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Thursday, May 29, 2014

Typing timesaver: Canned messages are here.

The revamped webclient for staffing is now out of the beta stage. Our latest update folds in all the feedback from the beta stage and brings with it an important and highly anticipated new feature: canned (pre-scripted) messages!

Type-ahead canned messages in the webclient for staffing.


How it works


Administrators create shared groups (pools) of canned messages and assign operators to them using the new Messages tab in the admin site.  Those messages are available to designated operators through our new web staffing client.

The messages are easy to use and show up as type-ahead suggestions when composing replies to guests during a chat. Individual operators can browse their assigned shared messages and optionally create their own private messages via the Messages tab in the webclient.  If desired, operators can also opt out of canned messages in their Settings.

Into the pool!

Canned message pool management in the admin site.

A single set of shared canned messages available to all staff might be all you need. But since LibraryH3lp can be used across departments and even beyond libraries, different groups of operators might benefit from different pools of shared messages.  For example, someone in Admissions will probably need access to a different message pool than a librarian.

Flexibility is the name of the game. Administrators can set up unlimited pools of messages and then assign operators to one or more of these message pools.

Give it a whirl and let us know what you think!

7 comments:

Unknown said...

I was able to set up a pool of canned messages but they are not appearing as type-ahead options when responding to a chat. How do I get this to work?

Pam Sessoms said...

@Megan, thanks for trying it out! The first thing that comes to mind is making sure you have the latest version of the new webclient. So, try logging out, clearing cache, reloading, and trying again? The new webclient is at:

https://us.libraryh3lp.com/webclient/

Let's start there... If no joy, let us know if you see the Message menu in the webclient navigation area along the top, and what browser and version?

Scott Mellendorf said...

Awesome news! Thanks! Been waiting for this and it was worth it. Going to be a big time saver. I've set up a few pools (Research, Information, etc) cause I thought it might be easier to compile messages that way. They all show up in one A-Z list anyway to operators. During testing, I've noticed the first word the operator types into the chat response box is what triggers the typed ahead messages. Is this true? if so, something to keep in mind as you enter canned messages into pools or that operators will have to type a keyword (hours, database name) first to see the appropriate canned message. Again, am I understanding how this works correctly? thanks!

Pam Sessoms said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Pam Sessoms said...

@Scott, glad you're happy to see this feature released! Clever idea about using the pools to organize your message categories like that.

The canned messages are triggered by simple letter matching. So if the operator knows there is a canned message they want to use about hours, they can start by typing "h" and then "o" and so forth, and the list will shrink with each keystroke.

They can use their arrow keys to pick one from the list, or they can keep typing until the one the want is highlighted. Then tab or enter and the message is in the typing area, and they can either send it or further edit it.

They can also hit space at the start of a message to view all messages.

But you are right: if the operator begins by typing a letter "z" and none of your canned messages contain that letter, then they won't trigger any of the canned messages at all.

With use, this becomes very efficient, or at least it has for us here at LibraryH3lp headquarters. :) We hope the same will be true for your operators. Let us know how it goes!

(original commented deleted and re-added because of automatic stripping of some characters in the orignal version)

Scott Mellendorf said...

Pam
Hi. Thanks for the tips! I just wanted to be sure I understood the process. I'll pass all of this on to the reference librarians and will let you know how it goes. I'll be using it for sure. Thanks for the extra and cool feature. I was just hoping for the canned message option! Always appreciate the "surprises" you include with every update. Thanks!

Dawn said...

Is there something different we can set up where there is a place you can have the canned messages where we can just open the list and select one of them instead of the type-ahead option. The type ahead options come up when I'm typing something else that just happens to match a canned message I have created. It is a bit of an annoyance. For me at least.