## Editing past messages

Note: Editing topic titles is discussed in a separate answer.

Zulip allows you to easily edit the content of your messages after they have been posted.
You can do this by hovering your mouse over the message and:

 * Clicking on the pencil icon ![pencil](/static/images/help/pencil.png) at the end of the message.

 * Clicking on the down-chevron ![down chevron](/static/images/help/down_chevron.png) near the upper right corner
 of the message.

Clicking either one of those icons will give you editing options.

### Time Limit

Depending on your organization settings, Zulip may be configured with a time limit within which you may edit a message,
e.g. 10 minutes. As soon as that limit has passed, the little pencil
![pencil](/static/images/help/pencil.png)  changes to a file icon
<img src="/static/images/help/file.png" width = "18">. Depending on the configuration, clicking on it might allow you
to change the topic, like shown in this message:

   <img src="/static/images/help/message_time_limit_passed.png" width="480">

### Deleting Messages

You cannot entirely delete a message. When you remove all the text of a message and save it,
Zulip will automatically insert a "(deleted)" into your message.
The fact that there was once a message there will still be
evident, and the time stamp of the original posting date and time
will still be shown.

### Editing Visibility

After you have edited a message, `(EDITED)` appears over the
message and to the right of your name. It is visible to everyone.