Resize the reply box and conversation column

If a thread runs long, or you’re typing something that needs more room than a few lines, you don’t have to live with the standard conversation layout. Two small arrow icons on the reply toolbar let you widen the whole conversation column and grow the reply box itself, on the fly, without leaving the conversation you’re in.

These controls aren’t a Preferences page setting — there’s no separate screen to visit. They live directly on the toolbar of the reply composer, right before the Cc control.

Where to find the toggles

Open any conversation and look at the toolbar above the reply box. On the right side, just before Cc, you’ll see two icons:

• A width arrow — widens or narrows the entire conversation column.
• A height arrow — grows or shrinks the reply box itself.

Each icon shows the move your next click will make: arrows pointing apart mean “grow,” arrows pointing together mean “shrink.” Click either one to toggle it; click again to put it back.

Both toggles start off when you open a conversation — they don’t remember an “on” state from your last visit.

What the width arrow changes

Clicking the width arrow widens the entire conversation column — not just the reply box. The thread, any merge or archive banners, the typing indicator, the composer, and the footer all widen together, so the whole pane still lines up.

The column is capped on purpose: it goes wider than the standard column, but not so wide that a line of text on an ultrawide monitor becomes unreadable. Once you hit the cap, clicking the arrow again just returns you to the standard width.

This control only affects the main Conversations view. If you’re looking at a side conversation, or at a conversation inside the Monitor drawer, the width arrow either doesn’t appear or has no effect — those views keep their own fixed width regardless of what you’ve set elsewhere.

What the height arrow changes

Clicking the height arrow grows the reply box to take up roughly two-thirds of the pane, giving you much more room to write, paste, or work with snippets. The thread above it doesn’t disappear — it keeps a guaranteed minimum amount of visible space so you can still see the customer’s message while you’re typing a longer reply.

On a short screen, the thread’s minimum space takes priority, so the composer may end up taking a bit less than exactly two-thirds — that’s expected, not a bug.

Clicking the arrow again shrinks the reply box back to its normal resting size.

How your choice is saved

Both toggles are saved to the browser you’re using, not to your Atender account. That means:

• Switching to a different browser or device starts you back at the standard width and height — your toggle choice doesn’t follow you.
• Other agents on your team aren’t affected by your choice, and you aren’t affected by theirs.
• This is different from settings like sidebar style or dark mode, which are account-wide preferences. Reply box and column width are about the screen you’re sitting at right now, not your account.

There’s nothing to save explicitly — each click applies immediately.

What stays the same

• The composer’s normal resting size doesn’t change. Even with both toggles off, the reply box already has a comfortable writing area — these toggles are for when you need more than that, not a replacement for it.
• New conversation and bulk reply boxes are unaffected. The arrows apply to the reply toolbar on an existing conversation.
• Side conversations keep their own width. They’re intentionally scoped out of the width arrow, so they won’t suddenly widen or narrow based on what you’ve set on the main conversation.

Troubleshooting

• Symptom: I widened the column, but a side conversation or the Monitor drawer still looks narrow. Fix: That’s expected. The width arrow only applies to the main Conversations view; side conversations and the Monitor drawer use their own fixed width.
• Symptom: My column reset to standard width after I switched computers. Fix: Also expected. Both toggles are saved to the browser/device you were using, not to your account, so they don’t carry over when you switch machines or browsers.
• Symptom: The reply box won’t grow past its normal size no matter how many times I click the height arrow. Fix: Make sure you’re clicking the height arrow (not the width arrow) — the two controls are separate. If it still doesn’t respond, refresh the page; a stale page load can occasionally leave a toggle stuck.