Entering a term in the Search () field and pressing the Enter key will produce a list of contacts and visible non-contacts (typically those who are enrolled in the same courses as the user) matching the search term, as well a list of all messages that contain the search term.

Selecting a search result will open the conversation for the user or message selected.

Selecting the Messages Settings () action will make the following settings available for configuration:

• Privacy: This setting allows the user to restrict who is allowed to send the user messages. This can be either "My contacts only" or "My contacts and anyone in my course".
• A toggle is available to activate or deactivate Email notifications to be sent when messages are received.
• Finally, an option is available to activate Use enter to send. This will allow the Enter key on the keyboard to act as the trigger to send a message, rather than being required to select the Send () icon.

A Contacts () link is available that, when selected, will open the Contacts section of the Messages drawer. If a contact request is pending, a blue box will appear to the right of the Contacts link indicating the number of pending requests. The Contacts section of the Message drawer has two tabs:

• The Contacts tab opens by default and displays a list of all of the contacts for a user. If the user has had any recent system activity, that user will be noted as online via a green dot appearing to the lower right of the user's profile image.
• Selecting the Requests tab will display all contact requests that are pending for the user. If contact requests are pending, this will be indicated by the number of pending requests appearing in a blue box to the right of the Requests tab. Contact requests can be accepted or declined by selecting the request and responding to the prompts.

The Starred message group collects all contacts who have had a conversation with the user that the user has marked as starred. The purpose of this is to provide a convenient way to access important conversations for later reference.

By default, the signed-in user is automatically included as a starred conversation participant. This provides the user the ability to use the messaging interface to create messages to him/herself, fundamentally making this an area to record notes for future reference. Group or private conversations that have been "starred" will also appear within the Starred group. Finally, if a starred user has had any recent system activity, that user will be noted as online via a green dot appearing to the lower right of the user's profile image.

If new, unread messages are available within one or more starred conversations, a blue box containing the number of conversations with new message will appear to the right of the Starred group. In addition, once the Starred group is expanded, each starred conversation will indicate the number of new messages within that conversation via a number displayed in its blue box notification.

When a starred user or group is selected, the conversation history will be displayed. A new message can be added to the conversation by entering the text of the message in the Write a message field at the bottom of the Messaging drawer panel and selecting the Send () button or Enter key on the keyboard based on the messaging settings.

When expanded, the Group message category will display all course groups to which the user belongs that have been configured to allow group messaging. Each of these groups constitutes a conversation for the group.

If new, unread messages are available within one or more group conversations, a blue box containing the number of conversations with new message will appear to the right of the Group category. In addition, each group conversation will indicate the number of new messages within that conversation via a number displayed in its blue box notification.

When a group is selected, the conversation history will be displayed with each message indicating which member of the group sent the message. A new message can be added to the group conversation by entering the text of the message in the Write a message field at the bottom of the Messaging drawer panel and selecting the Send () button or Enter key on the keyboard based on the messaging settings. When adding a message to a group conversation, all members of the group will be notified of the new message based on their individual notification preference settings.

The Private message group collects all contacts who have active conversations with the user. If a contact has had any recent system activity, that contact will be noted as online via a green dot appearing to the lower right of the contact's profile image.

If new, unread messages are available from one or more users, a blue box containing the number of users with new messages will appear to the right of the Private group. In addition, when the Private group is expanded, each user from whom new messages have been received will indicate the number of new messages from that user via a number displayed in the user's blue box notification.

When a user is selected, the conversation history will be displayed. A new message can be added to the conversation by entering the text of the message in the Write a message field at the bottom of the Messaging drawer panel and selecting the Send () button or Enter key on the keyboard based on the messaging settings.