We’re thrilled to unveil our newest HipChat for Linux app filled with new features and a fresh look.

Right away you’ll notice the visual makeover. We’ve added clean lines, more white space, a better search box location, the “new chat” button, and other important action features.

An organized chat list

You deserve a clean, stress-free work environment. We worked hard to make sure the new HipChat gives you that. Your chat list on the left is now organized by rooms and people so you can find who you’re looking for and what you need faster.

We also introduced unread message counts next to your groups and chats. A grey bubble indicates unread messages. A blue bubble indicates that you have been mentioned in that room. At a glance, you’ll know the rooms that need your attention.

A new side panel

Now all the information associated with your room – people, files, links, and add-ons – are together in one organized side panel, which can be folded away with a click.

Add-ons powered by our new API, HipChat Connect, now live in your right side panel. You’ll see alerts and information from your services and be able to take important actions right in HipChat.

*Note: in order to see this brand new panel you will need to have your Admin enable HipChat Connect and make sure at least one add-on powered by Connect is installed for your group. 

A chat feed with more skills

Your chat feed got a sweet refresh, too. The chat feed is where everything happens – from ideas and discussion to final approvals and shipping. New improvements help you get to the shipping stage faster. Here are the major ways we changed things around:

Avatars

Now you can see your teammates’ avatars in your chat feed. Not into it? No problem, you can turn them off in your Settings.

File Viewer

The new File Viewer allows you to view rich file previews right in your room. Get the gist and move on, or easily download the file.

Link Previews

Now when you share a link, a preview will be automatically generated with a thumbnail image, title, and a snippet of text. You’ll know what you’re clicking before you click. You can disable this anytime in your General Settings.

Integration Cards

When notifications come into HipChat from your services, you’ll see them appear inside a box, which we call “cards.” These cards give you a ton of important information about the alert. Expand the card with the double downward arrow on the right for even more information about the alert.

Per-room notification settings

You can now customize notifications for each room, helping you reduce unwanted noise and concentrate on the rooms most important to you.

In any room, just click the grey bell in the top right corner. You can choose loud, normal, or quiet notifications.

New customizations & themes

New appearance settings let you customize your HipChat experience even more.

Control HipChat’s appearance settings from your app by clicking your avatar > Settings > Appearance. Switch into dark mode if that’s your jam. Or, if faces don’t tickle your fancy, you can switch from avatar back to name-view. You can also configure text spacing.

Quick search

Finally, starting and entering into chats is easier than ever with the new Quick Search function.

Just use Ctrl +N or Ctrl + J to search for any person or chat room in your HipChat group, and quickly begin chatting.

Give it a spin!

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