[enginerev]

Yeee ha... I can now use the web to send text messages.
(5 years late, but heck, it's OK.)

Enter key - sends text messages.
How do I stop this?
So annoying.
Have to be super careful when sending messages.
It would be nice to at least have the option of turning on or off.

In another 5 years time, we'll have the ability to schedule text messages (lie you can do with many apps) - keep up the good work Google.

EDIT: I can edit my question - but I can't post a reply to a reply. The website is full of ads left right, above below - so off putting. This is pants.

[hallux]

How about shift-enter? Not sure the formatting will come through on the other end, it might be a limitation of the SMS protocol so I'm not sure of the purpose...

[enginerev]

Shift Enter - this makes a new line.
Which is OK.
I would just prefer to have sending be restricted to only pressing the send button.

Imagine in your email program... pressing enter sends the email!
Or using Word and everytime ypu press enter it prints the document.
Yes... you can press shift enter - but it seems so un-natural

[hallux]

So, you want to write the message but not send it right away? Most (yes, I understand there may be exceptions) chat programs have the default enter key action as send. Some allow you to change this but I think it's usually to turn it into a carriage return, same as shift-enter.

Hangouts (both on the web and in the Chrome add-in) - enter key sends the message
Messages (on Apple) - Enter key sends the message
AIM (when it was a thing) - Enter key sent the message.

There is a long history of chat apps with the enter key sending the message.

[tube517]

Give it some time. This app and web version are still in the beginning stages. They just made the decision to abandon Allo and focus on Android Messages. (Thank God!)

I'm hoping there will be more features added from here on out.

[Rukbat]

Imagine in your email program... pressing enter sends the email!
Or using Word and everytime ypu press enter it prints the document.
Yes... you can press shift enter - but it seems so un-natural

In SMS, there's no newline - everything is on one line, so they had 2 choices - ignore the enter key or or use it as a SEND key. Since most programs that used formatless text use Enter as a "done" key, they chose to do the same thing - there would have been screams heard all the way to Alpha Centauri if Enter didn't do anything. We were used to it sending. (Even as early as the advent of texting over the web, like Skype or even ICQ, Enter was Send, Shift-Enter was newline.)

Maybe, as tube517 said, when webchat matures, Enter will be newline. (But don't bet on it - we've been doing it the other way for about 40 years now.)

[Golfdriver97]

I've actually become quite used to enter to send. I had a different messages service where enter started a new line. After thinking I had sent messages only to find they were waiting to be sent, I quickly changed it in settings.

I don't think this is going to change, due to most text messages are usually a few words.

[Onkel Per]

In SMS, there's no newline - everything is on one line, so they had 2 choices - ignore the enter key or or use it as a SEND key. Since most programs that used formatless text use Enter as a "done" key, they chose to do the same thing - there would have been screams heard all the way to Alpha Centauri if Enter didn't do anything. We were used to it sending. (Even as early as the advent of texting over the web, like Skype or even ICQ, Enter was Send, Shift-Enter was newline.)

Maybe, as tube517 said, when webchat matures, Enter will be newline. (But don't bet on it - we've been doing it the other way for about 40 years now.)

In SMS there is newline.

[Alex Bellig]

Any other desktop SMS app that I have used give you the option to choose what the Enter key does. e.g: MightyText, AirDroid, etc.
This is the only one that is stripped down from most options and features.

[B. Diddy]

There's a Send Feedback option in the menu for Messages on the Web. This would be a good suggestion for them to add.