Purpose
This user guide provides comprehensive instructions for navigating and using Purple. It covers all essential features including logging in, interacting with agents, managing conversations, uploading files, providing feedback, and customizing your experience.
Whether you're new to Purple or looking to explore advanced features, this guide will help you make the most of the platform's capabilities.
On this page:
- Getting Started
- Core Features
- User Input
- Add Files & Images
- User Prompts
- Chat Response
- Managing Agents & Chats
- Additional Information
Getting Started
Log Into Purple
- Go to https://purple.uw.edu
- Log in by clicking Sign in with Microsoft.
- Enter your UW email address and password when prompted.
- Complete authentication with Duo.
- New to Duo? View Duo guides
- From here, you can explore the features below.
Brought to the ONEchat Screen?
Each numbered item below matches a labeled callout in the screenshot to help you locate the feature on screen:
- When you log in, you'll be greeted by Name and can immediately begin a conversation.
- Under the + menu, you can enable or disable Image Creation, Web Search, and Code Interpreter, and select a Reasoning Mode.
- Add Files & Images - Upload documents, images, or other files to include in your conversation. More info
- Import from - Connect and import content from external sources or integrations (currently disabled)
- Image Creation - Toggle to generate AI images based on your descriptions.
- Web Search - Toggle to search the internet for current information and sources.
- Code Interpreter - Let the model execute code and perform computational tasks in a sandbox environment. Available for some models.
- Quick Prompts - Access pre-written prompt templates to jumpstart common tasks. More Info
- Reasoning Mode - Control how the model thinks through problems, with options to adjust the depth of reasoning.
- You can select the model you'd like to use from the list of available options. After you select a model provider, brief descriptions of each available model are provided to help you decide.
- When you select New Chat from the menu pane, it will always begin a ONEchat conversation.
Explore Agents
What's an agent you ask? In Purple, agents are AI-powered tools that can help answer questions, complete tasks, and support different use cases. Their capabilities vary depending on how they were set up. Find the one you like and click it!
For more information, refer to Comparing Personal Agents and System Agents and Personal Agents.
Here are the three agents currently available in Purple (developed by UWIT):
- Pure Purple: Pure Purple is your go-to guide for campus life and beyond. Whether you need help with policies, writing, coding, or finding the right resource, Pure Purple simplifies the details so you can focus on what matters most.
- Purple Help: Your trusted Purple guide. Purple Help lets you get the most out of the UW’s AI platform. It explains features, answers questions about responsible use, and connects you with documentation and training. Think of it as your compass for navigating the Purple system.
- Deep Purple: This agent helps you dig beneath the surface to find credible, well-cited sources. From peer-reviewed publications to authoritative databases, Deep Purple delivers research-backed answers you can rely on for academic work and projects.
Note: Purple launches with these three UWIT-approved agents. More agents will appear in the directory as they’re developed and approved.
Use the Search Bar to quickly find a specific agent by name. While you can browse the page to choose an agent, this feature becomes especially helpful as more agents are added to Purple.
Quick Start Guide
Inside Purple, to access the Quick Start Tour, click on the question mark (?) icon located on the bottom righthand corner of their screen.
The tour will cover the basics of the platform, including the chat bar, file upload button and methodology, user prompt button, conversation/chat history, conversation search feature, and user menu options.
Core Features
New Chat
Click this button to start a new conversation in ONEchat.
Pin/Unpin Agent
Click this button to pin/unpin an agent. Pinned agents appear in the left navigation pane, under Agents > Pinned.
Export Chat
Click this button to export your conversation to a .txt file.
Incognito Mode
Incognito mode lets you have a conversation that is not saved to your chat history.
- The content of an Incognito conversation is not saved.
- Once the chat is closed, the conversation is no longer available in the interface.
- A record that the conversation occurred may still be retained, but the conversation content itself is not stored.
User Input
Speech to Text
Click this button to speak your prompt instead of typing it. Your prompt text displays in the chat bar and can be used in your conversation.
