zulip/templates/zerver/help/reading-strategies.md

63 lines
1.9 KiB
Markdown
Raw Normal View History

# Reading strategies
Zulip works a little bit differently than other chat platforms. Read
[streams and topics](/help/about-streams-and-topics) if you're not yet
familiar with Zulip's topics, and [why Zulip](/why-zulip) if you're
curious why we built Zulip the way we did.
We've outlined a few ways users process messages in Zulip.
## Topic by topic
This is the recommended way to read new messages, for most users. If you're
only going to learn one way to do it, this is the one.
* Use the keyboard shortcut `n` (next unread topic) to jump from topic to
topic. You can use the arrow keys, page up/down, and Home/End to navigate
within a topic.
* Use `p` (next unread PM) to jump from PM to PM.
* Use `r` (reply) to reply to a topic or PM.
* Use `c` (compose stream message) or `x` (compose PM) to start new
conversations.
* Use up arrow or `Esc` to exit out of the compose box.
## Stream view
Sometimes it's useful to scroll through all the messages in a stream,
especially in situations where you just want a general idea of what's going
on.
* Click on a stream name in the left sidebar, and scroll using your mouse,
the arrow keys, `End`, or page up/down.
* Click on a topic to narrow to messages from that topic.
You can also get to a stream with `q` (stream search), by clicking on the
magnifying glass next to `STREAMS`, or by using the autocomplete in
[search](/help/search-for-messages).
## All messages
If you're all caught up, it can be useful to have a single place to keep
track of all messages coming in.
* Click on **All messages** in the upper left, or hit `Esc`.
* You can use `s` (narrow to stream) or `S` (narrow to topic) to zoom in,
and `Esc` to get back to All messages.
## Starring messages for later
You can [star messages](/help/star-a-message) that you've seen and would
like to reply to later.
## Related articles
* [Search](/help/search-for-messages) for streams, topics, or messages.
* Unread counts