Viewing and replying to side conversations

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<p id="docs-ai-summary-content">Side conversations let you manage discussions within tickets, involving both internal and external participants. You can view and reply to these conversations directly from the ticket interface. Replies are private, and you can use rich text formatting. Be cautious with triggers, as replies to notifications become public comments. Attachments can be added, but some limitations apply. This feature enhances collaboration without cluttering the main ticket thread.</p>
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<div class="body">
<p class="p">Recipients of a side conversation can reply through email, just as they would to any
other email. Side conversations retain the original formatting of incoming emails. The
assignee on the ticket can also reply to a side conversation through the ticket from the
Zendesk Support interface. Regardless of how a response was sent, it appears in the
ticket for the assignee. </p>
<div class="p">This article includes these topics:<ul class="ul" id="topic_idq_2j4_l2b__ul_pbv_5gg_gfb">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_hj2_jj4_l2b">Viewing side
conversations</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_qxl_hvg_4tb">Replying to side
conversations</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_l4d_kmj_ytb">How ticket triggers work with side conversation replies</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_llv_sl1_rnb">Rich text editing in the side conversation composer</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p class="p">Related articles:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_idq_2j4_l2b__ul_wmg_cfg_4tb">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408830838170" target="_blank">Side conversation resources</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_hj2_jj4_l2b">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">Viewing side conversations</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">From the ticket interface in Support, you can view a list of all the side
conversations on the ticket. </p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To view a list of side conversations on a ticket</strong></p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_hj2_jj4_l2b__ul_mc4_ztb_ttb">
<li class="li">In a ticket, open the <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408836526362" target="_blank">context panel</a> and click the <strong class="ph b">Side
conversations</strong> (<img class="image" id="topic_hj2_jj4_l2b__image_mfd_ppj_ytb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/icon_omnipanel_side_conversations.png">) icon.<p class="p">A list of side conversations on the ticket
displays.</p>
<div class="p">
<br><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_hj2_jj4_l2b__image_llp_ztb_ttb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/sc_aw_viewing.png" width="300"><br>
</div>
</li>
</ul>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To open an existing side conversation on a ticket</strong></p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_hj2_jj4_l2b__ul_qt2_dvb_ttb">
<li class="li">From the list of side conversations on the ticket, double-click the side
conversation that you want to open.</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested1" id="topic_qxl_hvg_4tb">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title3">Replying to side conversations</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">The people on a side conversation can be inside or outside of your organization. You
can create side conversations on open or closed tickets. If someone replies to a
side conversation on a closed ticket, triggers won’t be run on it even if they have
side conversation conditions.</p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To reply to a side conversation</strong></p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_qxl_hvg_4tb__ol_ij2_jj4_l2b">
<li class="li">From the ticket interface, <a class="xref" href="#topic_hj2_jj4_l2b">open</a> the side conversation you are interested in.</li>
<li class="li">Scroll up to review earlier replies in the side conversation, if needed. <p class="p">The
conversation opens to the first unread reply for the agent viewing
conversation. The most recent replies appear at the bottom of the side
conversation.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">Update the list of recipients (if needed), add your reply and attachments, and
then click <strong class="ph b">Send</strong>. <p class="p">Each message has its own set of recipients, which can
be edited at reply time.</p>
<div class="p">
<div class="note note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> If a user appears as [deleted], this means that the user was suspended
from your account.</div>
</div>
<div class="p">When you add attachments, you can select a file from your computer or
include one or more attachments that already exist in the ticket. Click the
attachment icon (<img class="image" id="topic_qxl_hvg_4tb__image_khk_2dy_qfb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/side_conversations_attachment_icon.png">) and select <strong class="ph b">From computer</strong> or <strong class="ph b">From
ticket</strong>. <div class="note note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> You can add attachments directly from the
ticket in most cases. Some attachments, such as attachments via WhatsApp
tickets, can’t be attached to a side conversation from a ticket. If an
attachment can't be added directly from a ticket, then you can download
the attachment and add it by selecting <strong class="ph b">From
computer</strong>.</div>
</div>
<p class="p">If you changed your mind and don’t want to send
the message, click the delete icon (<img class="image" id="topic_qxl_hvg_4tb__image_lj2_jj4_l2b" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/threads_icon_delete.png">). The delete icon (<img class="image" id="topic_qxl_hvg_4tb__image_mj2_jj4_l2b" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/threads_icon_delete.png">) does not delete the entire thread. Once you
start a thread, you cannot delete it.</p>
<p class="p">All of the recipients on the
side conversation receive an email notification with your message. The
message being replied to is included as quoted content on outgoing emails.
