Skip to main content
The ticket composer formats text as you type. Type Markdown and it converts in place, or use a keyboard shortcut to turn a format on before you start typing. Public replies, internal notes, and email replies all use the same composer.

​
Markdown you can type

Type the characters in the first column and the composer converts them as soon as you finish the pattern. Block formats, such as headings and lists, only convert at the start of a line. To add a link, select the text and paste a URL over it, or select the text and click Add link in the formatting menu. When you type a URL and press space, the composer links it automatically. Markdown link syntax, [text](url), isn’t converted and stays as plain text.
To keep the characters you typed instead of the format, press Backspace straight after the conversion.

​
Formatting shortcuts

Press a shortcut with text selected to format that text. You don’t need to select anything first: press ⌘B with nothing selected and the text you type next is bold until you press ⌘B again. Inline formats, such as italic and inline code, work the same way. Block formats, such as lists and code blocks, apply to the line the cursor is on. In a list, press Tab to indent an item and Shift+Tab to move it back a level. To leave a code block, press Enter three times at the end of the block.

​
The formatting menu

Select text in the composer to open the formatting menu. It has Add link, Bold, Italic, a Block type menu to change the line to text, a heading, or a list, and Clear formatting. The menu only appears while you have text selected. For any other format, or to turn a format on before typing, use the formatting shortcuts.

​
Send and new lines

By default, ⌘Enter (Ctrl+Enter on Windows and Linux) sends the message, and Enter starts a new line. Shift+Enter always adds a line break. To send with Enter instead:
  1. Open the profile menu at the bottom of the sidebar and select Your profile.
  2. Open the Settings tab.
  3. Under Message composer, select Press Enter to send.
With this setting, ⌘Enter (Ctrl+Enter) adds a line break. The Message composer setting covers ticket replies, customer messages, and outbound emails. AI chats, such as Catalyst, follow the separate Chat input setting, which sends with Enter by default.

​
Mentions, workflows, and internal notes

For every shortcut on the ticket page, see Keyboard shortcuts.

​
How formatting appears in Slack

When a reply goes to the requester in Slack, Serval converts it to Slack’s formatting. Bold, italic, strikethrough, inline code, code blocks, blockquotes, and links carry over. Slack has no headings, so a heading shows as bold text.

Resolving Tickets

Reply to requesters, add internal notes, and run workflows

Keyboard Shortcuts

Every shortcut in Serval, by page