Add Files & Images
To upload a file or image, click the + icon on the left side of the chat bar and select Add Files & Images. Follow the instructions to upload a file from your computer.
Supported file types include images, PDFs, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, and CSV files. Files must be 20MB or smaller, and only the first 50 pages can be used.
Quick Prompts
You can save frequently used prompts to your Quick Prompt Library. These prompts will be accessible across conversations and AI agents, making it easy for you to quickly access common queries and commands.
To create a quick prompt:
- Click the + menu on the left side of the chat bar and select Quick Prompts. The Create Prompt window displays.
- Click + Add to add a prompt.
- Enter a Title and Prompt. Use the Title to briefly describe the prompt so it is easy to find later, and enter the prompt text in the Prompt field.
- Click Create. Your prompt is saved.
To use a quick prompt:
- Click the + menu on the left side of the chat bar and select Quick Prompts.
- Select the prompt from the list. The text appears in the Type a message... bar.
To remove a saved prompt:
- Click the + menu on the left side of the chat bar and select Quick Prompts
- Hover over the prompt and click the Edit icon. The Edit Prompt window displays.
- Click Delete.
Chat Response
The following features are available once you have entered a prompt and received a response:
| Icon | Description |
|---|---|
| Edit - Hover over one of your messages to display the Edit icon. You can then update the text and click Send or Cancel your changes. | |
| Regenerate Response - Click regenerate to send the prompt again. | |
| Start Playback - Click Start Playback to listen to the generated material. | |
| Copy to Clipboard - Click Copy to Clipboard to copy the response to potentially paste it in a desired location. | |
| Show Execution Details - Click Show Execution Details to view the Execution Logs, Token Consumption, Tool Usuage, Performance, etc. | |
| Provide Positive Feedback- Click the Thumbs Up button to provide positive feedback to the agent admins. | |
| Provide Negative Feedback - Click the Thumbs Down button to provide negative feedback to the agent admins. | |
| Provide Written Feedback - After clicking Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down, you can enter written feedback. You may also include the last 5 chat messages for context by toggling the slider. Click Submit to send your feedback. If you do not wish to write feedback, leave the textbox blank and click Submit. |
Managing Agents & Chats
Budgets
A small donut chart in the top-right corner shows your monthly usage percentage.
Click the chart to see when your usage limit was last reset and how many days remain until the next reset.
Agents
In the Agents section of the left navigation pane, use the Recent and Pinned tabs to view your recently used and pinned agents.
Chat Options
Chat options for individual chats can be accessed from the Action button (3 dots) on the right side of each chat.
- Rename: Chat names default to a description related to the initial prompt. Select Rename to edit the chat name. After editing to your desired name, press Enter to save the change. Clicking out of the box before pressing Enter will revert the name back to the previous name.
- Archive: Select Archive to remove the chat from the list of chats. The data will still exist in the Cosmos database.
- Delete: Select Delete to remove the chat from the list of chats and make it irretrievable for the chat user.
- Export: Select Export to download the full chat as a text (.txt) file.. Raw markdown will persist in the export.
View All Agents
Click Explore Agents in the left navigation pane to view all Personal (if applicable) and System Agents.
Create a Personal Agent
Click Explore Agents in the left navigation pane to display the Agents page, and then click + Create (next to My Agents) to create a personal agent For more information, check out the Personal Agents Knowledge Article.
Your Profile
Click the icon next to your name in the left navigation pane to open the options menu:
- About – Provides the product version number, and links to the Release Notes and other resources
- Logout – Logs you out of the system.
Additional Information
Privacy and Data Storage
For more information, go to Responsible Use and Data Guidelines.
Data Compliance
Purple isn’t approved for protected data (HIPAA, FERPA, CUI, confidential research). Please avoid entering patient information, student IDs, or any other sensitive personal details.
For more details, see consult the latest Official UW GenAI Guidelines and UW Medicine Interim Guidance for Generative AI in the Healthcare Setting.
Capabilities and Limitations
For more information, go to Capabilities and Limitations.
Need Help?
Please use our Purple Support Form to report bugs, request new features, or share general feedback.