This includes the creator of the side conversation, unless you manually
removed their email address. See <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408844206746#topic_bj2_jj4_l2b" target="_blank">Recommendations about side
conversations</a>.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_qxl_hvg_4tb__image_mzr_bdy_jgb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/side_conversations_quoted_content2.png" width="300"></p>
<p class="p">This notification doesn’t automatically include the assignee of the
ticket or the creator of the side conversation. See <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408844206746#topic_bj2_jj4_l2b" target="_blank">Recommendations about side
conversations</a>. </p>
<p class="p">If email signatures are allowed in your
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408832279962" target="_blank">side conversations configuration</a>
and a <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408822471322-Adding-an-agent-signature-to-ticket-email-notifications" target="_blank">signature is set up</a>, your agent or
brand signature is automatically inserted into the message. You can remove
the signature by clicking the options menu (<img class="image" height="16" id="topic_qxl_hvg_4tb__image_fj3_g5q_1yb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/sell_icon_menu_vertical.png" width="16">) and selecting <strong class="ph b">Remove
signature</strong>.</p>
<p class="p"> If you have <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408887209498-Enabling-personalized-email-replies" target="_blank">personalized replies</a> enabled,
these settings are also included in your message. Conversations are sent
from the support address associated with the ticket, and if configured,
include the address name.</p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title4" class="topic nested1" id="topic_l4d_kmj_ytb">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title4">How ticket triggers work with side conversation replies</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">If your account includes a <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408893545882" target="_blank">ticket trigger</a> to send a notification when a side
conversation is updated, and then you reply to that notification email message
(which is not the actual side conversation, just a notification about it being
updated), then the reply will be added as a <strong class="ph b">public</strong> comment on the ticket.</p>
<p class="p">Zendesk doesn't recommend setting up triggers to create notifications for side
conversation activity because a reply to a notification message is a reply to
everyone on the ticket, not just the limited subset of people in a side
conversation. This is especially important if your side conversations include
sensitive information. Replies within the actual side conversation are always
private.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title5" class="topic nested1" id="topic_llv_sl1_rnb">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title5">Rich text editing in the side conversation composer</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">The side conversation composer is a rich text editor that includes a toolbar with
options for editing and formatting your text. See <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408844184730" target="_blank">Rich text formatting options</a>.</p>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">The formatting options in the composer vary a little depending on the <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408844206746#topic_w4b_ql1_rnb" target="_blank">side conversation channel</a> involved
(<strong class="ph b">Email</strong>, <strong class="ph b">Slack</strong>, or <strong class="ph b">Ticket</strong>). For example, these are the
formatting options for email:</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_llv_sl1_rnb__image_gmm_xq1_rnb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/threads_composer_email.png" width="400"></p>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">The composer for <strong class="ph b">Email</strong> and <strong class="ph b">Ticket</strong> side conversation includes
a full array of formatting options because email supports full HTML display. The
composer for <strong class="ph b">Slack</strong> side conversations includes fewer formatting options
(Heading, Indent, Outdent, and Link) because Slack uses a subset of <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408846544922" target="_blank">Markdown</a> for formatting. With Slack side conversations,
you can also use Markdown-style shortcuts while typing in the composer, and they
will be converted to rich text. </p>
<p class="p">Limitations with the composer include:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_llv_sl1_rnb__ul_hld_11b_dpb">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">The composer doesn’t support inline images. You can, however, add
images as attachments.</li>
<li class="li">The composer doesn't support table formatting.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">If you paste complex rich text into the composer, you will likely lose
some formatting.</li>
<li class="li">Rich text and Markdown formatting is not supported in email signatures that
appear in side conversations.</li>
<li class="li">Rich text and Slack Markdown text may not always display as intended in
Slack.</li>
</ul>
</div>
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