# Communicate about a production order

> Send messages and files to your team and the factory on a production order, reply, pin or star messages, and find shared files.

Source: https://docs.vestislabs.com/production/production-order-communication/

The **Communication** tab of a production order keeps every message and file about that order in one place, so the team and the factory work from the same thread. New messages from other people appear without reloading the page.

**Where to find it:** Production → Order Management → three-dot menu → View/Edit → Communication
**Requires:** permission `VIEW_BRAND_PRODUCTION`

The tab is titled **Communication** with the description "Track messages, files, and notifications for this production order". A small connection icon next to the title shows whether live updates are connected (green) or not (red). It has three tabs: **Messages**, **Files** and **Notifications**.

## Send a message

1. **Open the Communication tab**
   Open the order with **View/Edit** and click the **Communication** tab. The **Messages** tab is selected.

   ![The Communication tab with the Messages thread, a pinned message with a reply and the order details beside it](https://docs.vestislabs.com/assets/production/assets/production-order-communication/60-communication-tab.webp)

2. **Type your message**
   Type in the box at the bottom, which shows **Type your message...**

   ![A message typed in the box at the bottom of the thread, with the send button now enabled](https://docs.vestislabs.com/assets/production/assets/production-order-communication/61-type-message.webp)

3. **Attach files (optional)**
   Click the attach button to choose one or more files. The files appear under **Selected Files (n)**. Remove one with its x, or click **Clear All** to remove them all.

   ![A selected file listed under Selected Files with a way to remove it or clear all](https://docs.vestislabs.com/assets/production/assets/production-order-communication/62-attach-files.webp)

4. **Send the message**
   Click the send button. It stays disabled until you type something or select a file, and while files are uploading.

   ![The message box with the typed text and the send button at its right](https://docs.vestislabs.com/assets/production/assets/production-order-communication/63-send.webp)

The message appears at the bottom of the thread with the sender's name and time.

## Reply, pin, star and delete

Open the three-dot menu on a message to:

- **Reply** – The composer shows **Replying to** the sender's name and its box changes to **Type your reply...**. Click the x next to **Replying to** to cancel the reply.

![The three-dot menu of a message with Reply, Pin or Unpin, Star and Delete](https://docs.vestislabs.com/assets/production/assets/production-order-communication/64-message-menu.webp)
- **Pin** or **Unpin** – Mark the message as pinned.
- **Star** or **Un-Star** – Mark the message as starred.
- **Delete** – Remove the message.

Replies are folded under their message. Click the reply count, for example "2 replies", to expand them. Each reply has its own **Delete** option.

## Find a message

Click **Filters** above the thread to show the filter bar:

- **Search messages...** – Search the text of the messages.
- **Pinned** – Show only pinned messages.
- **Starred** – Show only starred messages.
- **Reset Filters** – Clear the search and both buttons.

![The filter bar above the thread with the search box and the Pinned and Starred buttons](https://docs.vestislabs.com/assets/production/assets/production-order-communication/65-filters.webp)

If nothing matches, the thread shows **No messages found** and a **Clear filters** link.

![The thread after a search that matches nothing, with No messages found and a Clear filters link](https://docs.vestislabs.com/assets/production/assets/production-order-communication/68-no-match.webp)

## Order details beside the thread

The panel at the right of the **Messages** tab always shows the order's number, status, **Start**, **End** and **Ex-Factory** dates, the number of styles and units, and the total value. Under **Recent Files** it shows the latest three attachments. Click **View All Files** to jump to the **Files** tab. Above **Recent Files**, a **Quick Actions** card shows the buttons **Report Issue**, **Request Update**, **Schedule Call** and **Shipping Update**. They do not do anything yet.

## Files

The **Files** tab, titled **Shared Files**, lists every file attached to the messages and replies of the order, with its size, who uploaded it and when. Use **Search files...** to find a file by name, and click the download icon to download it.

![The Files tab titled Shared Files with its search box](https://docs.vestislabs.com/assets/production/assets/production-order-communication/66-files.webp)

## Notifications

The **Notifications** tab shows **No Notifications** ("No notifications found"). Notifications are not available on this tab yet.

![The Notifications tab showing No Notifications](https://docs.vestislabs.com/assets/production/assets/production-order-communication/67-notifications.webp)