Haruno Knowledge base

Working with messages

Edit and resend a message, copy or quote messages, select several at once, search a chat, and copy or export the whole conversation.

  • Mac appAvailable
  • Windows appAvailable

Each message in a chat has a few things you can do with it. This page covers the everyday ones. Branching and regenerating have their own pages: Branching a chat and Regenerating a reply.

The buttons on a message

Rest the pointer on a message, or move keyboard focus to it, and a small row of buttons appears under its text. They stay hidden otherwise, so nothing moves when they show.

The buttons under one of your messages: Edit message, Branch in new chat and Copy message.
The end of a chat. The person's message shows three small buttons under its text: edit, branch and copy.The end of a chat. The person's message shows three small buttons under its text: edit, branch and copy.
OnButtons
Your messageEdit message, Branch in new chat, Copy message
Haruno's replyBranch in new chat, Copy message, and Regenerate answer on the latest reply

Change something you asked

Choose Edit message on one of your messages, rewrite it, then choose Resend. Cancel leaves it as it was. You can only edit while Haruno is not working on a reply.

Resend removes what came after

Resending drops that message and everything below it, then sends the new text. If you want to keep the old version, choose Branch in new chat first.

After the /compact command, only messages sent later can be edited.

Right-click a message

A right-click opens a menu.

  • Select starts selecting messages.
  • Copy this message copies it.
  • Quote this message puts it in your message box as a quotation, so you can answer part of it.
  • Create scheduled task (on your messages) starts a scheduled task from that message.
  • Branch in new chat and Regenerate answer, where they apply.

If you select some text inside a message first, the menu offers Copy, Quote, Select all and Select for that text instead.

Select several messages

Choose Select, then click the messages you want. Shift+click picks a range. A bar at the bottom shows how many are selected, with Copy, Select all and Done. Esc leaves selection.

Search a conversation

Press Ctrl+F to open Find in conversation. It shows how many matches there are, for example "2/5". Enter goes to the next match and Shift+Enter to the previous one. Esc closes the search.

Copy or export the whole chat

  • Edit ▸ Copy chat (Ctrl+Shift+C) copies the conversation to the clipboard. The status line says "Chat copied to clipboard".
  • File ▸ Export chat… (Ctrl+Shift+E) saves it as Markdown, a Word document or an HTML page.

A picture in a chat that lives on the web is saved as a link that shows its address, not as a picture. That way the program that opens the exported file loads nothing from the internet by itself. Code and pictures that are not on the web are saved as they are. This holds for File ▸ Export chat… and for Export… in History.

If Word export fails

Haruno says "Couldn't export chat — Word export component not installed". Markdown and HTML still work.

Haruno's answer can hold links, pictures and files. The assistant writes them, so Haruno never lets one load or open by itself.

  • A link asks first. Click a link in an answer, in a document Haruno wrote, or in the text of a result, notice or error, and Haruno asks Open this link? It says the link was written by the AI and that opening it sends the whole address to that site. The site's name and the whole address are shown. Choose Open link or Cancel. Enter chooses Cancel. A link inside a PDF in the preview asks in the same way.
  • A very long address is not opened. If the address is too long to show in full, Haruno says so and opens nothing. A link that long can carry a lot of text.
  • A picture from the web is not loaded. Where an answer points at a picture on the web, Haruno shows the picture's description and its address as a link. Nothing is fetched until you click it, and then the link asks first.
  • Some files ask first. When Haruno opens a web page (.html), a Word, a PDF or an Excel file in its usual program, it asks Open this file? and shows the path. It warns that the program can follow links and load things from the internet by itself. Choose Open file or Cancel. Enter chooses Cancel. Plain text and pictures open as before. Reveal in Explorer opens nothing, so it does not ask.

The links in the app's own User Guide and About pages, and the sources listed in the side panel, do not ask.

The shortcuts above are the defaults. They can be changed in Settings.

