Getting things done in Syncup

Install Syncup

Syncup runs on Mac and Windows. You install it once; after that it updates itself.

Updates

Syncup checks for updates by itself and downloads them in the background. You'll see Update found, then Updating with a percentage, at the top right of the window. When it shows Update ready, click it, then click Restart now. If you choose Later, the update installs the next time you quit Syncup. Your messages and drafts are kept.

Join the workspace

You join with an invitation from an admin. Each invitation is for one email address and works once.

1. Install Syncup first.
2. Open the invitation email, titled "Name invited you to Acadecraft on Syncup", and click the invitation link. A page opens in your browser: click Open in Syncup (and allow your browser to open Syncup if it asks). Syncup opens.
3. If Syncup doesn't open, open it yourself. On the sign-in screen, click Have an invite?, paste the link or the code from the email, and click Continue.
4. Check that the name and email are yours, choose a password, and click Join workspace. A password needs at least 6 characters.
5. Three short welcome steps follow: your photo, name, job title and time zone; how Syncup looks; and desktop notifications, with a Send a test button. Each step has Skip for now, and all of it is in Settings later. Click Open Syncup to finish.

You'll already be in any groups your admins set up for everyone.

Sign in and out

• On the Sign in to Acadecraft screen, enter your Work email and Password, then click Sign in. The eye button shows the password as you type.
• Syncup keeps you signed in on that computer.
• To sign out, click your picture at the bottom of the left-hand rail, then Sign out.
• Forgot your password? There's no reset button on the sign-in screen: ask an admin for a reset link. See Something's not working.

Find your way around

The rail

The narrow column on the far left. From top to bottom: Chat, Favourites, Notes, Tasks, Calls, Files and Notifications. Near the bottom are Admin console (admins only), Settings, and your picture, which opens your status menu. Press ⌘1–⌘7 on a Mac or Ctrl 1–Ctrl 7 on Windows to jump between the first seven.

The chat sidebar

• At the top: the workspace name, with the New message button (a pencil) beside it.
• Filter conversations narrows the list as you type.
• Three tabs. All shows your Favourites, then Recent groups and direct messages, newest first. Groups lists your groups, plus Browse groups. Members lists everyone in the workspace, online people first; click a name to message them.
• Hide or show the sidebar with the button at the top left of the window, or ⌘\ / Ctrl \.

The conversation

Click the name at the top for the person's profile or the group's details. The buttons on the right are Members (groups), the star (Add to favourites), Search in conversation, Pinned messages, Audio call, Video call, and Profile or Group details.

The top bar

In the middle, Search Acadecraft searches everything. On the right: Offline while the connection is down, update notices, Downloads, and Help with Keyboard shortcuts, What's new and About Syncup.

Groups and direct messages

Message one person

Click New message (or press ⌘N / Ctrl N), pick the person, and click Open chat. You can also click their name in the Members tab, or Message on their profile.

Create a group

1. Press ⇧⌘N / Ctrl Shift N, or click + next to Groups in the Groups tab, and pick the people. (New message is for one person only.)
2. Type a Group name.
3. Tick Private: only people who are added can see it if the group shouldn't be open to everyone.
4. Click Create group. You become the group's admin.

Public groups appear in Browse groups, and anyone in the workspace can join. Private groups never appear there: someone in the group has to add you. Guests can't create groups.

Join a group

In the sidebar, open the Groups tab, click Browse groups, and click Join next to a group. Click a group first to preview its recent messages.

Group details

Click the group's name at the top. The tabs are About, Members, Media, Files and Pinned.

• About has switches for Notifications and Favourite, and the Leave group button.
• Members has Add people. New members can see the whole history. In a private group, only group admins can add people.
• Group admins also see Edit group (name, description, and Who can find it: Public or Private) and can remove members with ··· next to a name, then Remove from group. Making a private group public lets everyone read its past messages, not only new ones.

Tidy your list

Right-click a conversation in the sidebar for Mark as unread, Add to favourites, Mute notifications, View profile or Group details, and Start video call. For a direct message there's also Hide conversation; it comes back when a new message arrives or when you open it again.

Sending messages

Type in the box at the bottom and press Enter to send. Shift Enter starts a new line. A message can be up to 10,000 characters; for anything longer Syncup offers Send as a file.

Formatting

Click Formatting (the Aa button) to show the toolbar: Bold, Italic, Strikethrough, Link, Bulleted list, Numbered list, Quote, Inline code and Code block. Or type the marks yourself:

Mentions

Type @ and the start of a name, then pick the person (arrow keys and Enter work too). The Mention button (@) does the same. A mention notifies the person even if they muted the conversation.

@everyone notifies everyone in a group and @here notifies everyone in it who is online. Syncup asks you to confirm first. Only some roles may use them (by default owners, admins and managers).

Emoji and reactions

• Emoji in the message box inserts an emoji. GIF sends an animated sticker from Syncup's built-in library.
• To react, hover over a message, click React, and pick 👍 ❤️ 😂 🔥 🎉 👀, or + for More reactions.
• Click a reaction under a message to add or remove yours. Hover over it to see who reacted.
• Choose your default skin tone in Settings, Preferences.

