Direct messages

# Messages from any page

Open your conversations in a panel in the bottom-right corner, and stay on the page you're on.

-   The Messages button shows your unread total and the faces of your recent conversations.
-   Pick a conversation from the list, and it opens in the same panel.
-   You can reply, react, edit and delete there, just like on the Direct messages page.
-   Expand the panel to carry on in the full Direct messages page.

Direct conversations use the optional chats app. Your server needs to install it and turn on rooms. The panel is for wider screens. On a narrow screen, such as a phone, conversations open on the Direct messages page.

![The Direct messages panel with Expand and Close, four conversations with unread counts, two of them rooms of the Riverside Garden group, and a button for a new conversation.](https://welley.com/assets/media/dm-floating-list-840.6910aed0.webp)

The Messages panel lists your conversations. Open one in the same panel, or expand the panel to the full page.

![The profile of Maya Chen with her one-to-one conversation open in a panel on the right. The panel has Back, Expand and Close controls, three messages and a reply box.](https://welley.com/assets/media/dm-floating-room-2000.81476c54.webp)

Message on a profile opens the conversation in a panel, and the profile stays where it is.

[Previous: Fediverse direct messages](https://welley.com/messages/federated-dm-inbox/) [Next: Message someone from their profile](https://welley.com/messages/dm-from-profile/) [Back to Direct messages](https://welley.com/messages/#direct-messages)