How to Reply to a Client?

When a client is waiting for a response, every second matters. This instruction will help send a message confidently and without unnecessary actions so the client gets help exactly when needed.

When Needed

New message from a client in chat.
Dialog update after pause or clarification.
You need to send additional information to the client.

What's Important to Know

Active chat — dialog that is open in the messages window with full conversation history.
Input field — place where you enter message text.
Messages can be edited or deleted after sending.

Prerequisites

You are logged in with operator rights.
You have navigated to the OperatorLine module via Apps -> OperatorLine.
You have an open request with an active chat.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Select the needed dialog in the list on the left — a messages window opens on the right.
Click in the "Message…" field and enter your reply.
Click the "Send" button or press Enter — the message is sent to the client.

What Happens After

The client receives your reply, and you see it in the dialog feed with a delivery indicator.

How to Verify It Worked

Check the message status indicator ("sent", "delivered", "read").
Make sure the message appeared in the dialog feed.

Other Ways

Shift+Enter — new line without sending.
Using quick replies for typical messages.
Using Copilot for AI hints.
Attaching a file to the reply — use the attachment control in the message field.
Pasting copied content with links, lists, and tables into an email reply — use the "Paste with formatting" button. See How to paste formatted text into an email reply.
A screenshot inside the email text rather than as an attachment — see Images in the email text.

Images in the email text

In the Reply tab of an email dialog you can put an image right into the email text — where the cursor is. The client sees it between paragraphs, not as a separate file. Support enables this feature for your instance; until it is enabled, everything works as before.

How to insert: Ctrl+V (⌘V on Mac) a screenshot into the message field, drag an image file into the text, or use the "Insert image into email text" button (the picture icon next to the paperclip). PNG, JPEG, GIF and WebP are supported.
While the image is uploading, the "Uploading image…" message is shown and sending is unavailable. Wait a few seconds — the picture appears in the text once uploaded.
To remove an inserted image, press Backspace or Delete.
The paperclip works as before: a file added with it goes as an attachment. One email can have both an image in the text and attachments.
Other files (PDF, documents) cannot be inserted into the text — add them with the paperclip.
In an Internal note and in dialogs of other channels a screenshot is still added as an attachment.
The image is stored on the server and the email contains a link to it. Some mail apps (for example, Outlook) may show the picture only after the recipient clicks "Download pictures".

Message reactions

When a client reacts to a message, the reaction is shown on the left of the bubble's bottom row: the emoji and the time it was set. The message's own time stays on the right of the same row.

A reaction on the same day as the message shows only the time (14:32); another day adds the date (02.10 09:05), another year adds the year.
Hover over the reaction to see who set it and the full date. You can remove your own reaction with the cross.
Older reactions may have no time — then only the emoji is shown.
In an active dialog on a channel with reactions, the reaction spot holds a smiley button for the operator to react.

Files in Facebook Messenger

If the dialog is on Facebook Messenger and you send a PDF or another document (not an image or video):

By default the customer receives a message with a link to the file in the text.
If an administrator enabled Facebook native file attachments, the customer receives the file as a Messenger attachment. Any text you entered is sent as a separate message.

Operators do not need an extra toggle — attach the file and click Send. How to enable the option on the instance: How to enable native files in Facebook Messenger.

Reply in personal (Instagram / Facebook)

Use “Reply in personal” to start a private (DM) conversation linked to a comment instead of replying publicly under the post. The option appears for messages that have a parent (comment context).

Important: Meta applies its own rules (time window, usually one private message before the customer replies in DMs). If Instagram returns a message that the comment already has a reply, the platform has already used the reply slot for that comment (public reply, private reply, or automation). See Instagram content in chats (explanation).