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Configuration

Widget Configuration​

Helpshift allows you to configure the Web Chat widget by passing configuration options in the helpshiftConfig object.

Widget Options​

To configure the widget's behavior, you'll need to add widgetOptions to the Embed Code. All of the widget specific options go here.

(function () {
  // The following part remains as it is in the Embed Code.
  var PLATFORM_ID = "<YOUR_PLATFORM_ID>",
    DOMAIN = "<YOUR_DOMAIN>";

  window.helpshiftConfig = {
    platformId: PLATFORM_ID,
    domain: DOMAIN,
  };

  /* Widget Options Start */
  helpshiftConfig.widgetOptions = {
    // All widget specific options go here.
  };
  /* Widget Options End */
})();

Enable Fullscreen View for Pop-ups​

If you want to open the widget in full screen mode on a non-mobile device, you can pass through the fullScreen option in widgetOptions.

helpshiftConfig.widgetOptions = {
  // ...
  fullScreen: true,
};
Note

On mobile devices and on low resolution tablets and desktops, the widget will open in full screen mode.

Show/Hide Launcher​

You can hide the default launcher and use your own launcher. You can control opening and closing of the conversation window using the open and close APIs. Add the following option in widgetOptions to hide the default launcher.

helpshiftConfig.widgetOptions = {
  // ...
  showLauncher: false,
};

Widget Position​

To set the widget's position, provide the position option in widgetOptions. Values allowed for position are:

  • bottom-right
  • bottom-left
  • top-left
  • top-right

The default value is bottom-right.

helpshiftConfig.widgetOptions = {
  // ...
  position: "bottom-left",
};

Widget z-index​

By default, Web Chat assigns a large z-index value to its widget (the launcher and conversation window). If you want to use a custom value of z-index for Web Chat, you can do so by setting the zIndex option in widgetOptions. You can only use a number with this option.

helpshiftConfig.widgetOptions = {
  // ...
  zIndex: 50,
};

Theming​

You can configure the Web Chat's greeting and color scheme directly from the Helpshift Dashboard. For more details, refer to For Support Admins: Configure the User Experience in our Knowledge Base.

Bots​

Bots can be enabled in Web Chat to automatically provide help and gather information from users to help your Agents resolve Issues faster. Helpshift has 3 default Bots:

  • QuickSearch Bot - deflect common problems by automatically suggesting relevant FAQs to users
  • Identity Bot - prompt your users for their name and/or email before they create an issue
  • CSAT Bot - automatically ask for feedback after an Issue is resolved

For more details, refer to Set Up Your Web Chat Bots in our Knowledge Base.

Full Privacy​

In the helpshiftConfig object at the time of initialization, setting the fullPrivacy option to true ensures COPPA compliance by:

  • Disabling user-initiated screenshots (users will not be able to attach files, including images, using Web Chat).
  • Making sure that Personally Identifiable Information (PII) such as name and email are not collected by Web Chat (using Identity Bot and/or the helpshiftConfig object). This means that if you set userName and userEmail, with fullPrivacy set to true, Helpshift will not use the userName and userEmail values.

Moreover, in scenarios where the user attaches objectionable content, it becomes a huge COPPA compliance concern. This option helps to solve this problem.

Example Embed Code​
var PLATFORM_ID = "foo",
  DOMAIN = "bar";

window.helpshiftConfig = {
  platformId: PLATFORM_ID,
  domain: DOMAIN,
  // other options, if applicable
  fullPrivacy: true,
};

Initiating chat​

Developers can start a new chat when the previous issue is resolved, without needing any user action like clicking the New Conversation button or going through the post resolution flow like feedback bot for the previously resolved issue.

To do the above mentioned action, the developer will have to set initiateChatOnLoad config in window.helpshiftConfig and then use the updateHelpshiftConfig API to start the new chat when the previous issue is resolved.

Example Embed Code​
window.helpshiftConfig.initiateChatOnLoad = true;

Helpshift("updateHelpshiftConfig");

To open the widget, Open Widget API can be used.

Initial user message​

Initial user message configuration, initialUserMessage, helps you send the first message in a conversation on behalf of the user so that certain workflows are automatically triggered based on that message.

You should set this configuration before a conversation starts. In other words, it works only when there is no active conversation for the user i.e. when a new user opens the chat screen for the first time or existing user has already closed an ongoing conversation.

Note

If you set this configuration in the middle of an existing conversation, it will not have any effect.

Example Embed Code​
window.helpshiftConfig.initialUserMessage = "Some initial user message";

Helpshift("updateHelpshiftConfig");

Clear initial user message​

If the end user starts a new conversation immediately in the same session, then, by default, the initial user message is applied to all subsequent issues in the same session. You can change this behaviour by setting the initialUserMessage key in subsequentIssuesInSameSessionConfig to an appropriate value.

You can set the initial user message to an empty string, which will clear it and allow the end-user to type a message for their subsequent issues. Alternatively, you can also supply a non-empty string which will be used for all subsequent issues in the same session.

We recommend setting this value to an empty string unless you want to run specific automation flows for subsequent issues in the same session.

Note

Currently, only the initial user message can be reset. Tags, Custom Issue Fields, and Conversation Prefill Text values stay the same for subsequent issues in the same session.

Example Embed Code​
window.helpshiftConfig.initialUserMessage = "Your initial user message";

// Set this config to clear or override the initial user message for
// subsequent issues in the same session
window.helpshiftConfig.subsequentIssuesInSameSessionConfig = {
  initialUserMessage: ""
}
Helpshift("updateHelpshiftConfig")

Conversation prefill text​

Setting conversationPrefillText in the config allows you to set some text in the user's input box. This text will be inserted provided that:

  • There is no ongoing (active) issue for the user.
  • Text inputs are enabled for new conversations (e.g. the User Reply Input Type is not "Only Intent Menu").
Note

The end-user can edit this text before sending it. There is a limit of 1,000 characters for this configuration value, so only the first 1,000 characters will be kept in the user input.

We recommend keeping your actual text even shorter for a better user experience, since the user has to read and edit it before sending it.

Example embed code:​
window.helpshiftConfig.conversationPrefillText = "INSERT YOUR PREFILL TEXT";
Helpshift("updateHelpshiftConfig");

To open the widget, Open Widget API can be used.