Understanding Channels and its Connection to Shape

Step 1: Differentiate Between Automatically Created Channels and Manually Created Channels

Automatically Created Channels:

• When you first use the app, channels are already created for you by the Shape Platform.
• These channels allow you to communicate with each team you are part of.
• You will have a channel for each project you use Shape for collaboration and record keeping.
• Automatically created channels will have an "Auto" mark on them.

Manually Created Channels:

• In addition to the automatically generated channels, you can create your own groups.
• These manually created channels allow you to communicate with anyone you want within your projects.
• In manually created groups, you can also choose to store a photo in the Shape gallery, but this will be done on a photo-by-photo basis.

Step 2: Understand How Channels Connect to the Shape World

Account, Project, and Team Creation:

• New accounts, projects, and teams are always created in Shape, and Channels operate within this context.
• If you receive an invitation link, it means someone has already created a project and a team in that project, and you can collaborate with them.
• You should use Shape to set up a project and team for your team.

Photo Storage:

• Every photo you and your team share within the automatically created Channels is stored directly in your Project Gallery.
• This ensures that evidence of progress, blockers, or snags are not scattered across multiple devices.

Centralized Location:

• Photos are stored in a centralized location, making them easily accessible.
• These photos can provide evidence in progress reports within a Shift Report or document a blocker in the Issue Tracker.