Every task in Projects has a Discussion tab where organisers (and, in connected projects, the responding organisation) can talk through the work. We've given it a big upgrade: a proper rich-text editor, @mentions of members and roles, image and video attachments, and a copy-link button so you can point a colleague straight to a specific message.
Availability: Discussions are part of the Projects app, which is available to peak body organisations and their connected organisations (Tidy Connect). The rich-text editor, mentions, and attachments described below appear automatically on projects where this is enabled.
Where to find Discussions
Open the Projects app.
Open a project, then open the task you want to discuss.
Click on Discussion to expand the thread.
You'll see the thread of messages so far, with the composer at the top to add your own.
Writing a message
Type your message into the composer. The toolbar across the top gives you everything you need to format it:
Bold, Italic and Underline
Inline
codeBlock quotes
Bulleted and numbered lists
plus Mentions and Attachments
If you prefer to type, the usual Markdown shortcuts work as you go:
**text**→ bold*text*→ italic__text__→ underline`text`→ inline codeStart a line with
>for a quote,-for a bulleted list, or1.for a numbered list
When you're ready, click Add to post. (You can't post an empty message, and if a file is still uploading you'll be asked to wait for it to finish first.)
Tip: Used Cancel / cleared the composer by mistake? Press Ctrl+Z (⌘Z on Mac) to bring your text straight back.
@Mentioning members and roles
Mentions are the quickest way to pull the right person into a conversation.
Type
@in the composer (or click the @ button in the toolbar).Start typing a name or role — a menu appears with matching members (person icon) and roles (people icon).
Use the arrow keys and Enter (or Tab) to choose, or just click. Press Esc to dismiss the menu.
The person you mention is added to the message as a highlighted chip. Hover over any mention to see an identity card with their photo, name, organisation, and roles (for a role mention, it shows how many members hold that role).
Anyone you mention is notified automatically — see Notifications below.
Connected projects (peak bodies): When a project is shared with connected organisations, you can mention members and roles from those organisations too — not just your own. In the mention menu, people from another organisation are labelled with their organisation's name so you can tell them apart. External mentions are available when you're posting a Message (see the next section).
Notes vs Messages: who can see what
When you start a new message you can choose its type. Which options you see depends on the project:
Note (internal) — for organiser-to-organiser collaboration. Notes are only visible to the managers of the project. This is the default.
Message (external) — connected projects only — direct communication with a participating organisation. Only the project's managers and admins from that organisation can see these messages.
The composer shows a short reminder of exactly who will be able to see the message, so you can post with confidence. Switch between Note and Message using the toggle above the composer.
Attaching images and videos
You can add images and videos to any message — handy for screenshots, photos, or a quick screen recording. There are three ways to attach:
Click the paperclip button in the toolbar and choose a file
Drag and drop a file straight onto the composer (you'll see a "Drop image or video to attach" overlay)
Paste an image you've copied to your clipboard
Each file can be up to 10 MB. You'll see an upload progress indicator while it's working; once it's done the attachment appears inline in your message. (If you remove an attachment before it finishes, the upload is cancelled automatically.)
Linking to a specific message
Need to point someone to one particular message in a long thread? Each posted message has a copy-link button in its top right corner.
Hover the message and click its copy link button — the icon briefly changes to a tick to confirm it's copied.
Paste the link wherever you like (an email, another message, a chat).
When someone opens the link, the Discussion opens and scrolls straight to that message and highlights it for a moment, so it's easy to spot.
Where discussion files live (Storage)
Images and videos you attach are kept in your organisation's Archive, under Projects. You can browse them there read-only (uploading and managing files still happens from within the Discussion itself).
Files that are uploaded but never actually sent (for example, you attached something and then closed the page without posting) are tidied up automatically after two weeks, so unused uploads don't build up.
Notifications for mentions
When you @mention someone in a message, they're notified two ways:
An in-app notification — "[name] mentioned you in the Discussions tab of [task]"
An email, including a quote of the message so they have the context
This makes mentions a reliable way to get someone's attention on a task without sending a separate email yourself.
Good to know
Empty messages can't be posted, and you'll be prompted to wait if an attachment is still uploading.
Clearing the composer is undoable with Ctrl+Z (⌘Z on Mac).
Formatting, mentions, and attachments all work in both Notes and Messages.
Discussions are part of the Projects app.