Exploring Sidebar

Using Sidebar, agents can have real-time collaboration with others as a standalone conversation or based around a Workspace record. These Sidebar discussions facilitate the exchange of information and knowledge to help resolve issues faster and with higher-quality outcomes.

Sidebar overview

An agent can initiate a Sidebar discussion as a standalone conversation or from a Workspace record. Agents enter preliminary information and context and adding subject matter experts. For Sidebar discussions created from a Workspace record, the agent can create multiple discussions for a record.

Sidebar workspaces

Sidebar is supported in these workspaces:

• Customer Service Management (CSM) Configurable Workspace.
• CSM Manager Workspace
• Human Resources (HR) Agent Workspace
• IT Service Management (ITSM) Manager Workspace
• Security Incident Response Workspace
• Vendor Management Workspace

For information on adding the Discuss button to a supported workspace, see Adding the Discuss button.

For information on adding the Discuss button to any workspace not listed (such as the Service Operation Workspace), see KB article KB1213249.

Sidebar components

Sidebar discussion panel

When you select the Sidebar discussion icon , the Sidebar discussion panel appears:

The Sidebar discussion panel includes:

Icon	Description
1 -	Display Sidebar discussions dialog. If a number in a blue square appears, the number indicates the number of Sidebar discussions that are currently active.
2-	Search within the Sidebar discussions. When you select the Search icon, the Search field appears and you can enter the text you want to locate. The search results display below the search field and are grouped by user message then file name. Select Cancel to clear the search field and return to the Sidebar discussion. You can filter the search results by discussions, messages, and attachments and sort by most relevant or date. To use the Search KB quick action, enable AI Search. For more information, see AI Search and AI Search Availability [KB0867751].
3 -	Permanently pin the menu to the side of the screen.
4 -	Select what types of discussions that you want to view: All - all discussions. Unread - all unread discussions. This record - all discussions related to the record that's currently open in the background. The most recent information displays and is updated when a new message is received, there’s an unread message, or a new discussion is created for the record. You can also create discussions for the record by selecting New discussion. Mentions - discussions that mention you with @yourusername. Favorites - discussions that you marked as favorites.
5 -	Marks the Sidebar discussion as a favorite. Discussions that have been marked as favorites display under the Favorites tab. You can undo a discussion as a favorite by selecting the star icon again.
6 -	Displays options for the discussion: Dismiss discussion - close the discussion dialog (but don't exit the discussion). Leave discussion - exit the discussion.

Docked chat windows

You can access multiple Sidebar discussions at the same time using the docked windows feature. Docked chat windows include these features:

Table 1. Header icons

Icon	Description
1 -	Marks the Sidebar discussion as a favorite. Discussions that have been marked as favorites display under the Favorites tab. You can undo a discussion as a favorite by selecting the star icon again.
2 - Figure 1. Participants submenu	Opens the Discussion info panel that includes the About submenu, Participants submenu, and Leave discussion button. On the About submenu, you can view information about the discussion. On the Participants submenu, you can add and remove participants. If you want to exist the discussion, select Leave discussion. For a standalone discussion, select the drop-down arrow next to the About submenu and select the Link to record to link the discussion to a record.
3 -	Collapses the discussion so it displays only as a tab at the bottom of the screen.
4 -	Closes the window.

Table 2. User avatar and presence

User avatar and presence

Description

Displays the user's avatar and presence (online status). The dot indicates the user's presence depending on whether they’re logged in to the platform: Green dot - user is logged in. No dot - user isn’t logged in. Orange dot - user recently logged out. If Sidebar and Microsoft Teams are integrated, Microsoft Teams users are differentiated from Sidebar users with a Microsoft Teams icon. If Sidebar and Slack are integrated, Slack users are differentiated from Sidebar users with a Slack icon ( ).

Table 3. More actions icon

Icon	Description
	Display additional actions for this message including: Post to activity stream Remove from activity stream Edit message Delete message

Table 4. Text input box icons

Icon	Description
A -	Access base system or custom quick actions. The agent can start a KB article search by selecting the quick actions icon and then entering search-kb. The agent is prompted to search for the relevant KB article. Based on the search and the term that the agent enters, the agent is able to view the KB articles that match the search term. The agent can then select the KB article and include it in the discussion. The KB article is displayed as a record card in the Sidebar discussion. The KB article search is available with the base system. You can summarize a discussion by entering the /summarize quick action.
B -	Display the emoji menu so you can add emojis to the discussion.
C -	Add attachments to the current discussion so they can be shared with others in the discussion. You can drag files and select the send arrow icon or you can use the attachment icon.
D -	Send the message.

If you minimize a docked window, it appears as a tab in the overflow menu at the bottom of the screen. Hovering over a minimized docked window shows the record number and chat title to help identify the content. You can select any tab to access that discussion again. The overflow menu can hold up to 25 docked windows and this limit is configurable. If there are more docked windows than can be displayed as tabs in the overflow menu, a tab with a number indicates how many extra docked windows aren't displayed.

Activity stream and Sidebar

To enable agents to post Sidebar discussions to the activity stream, you must integrate Sidebar with the activity stream. For instructions on integrating Sidebar with the activity stream, see Integrating Sidebar and activity stream. For information on using Sidebar with the activity stream, see Activity stream in Sidebar.

Installing and configuring Sidebar

The Sidebar configuration settings are available via the Sidebar tab under Conversational Interfaces > Settings. For instructions, see Installing Sidebar. After Sidebar is installed, see Configuring Sidebar for instructions on configuring the admin settings.

Using Sidebar

For information on how to use Sidebar, see Using Sidebar for more information.

Key Sidebar features include:

• Custom discussion buttons
• Core UI forms with Sidebar
• Sidebar unread conversation badge count
• Docked chat window
• Favorite discussions
• Discussion information panel
• Discussion participant suggestions
• Quick actions
• Integration with activity stream
• Integration with AI search
• Drag-and-drop file sharing
• Emojis
• Mentioning a user with @

Using Sidebar and Microsoft Teams

After Sidebar and Microsoft Teams are integrated, users of both applications can collaborate with each other. For more information on integrating Sidebar with Microsoft Teams, see Sidebar and Microsoft Teams.

Core UI

You can create Sidebar discussions on interaction records from Next Experience Core UI.

Domain Separation

For information about domain separation in Sidebar, see Domain separation and Sidebar.

More information

To learn more, see the Now learning course on Sidebar.