Writing and sending a message

Contents

1. The writing bar
2. Sending
3. Replying by quoting a message
4. Attaching files
   1. The Premium feature
5. Emoji and GIFs
6. Email and PEC
7. If sending fails
8. What to do if...
9. Related entries

The writing bar#

At the bottom of the conversation (Reading messages) is the writing bar: a grey-beige pill on a white background. From left to right:

Above the bar, from bottom to top, the following may appear: the green strip «Rispondi al messaggio» (Reply to the message) or «Modifica messaggio» (Edit message), the bar of prepared files and the emoji/GIF panel. In email and PEC conversations the bar is different (see below).

Sending#

• Invio (the key) or the green button sends the message.
• Shift+Enter does not start a new line: in the bar you write on a single line. A message on several lines can only be written in emails.
• If the field is empty and there are no prepared files, nothing happens. Spaces at the beginning and at the end are removed.
• The page does not impose a length limit: the channel's limits apply.
• Each message goes out from one channel only: the one of the conversation or, for a client on several channels, the one chosen with the buttons at the top of the conversation (Muting, banning and deleting a conversation).

What happens after sending

1. The text disappears from the bar and the prepared files from the file bar; in the conversation the bubble appears immediately, with the faded tick.
2. In the list the row updates with preview and time, and moves to the top.
3. If there are files, they are uploaded one at a time (30 seconds each, longer for large files) and then the message goes out. Until the upload finishes you cannot send another message.
4. When the program accepts the message the tick turns grey; then the channel delivers it and, where the channel allows it, the ticks become two and green when the contact reads it (Reading messages).

A repeated send by mistake (for example because of a browser retry) is recognised and the message goes out only once.

Before sending, for WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Telegram chats the program checks that the channel's account is connected: if it is not, the warning described in «Se l'invio non riesce» (If sending fails) appears and the message is not sent (the text stays in the bar).

When the AI assistant was handling the conversation (booking, client registration, request for an operator), the first message written by staff makes it step back: the assistant's state returns to idle (Muting, banning and deleting a conversation).

Replying by quoting a message#

1. Right-click on the message ▸ Rispondi (Reading messages): the green strip «Rispondi al messaggio» appears with the beginning of the quoted text.
2. Write and send: the message goes out as a reply to the quoted one. WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Telegram show the quote to the client.
3. The strip disappears after sending. You can remove it beforehand with the X on the right: the X also deletes the text already written.

A GIF sent while the reply is active also carries the quote with it. After clicking Rispondi the cursor does not move into the bar by itself: you have to click inside it.

Attaching files#

How to add them

• Paperclip: the file picker of the computer opens, with more than one file at a time if you like.
• Dragging: drag one or more files from the computer and drop them anywhere on the open conversation. You can also drop them onto a row of the list: the conversation opens and the file is prepared as an attachment.
• Paste from the clipboard: does not work (neither images nor files can be pasted).

The files appear in the bar of prepared files above the writing bar: one card of 240 points per file, with the icon of the type, the name (in full when the mouse passes over it) and an X («Rimuovi file» (Remove file)). There are no image previews. If the cards are wider than the bar, two arrows appear at the sides for scrolling.

Files are uploaded only when you press Send. If the upload of a file fails (slow network, file not accepted) that file is skipped with no warning and the message goes out anyway without it: after sending, check that everything is in the bubble.

Sizes and formats

If a file exceeds the permitted size, the red notification File "nome" troppo grande (Max 20MB) (File "name" too large (Max 20MB)) (or the Telegram equivalent) appears for 5 seconds and that file is not added: the others are.

On WhatsApp Aziendale and Instagram, SVG, WebP, GIF and HEIC are not allowed as images; on Instagram Word, Excel and PowerPoint are not allowed; nor are archives (ZIP, RAR) or programs. For Messenger Meta does not publish a list of formats: the program only checks the size.

The warning when a file cannot be sent. A red notification with the reason appears for 7 seconds, and the file is not added. There are two phrases:

• Format: «"logo.svg": il formato .SVG non è supportato da Instagram. Convertilo in PNG.» (".svg": the .SVG format is not supported by Instagram. Convert it to PNG.) When one exists, the program suggests a similar format that the channel accepts (for example SVG to PNG or JPG; WebP, GIF, HEIC to JPG; DOCX, ODT, RTF to PDF; MOV, AVI, MKV, WEBM to MP4; WAV, FLAC to MP3 or M4A). For what has no equivalent, the phrase stops at «…non è supportato da [canale].» (…is not supported by [channel].)
• Size: «"video.mp4" pesa 40 MB: su Instagram il massimo per questo tipo di file è 25 MB.» ("video.mp4" weighs 40 MB: on Instagram the maximum for this type of file is 25 MB.)

If the check happens on sending (because you changed channel after adding the files, or you are writing to several recipients) the message is not sent and the text and files stay in the bar.

What the program cannot check. Meta can reject a file even if the extension and size are right (for example an OGG must be encoded as OPUS and mono; videos must use H.264 with AAC audio). In that case the rest of the message goes out and the attachment appears with the X and «Errore» (Error) (Reading messages).

