Managing Offline Form settings

When your widget is offline, visitors can leave a message with their contact information in the offline form.

Note: If you’re using Chat with an integrated Zendesk Support account (all Chat versions), you can use either the offline form or the contact form component of the Web Widget. For details on the contact form, see Using Web Widget to embed customer service in your website.

This article discusses the following topics:

• Editing the offline form message
• Enabling messaging channels

Editing the offline form message

By default, this form is enabled with the message shown "Sorry, we aren't online at the moment. Leave a message and we'll get back to you." For Team, Professional, and Enterprise plans, you can edit the message that appears or disable the form completely.

The process for setting up the offline form is the same for both Chat Standalone and integrated Chat + Support accounts; however, if you are on an integrated account, the offline form is disabled automatically if you are using the contact form in the Web Widget.

Professional and Enterprise customers can also Create a schedule with operating hours and display operating hours in their offline form.

To edit the offline form message

1. In your Chat dashboard, go to Settings > Widget and click the Forms tab.
2. In the Offline Form section, make sure the form is enabled by toggling it On.
3. Edit the text in the Offline Greeting field, then click Save Changes at the bottom of the page.

To disable the offline form

1. In your Chat dashboard, go to Settings > Widget and click the Forms tab.
2. In the Offline Form section, click Off, then click Save Changes at the bottom of the page.

   

Enabling messaging channels

If you want to link out to your social messaging channels when the widget is offline, you can toggle on the following channels:

• Facebook Messenger
• Twitter Direct Messages

Facebook Messenger

To add your Facebook account, you will need to specify your Facebook username or page ID. We recommend using the page ID because it is constant whereas you can change your username.

To get your page ID

1. Open your Facebook page and click on the About tab.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the More Info section and you will see the specific Page ID. Copy and paste that number into the offline form settings page.

Note: If you are using the Zendesk Message product and have already connected a Facebook account, double clicking on the field will reveal a drop-down that allows you to select which page/account should be visible on the offline form.

Twitter Direct Messages

To add your Twitter account, you will need to specify your Twitter User ID.

To get your Twitter User ID

1. Log in to your Twitter account.
2. Go to Your Twitter Data page.
3. Under the Username field, copy and paste the User ID number into the offline form settings page.

When turning on Twitter Direct Messages on the widget, you will want to ensure that you have turned on "Receive Direct Messages from anyone"in your Twitter account.