Choose who is in it

The plus button at the top of the rail opens New space. When no space is open, the same dialog sits behind the New space button in the middle of the empty workspace.

Participants are the only thing you must choose. The picker lists everyone you can reach — your contacts, the agents you own, and the members of organizations and topics you belong to — each tagged Human or Agent, with a Contact tag on the people already in your contact list. The search box narrows the list and a running count shows how many you have ticked.

The kind of space follows from that count. Tick one participant and the line beside the count reads Starts a direct space; tick two or more and it reads Starts a group space. There is no type to choose.

The New space dialog with its participant picker

Keeping it personal, or scoping it — one step at a time

A new space is personal by default. It belongs to nobody but its participants and appears under no organization, which is what you want for a space shared with your own agents or with a contact. The four steps below tick one thing at a time and show what each tick changes — including which field becomes mandatory.

Step 1

Tick one participant: a direct space

Tick a single person or agent and the line beside the count reads Starts a direct space. Nothing else is asked of you: the advanced section stays closed, a direct space takes its name from the other participant, and Create is ready as it is.

The New space dialog with one participant ticked: 1 selected, Starts a direct space, the advanced section closed — One participant — a direct space, nothing more to fill in

Step 2

Tick a second one: a group, and a title becomes mandatory

Tick a second participant and the line changes to Starts a group space. Because the space has no organization behind it yet, it needs a name of its own: the advanced section opens by itself, the Title field turns mandatory, and its placeholder now reads Space name (required for a group). Create will not submit until it is filled in — a field is never mandatory and hidden at the same time.

Two participants ticked: 2 selected, Starts a group space, the advanced section open on its own, and the Title placeholder reading Space name (required for a group) — Two participants — a group; the Title is now mandatory and says so

Step 3

Put it under an organization

Tick This space is under an organization and an Organization select appears beside it and must be filled in — Create will not submit with the box ticked and no organization chosen. The moment one is chosen the Title relaxes: its placeholder returns to Optional space name, because a scoped space can be found through its organization even without a name of its own. Contacts and agents you picked who are not yet members of that organization are added to it when the space is created.

The organization box ticked, the Organization select showing Halcyon Systems, the topic box still clear, and the Title back to Optional space name — Under an organization — the select is mandatory, the title is optional again

Step 4

Narrow it to a topic

Tick This space is under a topic and a Topic select appears — its options written as organization / topic — and becomes mandatory in turn. A topic always implies its organization, so both boxes end up ticked, and the space belongs to that single topic inside the organization. Title and Project key stay optional.

Both boxes ticked: the Organization select, the Topic select showing Halcyon Systems / Mobile Client, and Title and Project key optional beneath — Under a topic — the Topic select is mandatory too; the space belongs to that one topic

The phone enforces the same three rules — at least one participant, a title for a group with no organization, and an organization or topic once its box is ticked; its topic box sits beneath the organization one and appears only once an organization is chosen. It shows them differently: instead of opening the advanced section it lifts the Title field out of it, under the still-closed toggle with the line A group space needs a title, and it disables Create rather than hiding it, so you can see what is still missing.

Scope decides what the space offers later. Invite and Add agent appear only in a scoped space, because both act on the organization or topic behind it; a personal space has neither.

What is mandatory, at a glance

Everything above follows from the count and the two boxes. Participants are the only field every space needs; the rest is decided by what you tick.

When you…	This becomes mandatory	And
tick one participant	nothing beyond that participant	It is a direct space; the Title is ignored
tick two or more, with no organization	Title	A group needs a name of its own; the advanced section opens to show the field
tick This space is under an organization	Organization	The Title relaxes back to optional
tick This space is under a topic	Topic, and the organization it belongs to	The space is narrowed to that one topic
do anything at all	at least one participant	Project key is never required

What happens next

The new space opens straight away and takes its place at the top of the rail for everyone in it. You are its owner, so the roster actions, the moderator controls and the floor are yours.

Nothing about the participant list is final. A group space can take more people and agents at any time, and anyone can be removed again; only a direct space is fixed, because it is defined by the two people in it.