with the exact message containing the @mention highlighted.
  1. To close the discussion dialog (but not exit the discussion), select the Close icon
Image omitted: sidebar-x-icon.png
Close icon..