The audience and players can chat with each other and with the players during UpStage performances when the chat window is visible. Players can choose to hide or expose the chat window at any time, and to position it on either the left or the right-hand side of the screen.
You can minimise the chat window locally (just for your view) using the line icon at the top right corner of the chat box.
To pop the chat window back up again, use the double-square icon.
You can increase or decrease the size of the font using the + and – buttons at bottom right, just above the chat input field.
Chatting
When the chat window is available, you can type into the input field at the bottom of the chat window and press enter (on your keyboard) to send your message. It will be visible to all audience and players present on the stage.
Text input by audience members appears as grey text, while player text is black and in a slightly larger font size.
You can include emoticons in your message by clicking on the green emoticon icon located at the bottom-right of the text input field. A pop-up window will open, showing the available emoticons. Click on one to select it, then hit enter to send your message.
Emoji reactions
Above the chat text input field are four emoticons and a fat plus symbol (as distinct from the thin plus icon further to the right, which increases the font size of text in the chat window). Click on one of emoticons and it will pop up along the bottom of the stage, visible to everyone. The four options are for love, laughter, raised hands and applause.
If you want to express a different reaction, use the fat plus symbol to access more emoji options.
Players can hide the emoji reactions if there are times during the performance when they don’t want the audience to have the possibility to insert them. When the icons are not there above the chat input field, there will be text telling you what your nickname is. You can click on the name here to change it.
Adjust the font size and chat window opacity
The size of the font can be adjusted with the + and – buttons at the bottom right above the text input field. Press on the + to increase the font size, and on the – to decrease it. Remember, this only changes the font size for you, not for anyone else.
The opacity of the chat window can be adjusted with the slider, accessed from the cog icon at the top right of the chat window. Again, this is a local change only. This can be helpful if you are having difficulty reading the chat.
Click on the cog and a pop-up window opens:
Change your nickname on the chat window
Click on the cog icon at the top right of the chat window, and a pop-up window opens. In the first tab you can change your nickname.
- Choose another nickname or simply put an empty space by pressing the space bar once.
- Confirm by clicking on “Save”.
Shouting and thinking
“Shouting” and “thinking” are ways to add expression to the chat.
- “Shouting” makes your text appear in red upper case letters in the chat window. This is done by typing ! at the beginning of your text.
- “Thinking” makes your text appear in pale blue letters in the chat window. This is done by typing : at the beginning of your text.
