# Chat limits and wind-down

Set operator workload limits by platform and use Wind Down to finish existing work before becoming unavailable.

*Release 3.3 · admin, operator, supervisor*

**Settings › Account › Operators › Settings** · **Settings › Account › My Account** · **Operator availability › Wind Down**

## What it is

Operator limits control how much simultaneous work you can receive. Web chat, social and text messaging, and email tickets have separate counts. **Wind Down** lets you finish existing work before becoming unavailable.

## Who uses it and why

- Powerfront sets website defaults; operators with the **Settings** role set operator-specific capacity.
- Supervisors with the **Manager** role and **Edit Operator Conversation Limits** balance workload and change limits, subject to **View Only** and operator access.
- Operators use **Wind Down** at a break or the end of a shift.

## Where to find it

With the **Settings** role, or the **Manager** role and **Edit Operator Conversation Limits**, edit an operator in **Settings › Account › Operators**, then open **Settings**. Your own editable live chat limits may also appear in **My Account**. Use the operator availability control for **Wind Down**.

## How it works

INSIDE calculates available slots from your status, limits and counted conversations. Reaching the ordinary limit can put you into **Limited** status while you continue existing conversations. Ordinary automatic assignment then treats you differently from an operator with free slots.

Away web visitors can release an ordinary slot unless **Count away chat customers in operator chat limit** is enabled. The hard limit still checks the broader active web chat count. No hard capacity remains when the counted work reaches that hard limit.

When you start **Wind Down**, INSIDE checks whether relevant work remains before completing the transition to unavailable. Conversation platform, ticket state, floor presence and active voice or video work can affect that check.

## Configure it

With the **Settings** role, or the **Manager** role and **Edit Operator Conversation Limits**, set each platform's limit in the operator's **Settings** tab. Keep **Active Live Chat Hard Limit** at least as high as **Active Live Chat Limit**. Ask Powerfront to review templates and website defaults before changing many operators. Ask Powerfront to configure transfer exceptions separately if winding-down or limited operators should be excluded as destinations.

### Settings

| Setting | Where | Applies to | Default | Who can change it | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active Live Chat Limit | Settings › Account › Operators › Settings | operator | Website default, initially 5 | Settings role, Manager role | Sets the ordinary simultaneous web chat capacity for this operator. |
| Active Live Chat Hard Limit | Settings › Account › Operators › Settings | operator | The operator's Active Live Chat Limit | Settings role, Manager role | Sets the total web chat ceiling used by hard-capacity checks and cannot be lower than the ordinary limit. |
| Active Ticket Limit | Settings › Account › Operators › Settings | operator | Website default, initially 0 | Settings role, Manager role | Sets this operator's simultaneous email or ticket capacity. |
| Active Social/Text Limit | Settings › Account › Operators › Settings | operator | 0 | Settings role, Manager role | Sets this operator's simultaneous social and text messaging capacity. |
| Active Social/Text Hard Limit | Settings › Account › Operators › Settings | operator | Ordinary social/text limit plus 1 when that limit is positive; otherwise 0 | Settings role, Manager role | Sets a separate social/text ceiling when an explicit value is supplied. |
| Count away chat customers in operator chat limit | Settings › Chat › General Settings | website | Off | Settings role | Keeps away web chat customers in the ordinary active-chat capacity count. |

### Permissions

| Permission | Lets you |
|---|---|
| Edit Operator Conversation Limits | Allows operators with the Manager role to change operator workload limits, subject to View Only and operator access. |

## Limits and good to know

- A zero platform limit provides no ordinary capacity for that platform.
- The hard limit for social/text falls back to one above a positive ordinary limit when no explicit hard limit is set.
- Chat links that allow limited operators have a special tolerance of one extra ordinary web chat. Do not use that behaviour as a general assignment rule.
- Pending, resolved, on-hold and postponed email work are not interchangeable when checking wind-down completion.
- Transfers and external availability integrations have additional rules.

## Depends on and works with

### This feature uses

- **Configured in** [Roles and permissions](ADM-008.md): Roles govern who may edit another operator's limits.
- **Configured in** [Operator settings](ADM-010.md): Website defaults and operator overrides supply conversation limits.
- **Configured in** [Operator templates](ADM-011.md): Operator templates supply initial workload limits for newly created operators.
- **Works better with** [Chat links](CHAT-030.md): Chat links can allow limited operators to receive a chat within the link's special capacity tolerance.
- **Works better with** [Email ticket handling and statuses](CHN-026.md): Ticket state and floor presence affect active work and wind-down completion.
- **Works better with** [Telephone call recovery and wrap-up](RTC-015.md): Voice work and wrap-up affect availability and wind-down completion.
- **Works better with** [Browser video and audio calls](RTC-017.md): Active video calls can affect availability and wind-down completion.
- **Related** [Wind Down for operators](CON-003.md): The availability controls explain how operators start Wind Down and choose a reason.

### Used by

- **Configures** [Operator availability status](CON-002.md): Conversation capacity determines when availability becomes Limited.
- **Configures** [Incoming chats and calls](CON-019.md): Operator capacity can prevent an offer from being accepted.
- **Configures** [Chat queue](CHAT-005.md): Capacity limits affect when waiting work can be assigned.
- **Configures** [Departments](CHAT-006.md): Operator capacity and availability affect assignment.
- **Configures** [Skillsets and skills-based routing](CHAT-007.md): Matching a skill does not bypass capacity or availability checks.
- **Configures** [Broadcast for acceptance](CHAT-009.md): Availability and capacity restrict eligible operators.
- **Configures** [Transferring conversations](CHAT-010.md): Availability and capacity affect direct assignment and limited-recipient handling.
- **Configures** [Taking and pinning conversations](CHAT-011.md): Capacity and availability affect whether the operator can take work.
- **Configures** [Chat links](CHAT-030.md): Operator availability and capacity affect whether a recipient can accept the chat.
- **Configures** [Visitor chat status and waiting](VX-007.md): Operator chat limits and wind-down affect new-chat availability.
- **Configures** [Proactive chat invitations](ENG-004.md): Operator availability and chat limits determine eligibility when a human sender is selected.
- **Configures** [Voice queue and call offers](RTC-003.md): Capacity and wind-down affect eligibility for new work.
- **Related** [Wind Down for operators](CON-003.md): Capacity-related Limited status follows different rules from manual Wind Down.
- **Related** [Operator settings](ADM-010.md): Review capacity and wind-down behaviour when setting operator workload limits.

## FAQ and troubleshooting

### Why am I Limited when I still have conversations open?

**Limited** can mean you have reached ordinary capacity. Existing work remains with you while new automatic assignment is restricted.

### Why did a disconnected visitor free a slot?

Away visitors normally leave the ordinary web chat count. With the **Settings** role, enable **Count away chat customers in operator chat limit** if they should remain counted.

### Why has Wind Down not completed?

Review remaining chats, ticket states, visitors still on your floor, voice wrap-up and video calls.

### Why can I not edit an operator's limits?

With the **Manager** role, you also need **Edit Operator Conversation Limits**, access to that operator and permission to make changes rather than **View Only** access.