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DocumentationCapture a Text Conversation

Capture a Text Conversation

Groupthink can take a text conversation and file it onto the right person's record. Copy a thread out of Messages, or forward one to yourself and copy that, then paste it into Capture. Groupthink reads it for commitments and context the same way it reads a meeting recap or a forwarded email, and the conversation shows up as a Text interaction on that person's timeline.

There are two ways to get texts into Groupthink. This page covers pasting one thread at a time, which works on the web and in the desktop app. If you use Messages on a Mac and want the history that is already sitting there, see Import Your Messages History on a Mac.

Paste a conversation

  1. Click Capture in the left sidebar.
  2. Find the Paste a text conversation card.
  3. Paste the thread into the box.
  4. Optionally enter Their phone number. Groupthink matches it against your contacts.
  5. Click Capture conversation.

The conversation text is the only thing required. Everything else is optional.

When it goes through, the card turns green and says Groupthink is reading the conversation for commitments and context.

Adding a title or date

Click Add a title or date to open two more fields.

  • Title names the thread, for example "Texts with Sam about Hawaii".
  • When was this? dates it. Dating the thread keeps "last interaction" accurate for that contact. Leave it blank and the thread is still captured, it just does not move that contact's recency clock.

How Groupthink decides who the thread is from

A text rarely contains a name or an email address in its body. The identity of a text is the handle it came from. So that is what Groupthink matches on: a phone number, or the Apple ID email address that iMessage uses in place of one.

Formatting does not have to line up. A contact saved as 4155550100 matches a thread from +14155550100. Country codes, spaces, brackets, and dashes are ignored on both sides.

When it matches, the result reads Matched to [name], and the conversation lands on that contact's timeline.

The paste box asks for a phone number. Apple ID matching is what the Mac Messages import uses, because iMessage identifies some people by an Apple ID email address instead of a number. If you are pasting a thread from someone who texts you that way, leave the number blank and pick the contact afterwards.

When nothing matches

Nothing is dropped and nothing is quietly filed to the wrong person.

If you gave a number and it matched no one, Groupthink says so and tells you the capture is saved but not filed to anyone yet. If you left the number blank, it says the capture was saved without a contact.

In both cases a contact picker appears right underneath. Search your existing contacts, or create a new one. When you attach it, Groupthink re-reads the conversation for that person and the result reads Attached to [name].

Pasting the same thread twice

If you paste a conversation you already captured, Groupthink tells you that you already captured it and stops there. No second interaction is recorded, and no duplicate card appears on the timeline.

This also means you can safely re-paste a thread you are not sure about.

Where the conversation ends up

  • On the contact's relationship page, as a Text card in the timeline with the thread body.
  • In Past Interactions, with a green Text chip.
  • In what Groupthink knows about that person, because the thread goes through the same extraction as a meeting or an email.

The conversation is stored as a note in Groupthink, and you can delete it like any other note.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this work in the desktop app?

Yes. Capture is the same page in the desktop app, and the card behaves the same way.

Can I import my whole message history instead of pasting threads one at a time?

On a Mac, yes. See Import Your Messages History on a Mac. It reads the conversations already on your machine, with your permission, one conversation at a time.

Can I forward texts to Groupthink live, the way I forward email?

Not yet. Live text forwarding would need Groupthink to run its own phone number, and that does not exist today. For now the two routes are pasting a thread and, on a Mac, importing from Messages.

Does the extraction run before I pick a contact?

No. An unattributed capture is stored and left alone. Groupthink reads it once it belongs to someone, which is why attaching a contact afterwards kicks off a fresh read for that person.

Are group threads supported?

The paste box takes whatever you paste, including a group thread, but a group thread has no single person to file it to. You will be asked to pick the contact it belongs to.

Getting Help

Questions about capturing texts, or a conversation that landed on the wrong person? Email support@groupthink.com.