Search inside a Messenger conversation
By Steven Van ·
Customers can find text in an open Messenger chat, Fin's answers included, in the Classic web and Fullpage Messenger layouts.
Messenger conversations in Intercom can now be searched from inside the open chat. Previously, finding something read earlier in a long conversation meant scrolling through the whole message list. Intercom describes the feature as working on the conversation the customer is viewing, including long ones with Fin.
How it works
In the open conversation, select the "…" menu in the header and choose Search conversation. A search bar appears under the header. Search needs at least 2 characters, or 1 for Chinese, Japanese, Korean or an emoji.
- Every match is highlighted in yellow. The selected match is orange and scrolled into view.
- Next and Previous buttons, or Enter and Shift + Enter, move between matches.
- A counter shows the selected match and the total, such as 2/5, or 0/0 with no matches.
- After the last match, moving on wraps back to the first.
- The X button or Escape closes search and leaves the conversation where it was.
What matches
Search is not case-sensitive and matches part of a word, so "cat" matches "category". It is accent-sensitive, so "cafe" does not match "café". It matches text as it appears on screen, so a typed :-) matches the emoji it becomes.
It covers message text, including headings, lists, tables, links, buttons and code blocks. Fin's answers are searched too, even while they are still streaming in. It does not cover attachment filenames, images, videos, or cards such as ticket, calendar or CSAT cards.
Behaviour and availability
Search only looks at the conversation already loaded on screen, not across several conversations. While it is open, the conversation does not auto-scroll to new messages, so the customer keeps their place. Normal auto-scrolling returns when search is closed. If the customer switches to another conversation, the search bar stays open with the same text and searches the new one.
It is available to every workspace using the Classic web Messenger and the Fullpage Messenger.