Replies and threads

• Reply quotes a message in the conversation. Press Esc to cancel.
• Reply in thread opens a side panel, so a side discussion doesn't fill the conversation. The original message then shows "2 replies" and when the last one came; click it to open the thread.
• In a thread, tick Also send to … to post your reply in the main conversation too.
• People who started or replied to a thread are notified of new replies.

More message actions

Hover over a message and click More (···), or right-click it, for:

• Forward: send it to other people or groups, with an optional note. They see who wrote it first.
• Edit (your own messages): change it any time; it's marked as edited. Pressing ↑ in an empty message box edits your last message. Enter saves, Esc cancels.
• Copy text.
• Pin to conversation: everyone in the conversation sees it under Pinned messages (the pin at the top). Replies in a thread can't be pinned.
• Save for later and Remind me about this: see Favourites, saved items and reminders.
• Message info: when it was sent and who has read it.
• Delete message (yours): choose Delete for everyone or Delete for me. On other people's messages, Delete for me hides it from your view only. Admins can delete anyone's message for everyone.

Drafts and scheduled messages

• Anything you type and don't send stays as a draft, shown as "Draft:" in the sidebar. Drafts are kept when you switch conversations or quit.
• To send later, click the small arrow next to Send (Schedule) and choose Tomorrow at 9:00 AM, Monday at 9:00 AM or Custom time….
• Scheduled messages wait above the message box under Scheduled, with Send now, Edit and Delete.
• If it's late where the other person is, Syncup says so and offers to schedule for their morning.

Read receipts and typing

Under your latest message, "Seen" means the other person has read it. In groups it says "Seen by …"; click it for the list. You also see when someone is typing. Both can be turned off in Settings, Activity & privacy; if you turn read receipts off, you won't see other people's either.

Files and images

• Click Attach (the paperclip) and choose Photo or video or Document. You can also drag files onto the message box, or paste them.
• A message can carry up to 10 files, each up to 200 MB. Syncup tells you if a file is too large.
• Photos and videos show in the conversation; click one to see it full size. PDFs show their first page. Videos take a moment to process after sending.
• Record voice message (the microphone button) records a voice message. Pause, discard or send it when you're done.
• Downloads go to your Downloads folder. The Downloads button at the top right lists them, with Show in folder and Open.
• Files on the rail collects everything shared with you: All files, Photos & videos, Documents, PDFs, Spreadsheets, Presentations and Archives, or one conversation under Shared in. Each file has Show in conversation.

Finding people and messages

Search everything

1. Press ⌘K on a Mac or Ctrl K on Windows, or click Search Acadecraft at the top.
2. Type a name, a word or a file name. Results come in groups: People, Groups, Groups you can join, Messages, Files, Media and Notes.
3. Press Tab to narrow to one kind (All, People, Messages, Files, Media, Notes). Use ↑ ↓ and Enter to open a result.
4. Choose See all results for the full page, where messages can be filtered by From and by time (Today, Last 7 days, Last 30 days).

With nothing typed, the box shows your recent searches, people who are online, and quick actions such as New note, New task, Remind me… and Start a video call. Search covers the conversations you're in.

Search one conversation

Press ⌘F / Ctrl F, or click Search in conversation at the top. Matches are highlighted; press Enter to step through them (Shift Enter goes the other way).

Calls

Audio and video calls, with screen sharing, for up to 4 people including you.

Start a call

• In a conversation, click Audio call or Video call at the top.
• On someone's profile, click Call or Video.
• In Calls on the rail, click Audio call or Video call and pick a person or group.

In a group with more than 4 people, everyone is rung and the first 3 to answer join you.

Answer a call

A call rings for 45 seconds. Click Accept or Decline. Below them, Reply with message declines and starts a "can't talk right now" message, and Remind me declines and reminds you to call back in 15 minutes.

During a call

The first time you share your screen on a Mac, macOS asks for Screen Recording permission. See Something's not working.

Schedule a call

In Calls, click Schedule. Give it a Title, choose who it's With, set the Date, Time and Length, and click Schedule. Everyone in that conversation is notified and sees it under Upcoming, with Join and Open chat. Whoever scheduled it can cancel it.

Missed calls

A number on Calls in the rail counts missed calls. The Calls page lists recent calls (All, Missed, Video, Audio) with Call back.

Notes

1. Open Notes on the rail and click New note (+). Or choose New note in search (⌘K / Ctrl K).
2. Type a title, then write. The toolbar has Text style (Body, Heading, Subheading, Quote), Bold, Italic, Strikethrough, Bulleted list, Numbered list, Checklist and Link.
3. Notes save as you type ("Saving…", then "Saved").