Many files together. You can send as many files as you like. On the messaging channels one message per file goes out (except Telegram, which groups them in albums of 10), in blocks with a short pause so as not to exceed the speed limits: a block is 20 files on Messenger, 10 on WhatsApp Aziendale, 5 on Instagram, with about 0.3 seconds between one file and the next and about 5 between one block and the next. The order of the files is respected. If the server estimates that sending will take more than a minute, the notice «Invio in corso: ci vorranno circa N secondi (o minuti), per rispettare i limiti di invio della piattaforma. Puoi continuare a lavorare.» (Sending in progress: it will take about N seconds (or minutes), to respect the platform's sending limits. You can keep working.) appears.

How they reach the client

The Premium feature#

If the Premium feature is active on your user (Narciso activates it user by user: there is no setting in the program), files that a Meta channel does not accept are not rejected: Narciso fixes them before sending.

• Format not allowed: the file is converted to the equivalent format accepted by the channel.
• File too heavy: it is compacted, in attempts, until it fits within the limit.
• The original file stays intact in Narciso's protected space; the client receives the adapted version, with the same name and the new extension.
• The message appears immediately with the faded tick and stays pending until the system has finished (a few seconds for a photo, even several minutes for a long video), then goes out by itself. You can keep working, even open another conversation.
• For files with no equivalent (archives, programs) the format warning appears immediately. If the file does not fit within the limit even when compacted (a video that is too long, a huge PDF), the message is not sent, and a red notification with the reason appears for 9 seconds.

Emoji and GIFs#

1. Click the Emoji e GIF smiley: a panel with the Emoji and GIF tabs opens above the bar.
2. Emoji: field «Cerca emoji...» (Search emoji...) and list by category. A click adds the emoji at the end of the text and the panel stays open. The panel closes with a click outside, with another click on the smiley, or by sending the message.
3. GIF: field «Cerca GIF» (Search GIF). When it opens you see the 20 most popular GIFs; as you type, the search updates with every letter. If there are none, «Nessuna GIF trovata» (No GIF found) appears. A click on a GIF sends it immediately as an image, with no preview or confirmation.
4. GIFs are provided by an external service: the search requires the server to be able to contact it.

If the channel is disconnected, «Impossibile inviare la GIF perché l'account [canale] risulta disconnesso» (Unable to send the GIF because the [channel] account is disconnected) appears for 6 seconds; if the GIF cannot be downloaded, «Impossibile scaricare la media» (Unable to download the media) for 5 seconds. On WhatsApp Aziendale and Instagram the GIF format is not allowed as an image: the format warning appears (with the MP4 suggestion), unless the Premium feature is active. GIFs cannot be sent from «Nuovo messaggio» (New message).

Email and PEC#

In email-only or PEC-only conversations the bar is different:

• There are no paperclip and smiley; the field is read-only and says «Passa il mouse qui per comporre...» (Hover here to compose...). There is only the green send button.
• Hovering the mouse over the bar for about a quarter of a second expands the bar to full height and it becomes a rich text editor, with the toolbar: font («Scegli il font» (Choose the font)), «Titolo 1», «Titolo 2», «Titolo 3» (Heading 1, 2, 3), «Grassetto» (Bold), «Corsivo» (Italic), «Sottolineato» (Underline), «Barrato» (Strikethrough), «Codice inline» (Inline code), «Evidenzia» (Highlight), «Colore testo» (Text colour), «Rimuovi formattazione» (Remove formatting), alignments (left, centre, right, justify), «Elenco puntato» (Bulleted list), «Elenco numerato» (Numbered list), «Citazione» (Quote), «Linea orizzontale» (Horizontal line), «Inserisci link» (Insert link) (asks for «URL:»), «Inserisci immagine» (Insert image) (asks for «Image URL:», the address of an image already online), «Allega file», «Emoji e GIF», «Annulla» (Undo) and «Ripristina» (Redo).
• At the top right is the green Invia (Send) button; it turns grey and disabled while a send is in progress or when the system is congested.
• To go back to the small bar, move the mouse out of the area for about 2 seconds (there is a margin of 60 points around it): the editor closes again and the text stays. Sending also closes the editor.

The subject is not written. If you reply to an email using Rispondi, the subject is «Re: » followed by the subject of that email. If you write without quoting, a new email goes out and the subject is derived automatically from the text: for this reason at least some text is needed, in addition to any attachments. The recipient is the one of the conversation.

The mailbox limits. The email goes out from the mailbox linked to the location you are working in (Linking channels). Before uploading the attachments the program checks that they fit within the size allowed by the mailbox provider (for example 25 MB for Gmail) and that the extensions are not forbidden. With the Premium feature, attachments that are too heavy are reduced before sending, with the notice «Gli allegati sono più pesanti del limite della casella: verranno ridotti prima dell'invio.» (The attachments are heavier than the mailbox limit: they will be reduced before sending.) If the mailbox has reached its provider's sending limit, the message stays pending and restarts by itself (Reading messages).

In the rows of a client on several channels the bar stays the normal one, even when choosing the email channel: the text goes out as plain text.

If sending fails#

There is no «Riprova» button on messages that failed and the program does not retry by itself: write the message again.

What to do if...#

Related entries#

• Reading messages
• Muting, banning and deleting a conversation
• New message
• Attachment viewer
• File formats and sizes