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Comprehensive Guide to Managing Conversations
Efficient conversation management is the backbone of excellent customer support. In this system, conversations are categorized into four distinct statuses to help you organize your workflow: mark as read, archive, delete, and restore. You can effortlessly manage the status of any active chat by opening it within the conversations area and selecting the corresponding icon located in the top-right corner of the window.
Advanced Search and Filtering
Finding specific interactions is straightforward with the robust search functionality. The system allows you to search using various data points to locate exactly what you need. If you search for specific message text, the system will not only find the conversation but also highlight the exact message string for quick reference.
- Department or Agent ID: Filter by specific internal IDs.
- User Details: Search by first name, last name, or email address.
- Content: Search by conversation title, message text, or attachment names.
Critical Notice: When you empty the trash, all conversations contained within are permanently deleted and cannot be recovered. Trashed conversations are automatically deleted after 30 days.
Text Editor & Automated Message Features
The admin area text editor, used for live chats and automated messages (such as Welcome or Subscribe messages), supports robust styling options. This allows you to create stylized, professional, and clear communications.
Link Formatting: The system automatically converts text links into clickable hyperlinks. To customize the text of a link, append the following string to your URL: #sb-example. Simply replace “example” with your desired link name (use hyphens for spaces).
- Bold Text: Surround text with asterisks, e.g.,
*your text*. - Italic Text: Surround text with double underscores, e.g.,
__your text__. - Strikethrough: Surround text with tildes and colons, e.g.,
~: ~your text~. - Code Blocks: For single lines use backticks
`code`. For blocks, use triple backticks```block```.
Note: For security reasons, direct HTML, JavaScript, or other code languages are not permitted in the standard editor. However, you can achieve complex layouts using Rich Messages (detailed below).
Dynamic Merge Fields
Merge fields allow you to personalize automated messages by inserting dynamic variables that are replaced by external values when the message is sent.
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
{user_name} | Full name of the active user. |
{user_email} | Email address of the active user. |
{agent_name} | Full name of the responding agent. |
{agent_email} | Email address of the responding agent. |
Rich Messages & Interactivity
Rich messages transform standard text into interactive elements like buttons, sliders, dropdowns, and inputs. These are essential for creating engaging chatbots or collecting structured data from users. They are implemented using specific shortcodes.
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How Rich Messages Work
Create and Send
Insert the shortcode into the admin text editor. Customize parameters with your info and send.
Message is Displayed
The user sees the rendered interactive element (not the code) and selects or enters information.
Response Submitted
Once filled and sent by the user, a success message appears and the data is saved securely.
List of Rich Messages
Global Parameters: All rich messages support the following optional parameters to control behavior and data storage:
- Option
id="123": The ID used to save the JSON data. - Option
title="ABC": The title displayed on the message. - Option
message="ABC": A description appearing underneath the title. - Option
success="ABC": The text shown after the user successfully completes the form. - Option
settings="ABC": Extra fields for optional values.
Integrations & Advanced Customization
Dialogflow Integration: To use rich messages within a Dialogflow chatbot, simply paste the desired shortcode directly into the “Text Response” field of the Intent.
Data Handling (JSON): When a user interacts with a rich message, the data is saved in the database under the `sb_messages` table in the `payload` column. The format is JSON:
{"rich-messages":{"UniqueID":{"type":"email","result":{"email":["[email protected]","User Input..."]}}}}Custom HTML Codes: For advanced users, you can create custom rich messages via Settings > Miscellaneous. While these are static, you can use specific HTML classes for styling:
- Link with button design:
<a href="..." class="sb-rich-btn sb-btn">Click here</a> - Zoomable Image:
<div class="sb-image"><img src="..." class="sb-image" /></div>
System & Automated Messages
Welcome Message: Sent to new users visiting for the first time. It is not sent to Slack.
Follow-up Message: If no agents respond within a specific interval (usually 15 seconds if online, 5 seconds otherwise), a request for user details (email) is sent. This ensures you can contact them later via the newsletter feature or email notifications.
Admin Tools & Attachments
Attachments: The system automatically displays common image formats (.jpg, .png). To allow other file types (like .exe or .abc), you must modify the `config.php` file by defining the `SB_FILE_EXTENSIONS` array.
Tags & Notes: Administrators can assign tags to conversations for better filtering. Tags can also be assigned automatically via JavaScript variables (`SB_DEFAULT_TAGS`). Private notes can be added to conversations, visible only to agents and admins.
Transcript Feature!
Agents can send a full conversation transcript to the user as a file by clicking the “Transcript” button in the admin window.
