When a client sends you a direct message or responds to your proposal on Upwork, we automatically create a message room in Upwork Messages. This space allows you to chat about a project and also keeps track of your conversation over time.

You can add other people to your rooms, create new rooms, and archive rooms when you're finished using them. To create a new room, choose the plus sign in the left navigation bar of Upwork Messages, and add any other Upwork users you know.

Different room members have different abilities.

1. The Owner is the user who created a room. For example, the client who created a job is the owner of an interview or contract room.

2. The Admin can invite other members into a room

3. Members have been invited to join a room

Message rooms have a full set of tools to support interviews and contract communications.

1. Share files and documents

2. Connect with video and voice calls through our Zoom integration

3. Take notes

4. Share screenshots

5. Share screen recordings through our Loom integration

6. Start recorded meetings

You can view your conversations in two formats. There's a view for recent and unread messages, and also a categorized view for you to see your favorites, interviews, rooms, and people.

If you’ve hidden a message room and want to see it again, type the freelancer’s name or a phrase you remember from the conversation into the search bar above your messages. You can toggle between People & Rooms and Messages to find what you’re looking for.

If you send or receive a message, it will create an email notification. These will be sent to the email account you used to register with Upwork. You can reply to any message from these email notifications, too. When you reply directly from your email, your reply will be posted in the message room where it originated.

If you start to receive too many email notifications, or if you don't wish to receive any at all, you can change your settings. Choose the Settings gear icon and select Notifications to update your preferences.

You can attach, search, preview, download, and delete files to share your work through Messages.

To attach files:

1. You can attach files of 1 GB or under, or link to your Dropbox account from within your Upwork Messages.
2. Just Select the paperclip icon in the message box to add a file.

To search files:

1. To search through the files in a room, open the right panel (ⓘ button) and choose the Files & Links button
2. Use the search bar at the top of the panel to search by file name

To view files:

1. To view all of the files in a room, open the right panel (ⓘ button) and choose the Files & Links button
2. From there, you can see all files, preview image files, and download or delete them

To download or delete files:

1. To download or delete a file, open the right panel (ⓘ button) and view the files through the Files & Links button on the right panel
2. Select the three dots (...) button on the relevant file and choose Download or Delete

You can also take and attach a screenshot from within the Upwork desktop app.

Upwork Messages rooms have a built-in screen recording service via Loom. Recording your screen is a great way to show others how to perform a certain task, share your work, etc., and the video can be watched anytime. Learn more about screen recordings here.

Two things to know about Loom in Upwork Messages:

1. It's not available in the Upwork Desktop App

2. It's only accessible when using Chrome or Edge as your browser. (We hope to be able to host it on Firefox and Safari in the future).

Upwork Messages provides a personal notepad for each room that allows you to take notes, brainstorm, and make lists. You can access these notes at any time by clicking on the icon in the upper right corner and selecting “Personal notepad.”

Upwork Messages contract rooms have built-in video and voice call service via Zoom, with screen sharing capability. Learn more about video and voice calls here.