• A note is yours alone until you share it. Click Share, pick a person or group, and click Share: the note is posted there and those people can edit it. The same window lists Who has access, with Remove access. Only the note's owner can share.
• Give a note a tag (Draft, In review, Final, or one of your own) with Change tag.
• The ··· menu has Pin note (pins it to the top of your own list), Copy text, Copy link, Duplicate and Delete note (owner only; it's removed for everyone).
• If two people edit the same note at once, Syncup merges both sets of changes.
• Notes can't hold pictures yet. Share them in a chat instead.

Tasks

Create a task

Open Tasks on the rail and click New task. Enter a Title, and optionally a Project, Due date and Priority (Low, Medium, High), then click Create task. New tasks are assigned to you.

Work on a task

Click a task to open its panel. There you can change the Status (To do, In progress, In review, Done), Priority, Due date, Assignees and Project, and add a Description, subtasks and comments. The panel also shows the task's activity and has Copy link.

• People you add as assignees get a desktop alert; clicking it opens the task.
• You see the tasks you created or are assigned to. Only the person who created a task (or an admin) can delete it.
• Board shows a column per status: drag cards between them. List has a checkbox to complete each task.
• The left side filters tasks: My tasks, Due today, Next 7 days, Assigned to others, Completed, and your Projects. Click + next to Projects to create one.
• A number on Tasks in the rail counts your tasks due today.

Favourites, saved items and reminders

Favourites

Click the star at the top of a conversation (or right-click it, Add to favourites). Favourites sit at the top of the chat sidebar and on the Favourites page, with quick Audio call and Video call buttons. That page also collects Pinned in your favourites.

Save for later

On any message, choose ···, then Save for later. It appears on the Favourites page under Saved for later. Click Done when you've dealt with it, or Remove.

Reminders

• On a message, choose ···, then Remind me about this: In 20 minutes, In 1 hour, In 3 hours, tomorrow or next Monday morning, or Pick a time….
• For a reminder that isn't about a message, choose Remind me… in search (⌘K / Ctrl K), fill in About and When, and click Remind me.
• You get a desktop alert at that time. Upcoming reminders are listed under Reminders on the Notifications page, where you can cancel them.

Notifications and unread

Unread and badges

• Conversations with new messages are bold, with a count. @ means you were mentioned.
• Rail numbers: Chat counts unread messages, Tasks tasks due today, Calls missed calls, and Notifications unread notifications.
• The Dock icon on a Mac, or the taskbar icon on Windows, shows unread messages too. So does the window title, like "(3) Syncup".
• Muted conversations show a crossed-out bell and don't add to the totals.
• Right-click a conversation for Mark as unread or Mark as read.

Desktop alerts

Syncup shows an alert for new messages in conversations you aren't looking at. Click it to open the conversation. On a Mac you can reply right from the alert. Change what you get in Settings, Notifications:

• Desktop notifications on or off, Show message preview, and the Sound. Send a test notification checks it works.
• Notify me about: All new messages, Direct messages, mentions and keywords, or Nothing.
• Keywords: get notified when anyone writes these words.
• To quieten one conversation, right-click it and choose Mute notifications. Mentions still reach you.

Do not disturb

• Click your picture at the bottom of the rail and choose Do not disturb. Choose Active to end it.
• To pause every night, go to Settings, Notifications, turn on Pause notifications on a schedule, and set your Quiet hours.
• The Syncup icon in the menu bar (Mac) or system tray (Windows) also has Pause notifications for 1 hour.
• During Do not disturb, only calls from favourites ring.

The Notifications page

Everything that happened while you were away: Mentions, Replies, Reactions, Calls, Tasks, Reminders, and System & admin. Use Mark all as read, or hover over one to mark it read or Dismiss it. Announcements from admins also appear as a banner at the top of the window; close it with the ×.

Profile, status and availability

Your status

Click your picture at the bottom of the rail and choose Active, Away, Do not disturb or Appear offline. Syncup shows you as away by itself after 5 minutes without using your computer, or while your screen is locked. The same menu has View profile, Settings, Theme and Sign out.

Your profile

Go to Settings, Account. Click Change photo, or edit your Full name, Title, Phone and Time zone, then click Save changes. A Status message ("What are you working on?") shows next to your name for 4 hours. Your email is the address you sign in with.

Your time zone matters: teammates see your local time, and when they message you late at night where you are, Syncup offers to schedule it for your morning.

Privacy

Settings, Activity & privacy has Show when I'm active, Read receipts, Typing indicators, and your Recent account activity.

Settings

Click Settings on the rail, or press ⌘, / Ctrl ,.

Closing the window doesn't quit Syncup while "keep running" is on, so messages and calls still reach you. To quit, use Quit Syncup in the menu bar or tray icon's menu (or ⌘Q on a Mac).

Keyboard shortcuts

In the app, Help, Keyboard shortcuts (or ⌘/ / Ctrl /) shows the main ones.

Messages from the keyboard

Click in the conversation and press ↑ to select the newest message, then ↑ ↓ to move. On a selected message: R reply, F forward, E edit, P pin, I message info, Delete delete, and Enter opens the full menu.

Something's not working