Composing messages in the Zendesk Agent Workspace

The Zendesk Agent Workspace includes a flexible message composer that enables agents to work seamlessly across a variety of channels. Agents can work equally well with all types of messages in all types of languages, including social messages, Zendesk messages, live chats, emails, and internal notes. This article describes how to use the composer to manage conversations in the agent workspace.

This article contains the following topics:

• Switching channels in the composer
• Using Send vs. Submit
• Resizing the composer window
• Using formatting options and controls
• Scrolling through a conversation
• Asian language support

Related articles

• Documentation resources for the Zendesk Agent Workspace
• About the Zendesk Agent Workspace

Switching channels in the composer

When you receive a new message in a ticket, the composer defaults to the channel where the last message came from. You can choose to reply on the same channel or pick another channel.

To switch channels

1. In a ticket, locate the conversation that needs a reply.
2. Locate the current channel indicator at the top of the composer window.

   

3. Click the down arrow (v) to open the channel menu.
4. Select the channel you want to use for the reply.

   

   Your channel choices vary depending on which channels your administrator has set up for your workspace. They also vary based on the current state of your conversation. For example, during a live chat, you can reply by email (if there's an email on file for the customer), or add an internal note, then reply by chat. However, once the chat is ended, you can't reply by chat.

   In the composer, each channel is a different way to communicate. You may compose different messages for each channel, so the drafts will not be saved across channels. For example, when you write something in an internal note and switch to public reply, that message will not be displayed in public reply. However, when you switch back to internal note, you will still be able to find the messages you left there. This goes for all channels.

   If a channel is not available, for example, if a chat has ended, the default is an internal note. The exception is social messages. When a social message times out, the channel stays the same until you change it.

Using Send vs. Submit

During a live chat or messaging conversation, click Send (or press Return) to send your reply.

To send an email or save other changes to a ticket, click Submit.

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Resizing the composer window

The Zendesk Agent Workspace includes a flexible composer window. You can resize the window as needed to meet your requirements. For example, you can use a smaller window for chats and messages, but you might want to use a larger window for long email messages.

To resize the composer window

1. In a ticket, click the border at the top of the composer window.

   

2. Drag the border up or down to change the window size.

Using formatting options and controls

The composer comes with a full range of built-in formatting options and controls, including rich text, tables, hyperlinks, emojis, and attachments.

When you pick a channel, the composer controls change to match the channel you're using. For example, a social messaging channel may not support tables or rich text formatting, but the email channel does.

The composer also supports shortcuts, macros, dynamic content, and @mentions.

Scrolling through a conversation

You can also use the scroll bar on the right side of the ticket to scroll up or down through previous responses without losing sight of the reply you're composing. Separated scrolling is useful if you're working on a long ticket with a lot of details.

You can also click Jump to the latest message to find the most-recent replies.

To prevent unexpected results, when you are actively working in a live chat or messaging conversation, Zendesk doesn't recommend changing the ticket requester.

Asian language support

If your agents work with a lot of Asian language messages, consider enabling an Asian language fix when you enable the agent workspace. For more information, see Enabling Asian language support.