Documentation
Telegram commands
Everything your team does happens in Telegram. Type in a topic to reply, or use a command.
Replying
Each website conversation is a forum topic. Open it and type. Your message is sent to the visitor's widget as the agent name you chose. Replies must be sent inside the ticket's topic. Messages in the General topic are not sent to visitors.
If you edit a message you already sent, the visitor sees the updated text.
Commands
Use these inside a ticket topic, except where noted.
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
/close | Closes the ticket and the topic. The visitor sees that the conversation is closed and can start a new one. |
/reopen | Reopens a closed ticket. |
// your note | An internal note. It is saved with the ticket and never sent to the visitor. The bot reacts with ✍️ to confirm. |
/name Jane Doe | Sets the visitor's name. The topic and ticket summary are renamed. |
/email [email protected] | Saves the visitor's email address so we can follow up by email when they have left. |
/transcript | Posts the conversation as a text file in the topic. |
/ban | Bans the visitor. Their widget shows that chat is unavailable, and the ticket is closed. |
/me Maya | Sets the name visitors see for you. Works in any topic or in General. |
/help | Lists the commands. |
Notes on notes
Start any message with // to keep it internal. Use it to hand over a ticket, leave context for a teammate or draft an answer for review. Visitors never see notes.
Agent names
Visitors never see your Telegram username, phone number or profile. They see the display name you set with /me. If you have not set one, they see a default name. Admins who post anonymously in the group appear as "Support".
Read receipts
After you reply, TicketDM reacts to your message so you know where it got to.
| Reaction | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 👌 | Delivered. Your reply reached the visitor's chat. |
| 👀 | Seen. The visitor opened the conversation and read it. |
| ✍️ | Saved as an internal note. Nothing was sent. |
Closing and reopening
/closecloses the ticket and the topic. The ticket summary at the top of the topic is updated to show it is closed./reopenbrings it back at any time.- If the visitor writes again within 24 hours of the ticket closing, the same topic reopens automatically.
- After 24 hours, their next message opens a new ticket with a new number. The new ticket links to the previous one.
Nudges and the daily digest
If a visitor has been waiting too long, the bot posts a reminder in the topic. Once a day it posts a short digest in each connected group's General topic with tickets opened, tickets closed and how quickly you replied. Both can be adjusted in the dashboard.
Several groups
If you connect more than one Telegram group, each website posts to the group you chose for it. If you move a website to another group, new chats go to the new group. Tickets that are already open stay where they are until they are closed, and replies there still reach the visitor.
Office hours and away message
Set your time zone, office hours and an away message in the dashboard. Outside office hours, the widget tells visitors when to expect an answer. Messages still arrive in Telegram as normal, so anyone who is online can reply.
If the visitor has left your site when you reply and we know their email address, they get your reply by email with a link back to the conversation.
Troubleshooting
The bot was removed from the group
The dashboard shows the group as disconnected and we email the account owner. Add the bot back to the group, make it an admin and reconnect from the dashboard. Your account, settings and tickets stay in your account.
Topics are turned off
TicketDM needs Topics. Open the group, tap its name, tap Edit and switch Topics on. The dashboard notices and carries on.
The bot is not an admin, or cannot manage topics
Open the group's admin list, choose the bot and switch on Manage Topics and Pin Messages. The bot posts a reminder in the group until it has the rights it needs.
The group was upgraded and its id changed
Telegram changes a group's id when a basic group becomes a supergroup, for example when you turn on Topics. TicketDM detects this and updates the connection automatically. You do not need to do anything.
A visitor's message did not appear
- Check that the dashboard shows the group as connected.
- If someone deleted a topic, the next message from that visitor creates a new one.
- Check that the visitor has not been banned with
/ban.
My reply did not reach the visitor
- Make sure you replied inside the ticket's topic, not in General.
- Notes that start with
//are never sent. Remove the slashes to send a message.
Still stuck? Email [email protected].