# View a dialog without taking it

Sometimes you only need to look at a dialog: check its routing, topic or skill group, or see what is happening with a client. This guide shows how to view a dialog without it landing in your chats, and how to return a dialog to distribution if you have already joined it.

## When you need this

- An administrator or supervisor checks which topic and skill group a request was routed to.
- You need to read the conversation without replying to the client.
- You joined a dialog by mistake and want to send it back to distribution instead of closing it.

## What you should know

- **Opening a dialog does not take it.** Clicking a dialog in the list opens the conversation read-only. You become a participant only after you click **Start Dialog** at the bottom of the conversation window.
- **The Offline status protects you from joining by accident.** In a status that does not accept dialogs, the Start Dialog button is disabled with the hint "Remember to change your status to Online". Auto-distribution does not assign new dialogs to you either.
- **The leave-chat icon does not return a dialog to the queue.** If you are the only operator in the dialog, leaving closes it. To send the dialog back to distribution, transfer it to a skill group.
- Status names are configured per instance. This guide means the Offline status or any other status in which an operator does not accept dialogs.

## Before you start

- [x] You are signed in with operator or administrator rights.
- [x] You opened the `Operator panel` module via `Menu -> Operator panel`.

## Step-by-step

### View a dialog without joining it

1. Before the check, switch your status to **Offline** (or another status in which you do not accept dialogs).
2. Find the dialog in the list: use a folder, a filter or [global search](/en/operatorline/how-to/search-appeals-globally.md).
3. Click the dialog. The conversation opens on the right.
4. Review the conversation, the topic, the tags and the request details in the right panel.
5. **Do not click Start Dialog.** Simply open the next dialog or close the conversation window.
6. When you are done, switch back to your working status if you are going to accept dialogs.

### Return a dialog you have joined to distribution

1. Open the dialog and click the chat menu (three dots in the header).
2. Select **Transfer/add dialogue to operator**.
3. In the window, pick **one** skill group in the filter: the group that should handle the request.
4. Click the skill group transfer button (labeled **Transfer the dialogue to the School Group** in the English interface).
5. If the selected skill group does not serve the dialog's current topic, the system asks you to choose a new topic. Choose a topic and confirm the transfer.

## What happens next

| Situation | What you see | What happens to the dialog |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| You only opened the dialog | Nothing changes | The dialog stays where it was: in the queue or in another operator's chats |
| You transferred the dialog to a skill group that has a free operator | "Dialog transferred" | The dialog leaves your chats and goes to an operator of that skill group |
| You transferred the dialog to a skill group with no free operators | "No operators available in the selected skill group for the current topic." | The dialog leaves your chats and waits in the skill group's queue |
| You clicked the leave icon as the only operator | The **Closing the dialog** window (if dialog statuses are set up on the instance) | The dialog is **closed** |

## How to verify it worked

- The dialog is not in your folder of active dialogs.
- After a skill group transfer, the dialog is in the queue (if there are no free operators) or in the chats of an operator of that group.
- If you only viewed the dialog, no system message about you joining appears in the conversation.

## FAQ

**I opened a dialog while Online. Is it mine now?**
No. Until you click Start Dialog, you are not a participant. The Offline status only removes the risk of clicking the button by accident.

**Why is Transfer/add dialogue to operator missing from the chat menu?**
The item is available only to an operator who has joined the dialog. If you are only viewing the dialog, there is nothing to transfer: it stays in distribution anyway.

**Can I transfer a dialog to several skill groups at once?**
No. The skill group transfer button is enabled only when exactly one skill group is selected.

## Related materials

- [Transfer a chat to another operator](/en/operatorline/how-to/transfer-chat-to-operator.md)
- [View the request queue](/en/operatorline/how-to/view-request-queue.md)
- [Open a request](/en/operatorline/how-to/open-request.md)
- [About auto-distribution of dialogs](/en/operatorline/explanation/auto-distribute-dialogs.md)