Managing Offline Form settings

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

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 rules for using your offline form differ based on which version of Zendesk Chat you’re using. For help figuring out which version you have, see Determining your Zendesk Chat account version.

• Zendesk Chat Phase 4 and Chat Phase 3 with integrated Chat experience
• Zendesk Chat Phase 3 with original Chat functionality

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.

Zendesk Chat Phase 4 and Chat Phase 3 with integrated Chat experience

The following instructions apply to you if you are using Chat Phase 4 (with or without integrated Support), or Chat Phase 3 with the integrated Chat experience.

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, edit the text in the Offline Greeting field, then click Save Changes.

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.

   

   Note: The offline form is disabled automatically if you are using the contact form in the Web Widget.

Zendesk Chat Phase 3

If you’re using Chat Phase 3 with the original Chat functionality, you need to use the contact form component of the Web Widget. For details, see Using Web Widget to embed customer service in your website.

If you are using Chat Phase 3 with the new integrated Chat experience, see Zendesk Chat Phase 4 and Chat Phase 3 with integrated Chat experience, above.

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.