Manage a conversation in Opal Chat

  • Updated

Manage the flow of a conversation in Opal Chat. Stop a response, edit a sent message, queue follow-ups, compact a long thread, or copy your thread ID.

Stop a response

Stop a response when Opal is heading in the wrong direction or you want to revise your prompt. Do one of the following:

  • Click Stop.
  • Press Escape.

Opal stops the response, and the chat input is ready for your next message.

Edit a message

Edit any message you have already sent in Opal Chat. Editing a message creates a branch of the conversation. Opal preserves your original wording and its first response, so you can return to them anytime.

  1. Hover over a message you sent. The edit option displays when Opal is idle.
  2. Click Edit. The message opens in an editable text field.
  3. Change the text.
  4. Click Send.

Opal continues the conversation from your edited message and generates a response. Opal keeps the messages that came after the original on the earlier branch. Nothing is deleted.

Switch between versions

After you edit a message, navigation arrows display on it with a counter such as 1 of 2. Use the arrows to move between the original message and each edited version. Switching versions swaps the rest of the conversation to match that branch.

Limitations

Keep the following limitations in mind when editing messages in Opal:

  • Editing applies only to messages you sent, not to Opal's responses.
  • You cannot edit a message while Opal generates a response. Wait for it to finish.
  • Editing carries text only. Attached files do not carry over to the edited version.
  • Message editing is not available inside a specialized-agent session or when you use your own AI provider.

Queue messages while Opal works

Queue your follow-up messages while Opal generates a response, instead of waiting for it to finish. Opal sends queued messages in order when the current response completes.

Add a message to the queue

While Opal is working,

  1. Enter your next message in the chat input.
  2. Click Add to queue or press Enter. 

Opal adds the message to the Queued messages list and updates the count, such as Queued messages (1).

Manage queued messages

In the Queued messages list, do any of the following:

  • Click Send now to send a queued message to Opal immediately instead of waiting for the current response.
  • Click Remove from queue to delete a queued message.
  • Drag a queued message to reorder the queue.

Compact a conversation

Opal Chat automatically save checkpoints so it can automatically get context from earlier in the conversation.  

To compact a conversation manually, complete the following steps in a chat that already contains messages:

  1. Enter /compact in the Opal chat.
  2. Click Submit or press Enter.

    Screenshot of Opal Chat with the /compact command typed in.

Opal summarizes the conversation and inserts a summary marker in the thread. 

Screenshot of Opal Chat with the Conversation compacted marker displayed

From that point, Opal sends the summary and any newer messages to the model instead of the full history. You still see the entire conversation in the chat. Nothing is deleted, and you stay in the same conversation thread.

Copy your Opal Chat thread ID

To get your chat thread ID, complete the following:

  1. Access Opal Chat.
  2. Click the chat thread you want to copy the ID for.
  3. Click More options and select Copy thread ID.

    Screenshot of the chat thread options menu in Opal Chat with Copy thread ID highlighted