Last updated · PR #2944 · View this version on GitHub

History (1 version)
  1. Internal knowledge base for staff: site, reader keys, assistant, 197 pages and the PR rule (#2944)
    PR #2944Commit a2a7836The page at this version
    What changed
    @@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+---
+title: Working with messages
+summary: Edit and resend a message, copy or quote messages, select several at once, search a chat, and copy or export the whole conversation.
+feature: chat
+covers:
+  - windows-client/haruno-webview/web/src/pages/ChatPage.tsx
+  - windows-client/haruno-webview/web/src/pages/chatQuote.ts
+  - windows-client/Haruno.Desktop.Services/Chat/ChatExportService.cs
+  - windows-client/Haruno.Desktop.Core/Security/RemoteImageLinks.cs
+  - windows-client/Haruno.Desktop.Core/Contracts/ExternalLinkConfirmation.cs
+  - windows-client/Haruno.Desktop.Core/Contracts/ConfirmingFileLaunchService.cs
+  - windows-client/haruno-webview/Host/Contracts/WebChatLinkCommands.cs
+  - windows-client/haruno-webview/web/src/components/Markdown.tsx
+  - docs/security/ai-output-confidentiality.md
+---
+
+Each message in a chat has a few things you can do with it. This page covers the everyday ones. Branching and regenerating have their own pages: [Branching a chat](/windows/chat/branching/) and [Regenerating a reply](/windows/chat/regenerate/).
+
+## The buttons on a message
+
+Rest the pointer on a message, or move keyboard focus to it, and a small row of buttons appears under its text. They stay hidden otherwise, so nothing moves when they show.
+
+<Shot src="/m/749bb63a60b2-windows-chat-message-actions-light.png" dark="/m/ad1393e25e0f-windows-chat-message-actions-dark.png" alt="The end of a chat. The person's message shows three small buttons under its text: edit, branch and copy." caption="The buttons under one of your messages: Edit message, Branch in new chat and Copy message." />
+
+| On | Buttons |
+|---|---|
+| Your message | **Edit message**, **Branch in new chat**, **Copy message** |
+| Haruno's reply | **Branch in new chat**, **Copy message**, and **Regenerate answer** on the latest reply |
+
+## Change something you asked
+
+Choose **Edit message** on one of your messages, rewrite it, then choose **Resend**. **Cancel** leaves it as it was. You can only edit while Haruno is not working on a reply.
+
+<Callout variant="warning" title="Resend removes what came after">
+Resending drops that message and everything below it, then sends the new text. If you want to keep the old version, choose **Branch in new chat** first.
+</Callout>
+
+After the `/compact` command, only messages sent later can be edited.
+
+## Right-click a message
+
+A right-click opens a menu.
+
+- **Select** starts selecting messages.
+- **Copy this message** copies it.
+- **Quote this message** puts it in your message box as a quotation, so you can answer part of it.
+- **Create scheduled task** (on your messages) starts a scheduled task from that message.
+- **Branch in new chat** and **Regenerate answer**, where they apply.
+
+If you select some text inside a message first, the menu offers **Copy**, **Quote**, **Select all** and **Select** for that text instead.
+
+## Select several messages
+
+Choose **Select**, then click the messages you want. Shift+click picks a range. A bar at the bottom shows how many are selected, with **Copy**, **Select all** and **Done**. Esc leaves selection.
+
+## Search a conversation
+
+Press Ctrl+F to open **Find in conversation**. It shows how many matches there are, for example "2/5". **Enter** goes to the next match and **Shift+Enter** to the previous one. **Esc** closes the search.
+
+## Copy or export the whole chat
+
+- **Edit ▸ Copy chat** (Ctrl+Shift+C) copies the conversation to the clipboard. The status line says "Chat copied to clipboard".
+- **File ▸ Export chat…** (Ctrl+Shift+E) saves it as Markdown, a Word document or an HTML page.
+
+A picture in a chat that lives on the web is saved as a link that shows its address, not as a picture. That way the program that opens the exported file loads nothing from the internet by itself. Code and pictures that are not on the web are saved as they are. This holds for **File ▸ Export chat…** and for **Export…** in [History](/windows/chat/history/).
+
+<Callout variant="info" title="If Word export fails">
+Haruno says "Couldn't export chat — Word export component not installed". Markdown and HTML still work.
+</Callout>
+
+## Links, pictures and files in an answer
+
+Haruno's answer can hold links, pictures and files. The assistant writes them, so Haruno never lets one load or open by itself.
+
+- **A link asks first.** Click a link in an answer, in a document Haruno wrote, or in the text of a result, notice or error, and Haruno asks **Open this link?** It says the link was written by the AI and that opening it sends the whole address to that site. The site's name and the whole address are shown. Choose <Ui>Open link</Ui> or <Ui>Cancel</Ui>. Enter chooses Cancel. A link inside a PDF in the preview asks in the same way.
+- **A very long address is not opened.** If the address is too long to show in full, Haruno says so and opens nothing. A link that long can carry a lot of text.
+- **A picture from the web is not loaded.** Where an answer points at a picture on the web, Haruno shows the picture's description and its address as a link. Nothing is fetched until you click it, and then the link asks first.
+- **Some files ask first.** When Haruno opens a web page (`.html`), a Word, a PDF or an Excel file in its usual program, it asks **Open this file?** and shows the path. It warns that the program can follow links and load things from the internet by itself. Choose <Ui>Open file</Ui> or <Ui>Cancel</Ui>. Enter chooses Cancel. Plain text and pictures open as before. **Reveal in Explorer** opens nothing, so it does not ask.
+
+The links in the app's own User Guide and About pages, and the sources listed in the side panel, do not ask.
+
+The shortcuts above are the defaults. They can be changed in Settings.