Canned responses with shortcuts

Overview

Canned responses are ready-made messages you reuse across conversations. Each one has a short shortcut; when you type / followed by the shortcut in the reply box, the list shows the account's global responses and the private responses you created. Responses can contain text, variables, attachments and, on supported channels, interactive messages.

The list that opens with / is more than a menu: it has a search field of its own, highlights the fragment that matched what you typed, and shows a preview of the message exactly as it will land in the editor.

Prerequisites

• Agents can create and manage their own private responses.
• Only administrators or roles with canned-response management permission can create, edit or delete global responses.
• Every account user can use global responses when replying.
• The / shortcut only opens in Reply mode. It is not offered in Private note mode.

Step by step

1. In Administration & Settings, open the Canned responses area.
2. Create a response and set the shortcut (short and memorable) and message content.
3. Under Who can use this response?, choose:
   • Private: only you can find, use, edit and delete the response.
   • Global: every account user can find and use it; only administrators or authorized roles can manage it.
4. Add files from your device or the Media Library when needed, then save.
5. In a conversation, in the reply box, type / to open the list; start typing the shortcut to filter.
6. Pick the response you want. Text responses enter the editor; interactive responses can be sent immediately or reopened for review, depending on the channel.
7. Tweak whatever you need and send.

Editing content with the keyboard

When creating or editing a canned response, Space inserts a space and Enter starts a new paragraph, even when your conversation preference is to send with Enter. Use Save to persist your changes. If saving fails, your text remains available so you can correct it and retry.

Variable and emoji suggestions open inside the editing dialog. Esc closes the open picker first and returns focus to the text. Use Cancel to discard the edit and close the dialog.

How the list's search works

• The search looks at the shortcut and the message content, with the same weight on both: each response gets a similarity score combining the two fields, and the list is sorted from the highest score down. Anything below the minimum similarity does not show up at all.
• With several words, every word has to match either the shortcut or the content; the item's score is the score of its worst-matching word.
• The matching fragment is highlighted in both the item's title and its summary line.
• When the term appears further into the text, the summary starts a few characters before the match and is prefixed with "…", so you see the context without opening the response.
• With no term typed, the list shows every response available to you.
• With no results, the list says "No items found for the search term" along with the term you used.

What the preview shows

The panel beside the list (or below it, on narrow screens) shows the selected response with:

• Context badges: Interactive (when it is an interactive Quick Reply), the visibility (Global or Private) and the attachment count.
• The rendered content, with variables already resolved for that conversation and with any formatting the current channel cannot carry stripped out. In other words: the preview is what the message will actually be, not the raw saved text.
• On interactive items, a Review & edit button, which opens the composer prefilled instead of sending straight away.

In the list itself, an icon on the left tells you the item's kind at a glance: a list icon for interactive ones, a paperclip for the ones carrying attachments.

Keyboard navigation

The list is anchored to the spot where you typed the slash and opens upward or downward depending on the room available on screen. The preview sits beside the list when there is enough width, moves below it when there is enough height, and is omitted when neither fits.

Settings & options

• Shortcut: the short identifier you type after the slash (e.g., /hours, /welcome). The shortcut is unique within the account.
• Content: can include formatting and, when supported, variables (such as the contact's name).
• Private visibility: tied to its author and never returned in another user's search.
• Global visibility: shared with the account. An agent without management permission can view and use it, but cannot edit or delete it.
• Authorship: the management list shows who created the response and who last updated it.
• Attachments and interactive content: saved files and interactive structures travel with every reuse.
• Keyword search: when you open the list with /, you can search by shortcut or by content.
• Attachment limits: up to 10 files per response, each up to 40 MB. Images, videos, audio and documents are accepted.
• Minimum content: a response needs text, or at least one attachment, or an interactive structure. A completely empty response is not saved.

How attachments reach the conversation

When you pick a text response that has saved files, the text goes into the editor and the files are automatically attached to the message you are composing. That only happens when the channel accepts file uploads (or when you are on a private note); on a channel without attachment support, only the text is inserted. If a file cannot be loaded, the notice "Could not attach the canned response media" appears and the text stays in the editor.

Interactive responses

When a response holds an interactive structure (buttons, list, poll or contact card), picking it sends the message straight away — the content was already built when the response was created. To check it first, use the Review & edit button in the preview: the channel's composer opens prefilled with the saved structure, and you send after reviewing.

Browser cache

The canned-response list is stored in the browser so it opens instantly instead of waiting on the server at every /:

• When the list opens, the dashboard checks a validation key with the server. If the key matches, it uses the local copy; if it doesn't (or there is no copy), it fetches the current list and rewrites the cache.
• When someone in the account creates, edits or deletes a response, the key changes and the dashboard is notified in real time — your list refreshes on its own, no page reload needed.
• The cache is per account: switching accounts never mixes the lists.
• If the browser blocks local storage (a Firefox private window, for instance), the dashboard simply fetches the list straight from the server. Nothing stops working — you only lose the speed gain.

Use cases

• Answer business hours, deadlines and policies with a consistent message.
• Send standardized step-by-step instructions (e.g., how to submit a receipt).
• Uniform greetings and closings across the whole team.
• Send a ready-made menu of options, with buttons or a list, without rebuilding the structure every time.

Tips, limits & best practices

• Use predictable, short shortcuts so you remember them without checking the list.
• Use private responses for drafts or personal wording; use global responses for approved content the entire team should apply consistently.
• Prefer topic prefixes in shortcuts (/bill-invoice, /bill-receipt): typing the prefix already narrows the list to the right set.
• Check the preview before inserting: that is where you see the resolved variables and the final formatting for that channel.
• Review responses periodically to keep the content up to date.
• For several actions at once (reply + label + resolve), use a macro instead of just the canned response.

Troubleshooting

• The slash (/) doesn't open the list: confirm you're in the Reply box (not Note) and that responses exist.
• I can't find a response: check the exact shortcut or search for a word from the content.
• Someone else cannot find my response: check whether it is Private. Change it to Global with an authorized account when the whole team needs it.
• I can use but cannot edit a global response: this is expected for agents without management permission. Ask an administrator to update it or grant the appropriate permission.
• The preview looks different from the text I saved: that is expected. It already resolves variables and strips the formatting the conversation's channel cannot carry.
• I changed a response and a colleague still sees the old one: their list refreshes on its own as soon as the change is saved; if it persists, reloading the page forces a fresh fetch.
• The attachment didn't come along with the text: the conversation's channel may not accept files, or the file failed to load — a notice appears in that case and you can attach it by hand.
• The response won't save: it needs text, an attachment or an interactive structure; and the shortcut cannot repeat another response's shortcut in the account.

See also

• Replying, private notes and mentions
• Macros: automating sequences of actions
• Attachments, voice messages, emoji and reactions