Offline messages

What it is

Offline Messages lets a visitor leave a contact request when live help is unavailable. The request can notify your team by email or enter a configured ticket or CRM workflow. An offline request does not by itself guarantee a live conversation or an assigned operator.

Who uses it and why

Visitors leave their details and question for follow-up. Operators handle the resulting email, ticket or CRM case. Operators with the Settings role choose the form, its fields and the follow-up destination.

Where to find it

With the Settings role, open Settings › Chat › Themes and edit the offline form and messages for theme-based chat. The older configuration is under Settings › Chat › Offline Messages, within Legacy Settings, and is also available to operators with the Settings role. Captured requests can also appear in the Offline Messages report.

How it works

1. The visitor opens the configured offline experience.
2. With Form selected, the visitor enters the displayed contact details, message and any custom fields, then submits the request.
3. INSIDE follows the configured email, ticket or CRM actions. The ordinary offline notification flow also stores the request for reporting.
4. The visitor sees the configured Offline Submitted Message after a successful submission.

The theme can instead offer Task to run a workflow, or Message Only to show information without the ordinary form. These options do not imply that a contact request has been submitted.

Configure it

With the Settings role, enable Enable Offline Chat/Message in the relevant theme and choose Offline Chat Option. For Form, select the contact fields, their labels, any subject options and Custom Fields.

Choose the follow-up method. Enable Email requires Recipient's Email. Ticket and CRM creation options are alternatives, while notification email is separate. For Create Ticket in Email Management, collect the visitor's email address and choose an eligible Email Account. Ask Powerfront support to validate the Create Ticket in Zendesk option before relying on Zendesk delivery.

Set the offline introduction and submission confirmation in each required language. Check the active theme as well as the general settings, because theme settings can override the general configuration.

Settings

Limits and good to know

• An offline submission is different from a live chat that temporarily disconnects.
• Email notification, INSIDE ticket creation and CRM creation are configurable actions. Do not assume every submission performs all of them.
• Message Only provides information without the standard capture form.
• A confirmation message is not a promise of a response within a particular time.
• The legacy screen also provides field, image, colour and additional-field controls. Use the settings that belong to the visitor experience actually in use.

Depends on and works with

FAQ and troubleshooting

Why is the offline form not visible?

Check the active theme, Enable Offline Chat/Message, Hide Offline Chat Tab, device hiding and Offline Chat Option.

Why did the request not create a ticket?

Check Create Ticket in Email Management, the visitor's supplied email address and the enabled email account. Ordinary email notifications do not automatically create tickets.

Why does submission fail when email is enabled?

Check Recipient's Email. An enabled offline email notification requires a recipient.