Reply, Edit & Forward

Three core message-level actions every modern chat app needs — built into Better Messages: reply with quoted context for clarity in busy group threads, edit a sent message when a typo or fact-correction is needed (with an "edited" indicator for transparency), and forward a message to one or many other conversations.

What it adds#

Reply — quote a specific message inline as context for your response
Self-reply — quote your own past messages (configurable)
Edit — change a sent message; shows an "edited" indicator to other participants
Forward — send the message to one or multiple other conversations
Optional "Forwarded from" attribution showing the original sender

How each works#

Reply#

Click the Reply action on any message. Your message input shows a quote preview of the target message. Type your response, send — the reply renders with the quoted original above your text, making the context unambiguous.

Scenario	Why reply matters
Busy group chat	Your "Sounds good" is clearly responding to the right earlier message
Async DMs	Reply on a 3-day-old question without losing context
Multi-topic threads	One conversation handling multiple parallel topics stays clear

Edit#

Click Edit on a sent message. Modify the text, save. The message updates for all participants with a small "edited" label appended. Past edit history isn't visible to participants by default (privacy choice).

Edit window: configurable from the Settings → Messaging → Edit time limit field (in minutes). Set to 0 to allow editing indefinitely; set to e.g. 5 to enforce a 5-minute window for non-admin users.

Forward#

Click Forward on a message, pick one or more target conversations (DMs or group chats), submit. The message appears in each target with an optional "Forwarded from [sender]" label.

Forward target	Result
Single DM	Message appears as a new message in that thread
Multiple DMs	Same message duplicated to each thread
Group chat	Message appears in the group with all members visible to the forwarder
Chat room	Message posted to the room (requires sender to be a participant)

When to use each#

Action	Typical use
Reply	Group chats, async DMs, threading multiple topics
Edit	Typo fixes, fact corrections, clarifications
Forward	Sharing important info across teams, escalating to managers, cross-posting announcements

How to enable#

Navigate to WP Admin → Better Messages → Settings → Messaging.

Enable Replies — Allow quoted replies
Allow Self Replies — Let users quote their own past messages
Allow Edit Messages — Permit post-send editing
Enable Message Forwarding — Allow forwarding to other conversations
Forwarded Attribution — Show "Forwarded from" label on forwarded messages

Frequently asked questions#

Can administrators see edit history?#

Not in the default UI. The database stores only the current text. To preserve full edit history, register a listener on the REST edit endpoint and log the previous body before the update lands.

How long can a user edit a message after sending?#

Unlimited by default (the Edit time limit setting starts at 0 minutes = unlimited). Raise it to e.g. 5 to restrict non-admin users to editing within 5 minutes of sending.

Does forwarding show the original conversation to recipients?#

No — forwarded messages don't reveal where they came from beyond the "Forwarded from [sender]" attribution. The original conversation participants don't see the forward action either.

Can users edit messages that they replied to?#

Yes — the original sender can edit anytime. The reply quote updates to reflect the edited content automatically.

Are edits and forwards subject to the bad-words filter?#

Yes — both go through the same content pipeline. An edit that introduces banned words gets rejected, preserving the original text. A forward of a banned-word message gets blocked.