Messaging

Overview

Tuitionable includes a built-in messaging center so you can talk to your tutors directly — ask a quick question before booking, confirm details before a session, or follow up on homework afterward. Conversations live entirely inside the platform itself.

This page is written for students. It covers how to start a conversation, send messages and file attachments, read the typing and read indicators, reply to a specific message with a quote, add emoji reactions, and pin important messages for quick reference.

Your inbox lives at /chat, reachable from the Messages area of your account. A single conversation opens at /chat/{conversationId}. There is exactly one conversation per tutor, so the full chat history with each tutor stays in one place.

Starting a Conversation

You start a conversation from a tutor profile — not from a blank "new message" screen. Open the tutor's profile and choose Message. It will either open your existing conversation with that tutor or create a fresh one, then redirect you straight into the chat thread.

Sending a quick question

Some profile buttons let you type a question first and send it in one step. When you do, your message is delivered immediately and you land inside the thread — no empty chat to fill in afterward.

Finding past conversations

Everyone you have messaged appears in the conversation list on the left of the Messages screen. Each row shows the tutor's name, a preview of the last message, the time it was sent, and an unread badge when there are messages you have not yet opened.

• Search — type in the search box to filter the list by name or message preview.
• Activity filters — switch between All, Active, and Quiet. A conversation counts as Quiet when there has been no message for seven days or more.

If your conversation list is empty, you simply have not messaged anyone yet. Visit a tutor's profile and choose Message to start your first one.

Sending Messages

Type in the composer at the bottom of the thread and press the send button (or hit Enter) to deliver your message. A live character counter next to the composer shows how many characters you have left.

New messages appear in the thread almost instantly. Even when a live connection is unavailable, Tuitionable keeps the conversation intact by checking for new messages every few seconds, so you will still see replies arrive without manually reloading the page.

Tuitionable automatically screens messages for abusive language. Depending on platform rules, an offending word may be hidden behind asterisks, the message may be marked as Flagged (it still sends, with a small flagged notice), or sending may be blocked entirely. Keep messages respectful and on-topic to avoid the filter.

Attachments

Share study material, screenshots, and documents right inside the chat. Click the Attach file (paperclip) icon in the composer, or simply drag a file onto the conversation — a "Drop file to attach" overlay confirms it is ready.

What you can send

How attachments appear

• Images show as an inline thumbnail you can click to view full size.
• PDFs open in a built-in viewer when you click them.
• Other files appear as a file card you can download.

Files shared in a conversation are also collected in the side panel of the thread, so you can find a document again later without scrolling back through the whole history.

If a file is rejected, it is because it is larger than 10 MB or its type is not on the list above. Compress large images or export to a supported format and try again.

Typing & Read Indicators

Tuitionable gives you lightweight, real-time signals about the state of the conversation.

Typing indicator

When your tutor is composing a reply, an animated three-dot bubble appears at the bottom of the thread. It clears on its own a few seconds after they stop typing.

Read indicator

On the messages you send, a small tick shows delivery status:

Opening a conversation automatically marks the other person's messages as read and clears the matching notification from your bell, so your unread count stays accurate.

Quote Replies

When a thread covers several topics, you can reply to a specific message so the context is clear. Hover over (or focus) the message you want to answer and choose the Reply action in the small toolbar that appears beside it.

1. A preview of the message you are replying to appears just above the composer.
2. Type your response as usual and send it.
3. Your message is delivered with a quoted snippet of the original attached to it.

The quoted snippet shows who sent the original and a short preview of its text. Click the quote to jump straight to that original message in the thread — it briefly highlights so it is easy to spot.

Changed your mind? Dismiss the reply preview above the composer (the small close button) to send your message as a normal, standalone message instead.

Reactions

Reactions are a quick way to acknowledge a message without typing a full reply — a thumbs-up to confirm, a heart to say thanks, a checkmark to mark something done.

Hover over any message, choose the React action, and pick an emoji from the picker. Tuitionable offers a curated set: 👍 ❤️ 😂 🎉 🙏 🤔 ✅ ❓ (thumbs-up, heart, laughing, celebration, thanks, thinking, check, and question).

• Reactions appear as small chips beneath the message, each showing the emoji and a running count.
• Your own reactions are highlighted so you can see at a glance what you added.
• Tapping a reaction you already added removes it — reactions toggle on and off.
• You can react to your tutor's messages and to your own.

Pinning Messages

Pinning keeps an important message — a meeting link, an address, a deadline — within easy reach and saving time instead of manually scroll-back.

Hover over one of your own messages and choose the Pin action. Pinned messages get a small Pinned tag and a highlighted outline so they stand out in the thread.

The pinned banner

A slim banner appears at the top of the conversation summarising the pinned message. When more than one message is pinned, the banner shows a counter (for example 1/3) with previous and next arrows so you can step through them. Click the banner text to jump to the pinned message in the thread.

To remove a pin, hover over the pinned message and choose Unpin. It returns to the conversation as an ordinary message.

The pin action is available on the messages you sent. To keep one of your tutor's messages handy, you can quote-reply to it or pin your own message that restates the key detail.

Finding Messages in a Thread

Long conversations are searchable from the inside. With the chat open, press Ctrl/Cmd + F to open the in-thread search bar. Type a word or phrase, and the platform highlights every match in the conversation, with a counter and arrows to move between hits.

This search looks only inside the message you currently have open. To find a different tutor or a different conversation, use the Search conversations box on the main Messages list instead.

Troubleshooting

Related Pages

• Tutor Profiles & Favorites — where you find the Message button to start a conversation.
• Booking a Session — turn a chat into a confirmed lesson.
• Live Sessions & Classroom — meet your tutor in the video classroom.
• Account & Security Settings — manage how you are notified about new messages.