Reading strategies
In Zulip, streams determine who gets a message. Topics tell you what
the message is about. If you are not yet familiar with Zulip's topics,
we recommend first reading about streams and
topics.
This article details a few ways to efficiently read through messages
in Zulip.
Topic by topic
Like your email inbox, for most users, Zulip works best if you read it
topic-by-topic.
Finding a topic to read
From Recent conversations
In Zulip, a conversation is a direct message thread
(one-on-one or with a group), or a topic in a
stream. Use the Recent conversations view to get
an overview of all the ongoing conversations. This view is particularly useful
for catching up on messages sent while you were away.
- Instructions for all platforms
-
Click Recent conversations in the left sidebar.
-
The filters at the top help you quickly find relevant conversations.
For example, select Participated to narrow to the topics you
have sent messages to.
The Participants column shows which users recently sent a message (newest on the left).
From the list of streams
In the left sidebar, you can see the streams you are subscribed to, along with
unread message counts for each stream.
- Instructions for all platforms
-
Click on the name of a stream in the left sidebar. You will see a list of the
most recent unread topics in that stream.
-
The initially shown list of topics usually has what you need, but you can
click on more topics underneath to see additional topics.
Older topics disappear from the left sidebar, but you can always find them
by clicking more topics or by using search.
Reading topics
- Via recent conversations
- Via left sidebar
-
Click Recent conversations in the left sidebar.
-
Click on the name of a topic in the Topic column.
-
Read the topic, scrolling down with the mouse or by pressing
PgDn.
-
If the topic is not of interest, you can
mark all messages as read by
jumping to the bottom with the Scroll to bottom
() button or the End shortcut.
-
You can then click on another topic in the left sidebar, use the
N key to go to the next unread topic, or go back to the
Recent conversations view.
-
Click on the name of a stream in the left sidebar. You will see a
list of the most recent unread topics in that stream.
-
Click on a topic in the left sidebar.
-
Read the topic, scrolling down with the mouse or by pressing
PgDn.
-
If the topic is not of interest, you can
mark all messages as read by
jumping to the bottom with the Scroll to bottom
() button or the End shortcut.
-
Click on the next topic in the left sidebar, or use the N
key to go to the next unread topic.
-
To go to older unread topics, use the N key or click
more topics to view.
Stream view
Sometimes it's useful to scroll through all the messages in a stream,
especially in situations where you just want a general idea of what's going
on.
-
Click on a stream name in the left sidebar, and scroll using your mouse,
the arrow keys, End, or page up/down.
-
Click on a topic to narrow to messages from that topic.
You can also search for a stream by clicking on STREAMS in the
left sidebar, or using the Q keyboard
shortcut.
All messages
The All messages view is a feed of all the unmuted messages you have
received, which combines stream messages and direct messages. It's a great way
to see new messages as they come in.
You can configure All messages to be the default
view for the Zulip web app.
- Open All messages from the left sidebar or with the
A keyboard shortcut.
- Tap the All messages
(
)
tab in the upper left corner of the app.
Starring messages for later
You can star messages that you've seen and would
like to reply to later.
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