# Legacy chat pane settings

Maintain an older chat pane and its alternate configurations while checking each customisation before changing to a current theme.

*Release 3.3 · admin, developer, visitor*

**Settings › Chat › Legacy Settings** · **Settings › Chat › Chat Pane** · **Settings › Chat › Chat Tab** · **Settings › Chat › Alternate Chat Settings** · **Settings › Chat › Offline Messages** · **Settings › Chat › General Settings** · **Settings › Chat › Themes**

## What it is

**Legacy Settings** maintains the older visitor chat pane, its chat tab and related messages. Older setups can use custom layouts and separate alternate configurations. INSIDE 3.3 retains these behaviours alongside the current theme-based pane.

## Who uses it and why

People with the **Settings** role maintain an existing older chat experience. Developers check website customisations when changing its layout or moving to a current theme. Visitors continue to use the chat, pre-chat and offline experience configured for their website.

## Where to find it

With the **Settings** role, use the entries under **Settings › Chat › Legacy Settings**, including **Settings › Chat › Chat Pane**, **Settings › Chat › Chat Tab**, **Settings › Chat › Alternate Chat Settings** and **Settings › Chat › Offline Messages**.

Shared conversation options are in **Settings › Chat › General Settings**. Current theme-based configuration is in **Settings › Chat › Themes**.

## How it works

An older pane displays the same visitor conversation through its own layout and controls. It supports welcome text, grouped messages, links, emoticons, earlier permitted messages and incoming-message notifications. It also connects to pre-chat and offline forms.

Pane and tab settings can interact. For example, **Show chat pane header as tab** uses the header as the entry control. A custom tab image or pane layout can therefore affect more than one part of the visitor presentation.

**Alternate Chat Settings** saves a separate configuration with **General**, **Chat Pane**, **Chat Tab** and **Offline Chat Pane** sections. The list supports editing, copying and deleting alternate entries. An alternate setup must be reviewed separately from the default configuration.

## Configure it

First establish which pane and alternate configuration the visitor actually receives. With the **Settings** role, edit the relevant older pane or tab screen, review its preview and choose **Save**. Set welcome text, input prompts, images and layout options for that configuration.

For an alternate setup, open **Alternate Chat Settings**, choose the entry and review each of its sections before saving. Use a meaningful **Description** so the default and alternate experiences are easy to distinguish.

Before changing to a current theme, review the active website customisations with your developer and Powerfront. Check chat entry, consent, pre-chat, offline messages, history and transcripts in the intended experience. A current theme uses its own presentation settings.

### Settings

| Setting | Where | Applies to | Default | Who can change it | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welcome message | Settings › Chat › Chat Pane | website | Not set | Settings role | Set the welcome text shown to a visitor without existing chats. Without custom text, pre-chat can supply a name-based greeting; otherwise no welcome text is shown. |
| Show welcome message as chat | Settings › Chat › Chat Pane | website | On | Settings role | Show the welcome text as an advisor message when an available operator is known, rather than forcing a system message. |
| Hide Welcome Message when Customer starts Chat | Settings › Chat › Chat Pane | website | Off | Settings role | Hide the welcome message after the visitor sends their first message. |
| Hide Welcome Message when Operator starts Chat | Settings › Chat › Chat Pane | website | Off | Settings role | Hide the welcome message after the operator sends their first message. |
| Show chat pane header as tab | Settings › Chat › Chat Tab | website | Not set: no devices selected | Settings role | Use the older pane's header as its chat tab. |
| Chat Input Placeholder | Settings › Chat › Chat Pane | website | Not set | Settings role | Set the prompt displayed in the older pane's message input. Without custom text, use the standard typing prompt for the available advisor or advisor description. |

### Fields

| Field | Where | Required | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Description | Settings › Chat › Alternate Chat Settings | No | Identify an alternate chat configuration separately from the default setup. |

### Permissions

| Permission | Lets you |
|---|---|
| Settings | Edit legacy pane, tab, offline and alternate chat settings. |

## Limits and good to know

- Current themes and older panes do not apply every setting in the same way.
- A change to the default older pane does not establish that every alternate setup has changed.
- Custom appearance can affect scrolling, sizing, the header and the chat tab.
- Older stored message formats and newer rich messages can have different presentations.
- Retained compatibility behaviour does not establish support for every older browser.

## Depends on and works with

### This feature uses

- **Requires** [Visitor chat pane](VX-002.md): Older panes use the shared visitor chat embedding and loading experience.
- **Configured in** [Visitor event rules and actions](ENG-001.md): Visitor events can select an alternate legacy chat configuration.
- **Configured in** [Chat tabs for visitors](VX-001.md): The older chat tab and header have their own display and position settings.
- **Configured in** [Visitor chat languages and text direction](VX-031.md): The older pane has its own language selection and multilingual labels.
- **Works better with** [Pre-chat survey for visitors](VX-008.md): Older panes support pre-chat with version-specific behaviour.
- **Works better with** [Offline help for visitors](VX-011.md): Offline forms and messages are configured alongside older panes.
- **Works better with** [Visitor chat notifications](VX-015.md): Older panes have notification handling for incoming messages.
- **Works better with** [Rich content in visitor chat](VX-018.md): Rich messages have compatibility rendering in older panes.
- **Works better with** [Email and print transcripts for visitors](VX-022.md): Older panes have separate transcript visibility and presentation controls.
- **Works better with** [Previous chat history for visitors](VX-033.md): Older panes can display earlier permitted conversation messages.
- **Related** [Visitor chat themes and branding](VX-003.md): Current themes use a separate configuration path from the legacy pane.

### Used by

- **Configures** [Department selection before chat](VX-009.md): The legacy pane uses its own department-selection controls.
- **Configures** [Offline help for visitors](VX-011.md): Legacy Offline Messages uses separate settings and supports older custom forms.
- **Configures** [Email and print transcripts for visitors](VX-022.md): Legacy pane settings control whether visitor email and print transcript actions are offered.
- **Configures** [Visitor chat languages and text direction](VX-031.md): Legacy Chat Pane settings choose fixed, automatic or custom visitor-language selection.
- **Configures** [Previous chat history for visitors](VX-033.md): Legacy pane settings control the grouping of consecutive messages.
- **Related** [Visitor chat pane](VX-002.md): Legacy panes use separate appearance and layout settings.
- **Related** [Visitor chat themes and branding](VX-003.md): Legacy panes have separate appearance settings to review before moving to a current theme.
- **Related** [Image and font libraries](ADM-019.md): Legacy Chat Pane settings provide separate logo and custom stylesheet controls.

## FAQ and troubleshooting

### Why did changing Chat Pane not affect the visitor?

Check whether the visitor receives a current theme or an alternate configuration. Edit the setup that actually applies.

### Why do two website entries show different panes?

They may use different themes or alternate chat settings. Check each entry's assigned experience before comparing its appearance.

### Why did a header change affect the chat tab?

Check **Show chat pane header as tab**. The older setup can use the pane header as its tab.

### Can I assume a current theme will preserve my custom layout?

No. Review the customisation and test the corresponding theme controls with your developer and Powerfront before changing the visitor experience.

### Why does a rich message look different in the older pane?

The older pane uses compatibility rendering. Test the content in the actual pane rather than relying only on a current-theme preview.