/Published: 2025-04-04
Appended: 2025-05-13
Questetra’s in-house social networking function, [Open Chat], is an open communication tool where all users can search and view messages.
However, there were also concerns from an information security perspective about all posts being visible to all users.
To address these concerns and enhance security, the Open Chat feature will be renamed and revamped in the upcoming Questetra BPM Suite Ver. 17.0. The new chat feature will enable private conversations limited to participating members only.
This article will be updated periodically with the latest information.
Channel Concept
“Channels” will be introduced in version 17.0. Channels are thread-based posting spaces where conversations can be organized by specific topics or members.
All messages and comments will be posted to one of the channels. This allows information sharing and communication to be limited to members participating in each channel. This mechanism is similar to the channel/group chat adopted by many business chat tools such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Google Chat.
With the introduction of channels, the traditional concept of “following” will be abolished.
There are three main types of channel: those based on organizational structure, apps, and those that users can create freely.
[Organization] Channel
This is a channel that is automatically set up for each registered organization. It is used when you want to share information within the organization you belong to.
- Target members: Users who belong to the organization and users who belong to suborganizations
- E.g. In a company-wide channel, all registered users are members.
[App] Channel
When you select an individual app from the left menu or an app from the [App List], the following channels associated with that app will be displayed.
※ Channels that have never been posted will not be displayed.
■ App Channel
This is a channel for sharing information about the app itself (such as specification changes and operational policies).
- Target Members:
- Users who can start new apps
- Users who have processed the app
- Users who have any [App Administrator] authorization for the app
- How to submit: Post from the app’s “Start New” screen
■ Process Channel
A channel for sharing information about individual processes (workflows).
- Target Members:
- Users involved in the process
- Users who have [Process Manager] or [Data Viewer] authorization for the app
- How to submit: Post from the process details screen
[User-created] Channels
A channel can be created freely by users. The creator becomes the channel administrator and can add and remove members and other administrators.
This type of channel comes in two varieties:
■ Public Channels
- Posted content can be viewed by users other than channel members
- Posting is possible if the user joins as a member
- Members are free to leave the channel themselves
■ Private Channels
- Unlike public channels, posting and viewing are restricted to members only
- The same access controls as for other channels (organizations/apps) are applied
Retiring the Topic Function
The “Topic” function will also be discontinued, along with the concept of “following”.
As a result, every post can only be associated with one channel. Previously, a post could be associated with multiple topics, but this will no longer be the case.
Also, a posted message cannot be linked to another channel later. Previously, a message could be linked to a topic by commenting on it with a hashtag + the process ID (#p1234). From now on, the string of hashtag + process ID will function as a link to the specified process channel, and clicking it will open the process channel on the right side of the window. However, if you are not a member of the channel, you will see an error message saying “You do not have permission.”
About Mentions
As of Ver.17.0, mentions (@ and %) are only applicable within the specified channel. Mention notifications to people other than channel participants are not supported.
For users who are not channel members, even mentions in the @username format are treated as simple text. Only channel members are displayed as candidates for users to be mentioned. However, in organization channels, members of lower organizations can also be mentioned. If a user from a lower organization is mentioned, they will receive an email notification, but the original post cannot be viewed unless they are a member of the channel. In company-wide (root organization) channels, all registered users can be mentioned.
Organization mentions (%organization name) function exclusively within organization channels where the mentioned organization and its subordinate organizations are specified. Consequently, only the target organization will be suggested for mention in these channels. However, similar to user mentions, mentioning any organization is permitted in the root organization channel.
About search functions
As of Ver.17.0, mentions (@ and %) and search functions are only available within the specified channel. Cross-channel searches and mention notifications are not supported.
The search function will be improved and expanded in future versions. We will provide more detailed information as it becomes available.
About Data Migration
When updating to version 17.0, all messages posted up to version 16.2 will be automatically migrated based on the new channel structure.
Message Migration Rules
Existing posts will be migrated to the new channel based on the following rules:
- The message was shared with [followers]
- The message is migrated to the root organization channel.
- Messages shared with the organization
- There are two types of messages that are covered:
- Messages that were shared with the organization
- Messages that contained organizational mentions (e.g. %Marketing)
- These will be migrated to the appropriate organizational channels
- There are two types of messages that are covered:
- Messages associated with a specific topic (hashtag)
- The topic will be reorganized as a public channel and any related messages will be moved to that public channel.
- Handling of messages that do not fall under the above
- Messages such as the following will be moved to separate private channels:
- If a message is shared with someone who is not part of your organization
- A private channel named u(user ID)_memo will be created for each user and messages will be moved to that channel
- If a public channel with the same name from a previous topic already exists, new channels will be created with sequential numbering. For example: u(user ID)\_memo1, u(user ID)\_memo2, and so on.
- Channel membership is restricted to authorized users only
- Messages to a user who does not belong to any organizational channel will also be migrated to the user’s private channel.
- If a message is shared with someone who is not part of your organization
- Messages such as the following will be moved to separate private channels:
Things to note
- A message may be contained in multiple channels:
- Between public channels (e.g. linking to multiple topics)
- Both public and private channels
- Multiple private channels (a combination of organization mentions and individual sharing)
- These are special conditions caused by the transfer of data posted up to Ver16.2.
- In version 17.0 and later, you cannot post to multiple channels at the same time.
Things to note after migration
With the transition to Ver.17.0, there are some important changes to how you use Collab Chat.
The default display
When you first access Collab Chat, you will see the channels of your primary organization. Newly arrived messages in channels you participate are indicated by a notification dot in the channel list on the left for easy visibility.
Confirming the Members
This update changes message visibility; posts will no longer be public to all users. It is now crucial to specify the target channel for each message. Failure to do so may result in the information not reaching the intended recipients. For example, if the person you want to share information with is not in a private channel, they will not be able to see the post and there is a risk that the message will be missed, so it is important to check with channel members before posting.
Users outside your organization
If you want to send a message to someone outside your organization, you can use one of the following methods: One is to post in an all-company channel with a mention, or the other is to create a new user-created channel and post in it after adding the target user as a member.
Links to other channels
If you include #channelname in a post, it will function as a link to open that channel. When you click this link, the corresponding channel will be displayed in the menu area on the right. If the link is to a public channel, you will be able to view the posts, and if necessary, you will be able to post as a member by clicking the [Join] button. On the other hand, if the link is to a private channel and the user who clicked it is not a member, the message “Not authorized” will be displayed and the user will not be able to view the posts.
Auto-posting settings
Posts must be made to only one channel. The same post cannot be linked to multiple channels. In particular, if you do not specify a channel when posting automatically using a script task or add-on, an error will occur. For more information, please refer to the following support page:
Ver. 17.0 Changes to Chat Posting Specifications in Script Tasks