The composer at the bottom of every conversation handles customer replies and private notes.
Reply or leave a note
The composer has two tabs:
- Reply - sent to the customer by email. It also stays in the thread. Above the text box it says where the reply goes: "From address to customer address". Click the customer's address to edit the subject.
- Internal note - only your team sees it. Use it to hand context to a teammate.
If a conversation has no email address (for example an anonymous submission), Reply is disabled and you can only add notes.
Click Send email (or Add note), or press Cmd or Ctrl + Enter. Send and resolve sends the reply and closes the thread in one step. Cmd or Ctrl + Shift + Enter does the same.
When a reply resolves a conversation, the email includes one-click "Good", "Okay" and "Not good" links. The customer's rating, and their comment if they leave one, appears in the contact column and feeds the satisfaction figure in analytics. Each conversation is asked once, and the links work for 90 days.
Choose the sending address
If you have more than one connected email address, a From menu appears in the composer. Pick the address to answer from; the choice sticks to that conversation. To connect addresses, see Email channels.
Saved replies
Saved replies are answers you send often. Create them under Desk settings → Saved replies with New saved reply:
- Macro name - only your team sees it.
- Subject - optional; leave it empty to keep the thread's subject.
- Body - the reply text. Markdown works.
In the composer, click Saved replies, pick one, and it is inserted into the text box for you to adjust before sending. The button only appears once you have at least one. Use Edit or Delete in the list to change them later.
Insert a help center article
Click Insert article, search the knowledge base, and pick an article. A published public article inserts a link; a draft or team-only article inserts its text. Articles that likely answer the conversation are also suggested in the contact column. See Suggested articles in Desk.
Make replies look like you
Desk settings → Reply emails controls how every reply looks in the customer's inbox, for all addresses and all agents:
- Sender name - agent at team, agent only, team only, or a custom name.
- Greeting - with insertable
{first_name},{agent_name}and{team_name}. If the first name is unknown the greeting becomes "Hi,". - Signature and Footer note.
- Show your logo at the top and Quote the customer's last message.
A live preview shows what the customer receives. Send me a test emails the preview to you; Save reply emails applies it.