Understanding Front's composer
Overview
Front has a rich-text composer with a suite of editing options to format your message exactly the way you want it. This article will explain the different features of the composer.
Email composer
To compose a message, click the Compose button at the top left corner or click Reply on a message.
When in composing mode, you will see many options for formatting. Click on the Formatting options button, the icon showing Aa, on the bottom left to hide or display the full formatting bar.
Font family
By default, Front uses Sans-Serif fonts. This can differ depending on the machine you're using. Front uses Helvetica on macOS 10.10 and later, and Segoe UI on Windows Vista and later. Otherwise, it will default to Arial. Of course, you can choose from other options in the Font family dropdown as well.
Font size
Front's default font size is 14px, which is standard. Use the dropdown of the Font size if you'd like to change your font size.
Text color
Front's default font color is black, but that can be changed in the dropdown of the Text color menu.
Text highlight
You have an array of highlight colors to choose from in the Text highlight menu.
Font styling
Emphasize different parts of your text with the styling buttons: bold, italic, underline, and strikethrough. Hovering on the buttons will show the keyboard shortcuts for them, which are standard.
Lists
Format your email with bulleted and numbered lists, or indentations by clicking the Lists icon. You have the option of checking the Auto-Formatting feature, which means that typing dashes or numbers then pressing the Enter key will automatically format your text into a list.
Insert link
Hyperlink a word or phrase in your email by highlighting the text and clicking the Insert link icon. Alternatively, highlighting your text and pressing the paste shortcut, Cmd + V, will automatically add the hyperlink if you've previously copied the hyperlink.
Insert image inline
Click the Insert image inline button to add an image to your email using a URL or inserting from your computer.
Quote
Adding quotes will add a vertical line to the left of the text, with the text and styling able to be edited after making it a quote. Click the Quote button of the quotation marks to do so.
Reset style
If you copy and paste a line of text into an email, and the formatting isn't what you're looking for, click the Reset style, or Tx icon, to revert back to your default style.
Save default style
You can change your default font style so that every email you write will automatically have your set style, by clicking the three-dot menu then Save default style. For detailed steps, see here.
Switch to Markdown
If you prefer to compose in Markdown, we've got you covered. Simply click the three-dot menu, click Switch to Markdown, and start typing. You can switch back to the rich-text editor any time without losing your work.
Insert emoji
Liven up your message with the Insert emoji button and choose from the full menu of emoticons.
Insert GIF
Use our Giphy integration to bring your message to life. Search your keywords and click the GIF to insert it.
Attach files
Use the Attach files button to attach from your computer, Dropbox, or Google Drive. To learn more about attaching files to your messages, check out this article.
Message templates
One of Front's superpowers is to help you be more efficient with your message templates. Click the Message templates icon to access your pre-loaded templates and insert them into your message.
Scheduling
Front Calendar allows you to offer meeting times directly in your message by accessing your available times and inserting your availability. When customers click on the time of their choice in your message, the meeting will be automatically added to both your calendars. Learn how to use this magic here.
Delete
Click the Delete trashcan icon to delete the whole draft you were typing.
Chat composer
You will see a slightly different composer when replying to a chat message, which exist in these channel types: Front Chat, Facebook, Twitter, Intercom, Smooch, and Twilio SMS. Though you do not have as many formatting options using chat, there are some helpful features in the composer, described below.
Insert emoji
Liven up your message with the Insert emoji button and choose from the full menu of emoticons.
Attach files
Use the Attach files button to attach from your computer, Dropbox, or Google Drive.
Message templates
One of Front's superpowers is to help you be more efficient with your message templates. Click the Message templates icon to access your pre-loaded templates and insert them into your message.
Delete
Click the Delete trashcan icon to delete the whole draft you were typing.
Enter to send
Tick the "Enter" to send checkbox if you'd like to send replies by simply hitting Enter on your keyboard. Conversations aren't archived when you use Enter to send, so you can easily send multiple replies in the same conversation, providing a real-time chat experience.
You can press Shift + Enter on your keyboard to add line breaks to your message.
FAQ
Can I embed videos in email?
No, Front does not support embedding videos into email. Instead, we suggest embedding an image or .gif with a play button added on top of it, and hyperlink out to the video.
Can I build composer plugins?
Yes! Previously, plugins could only be embedded within the right sidebar, but it’s now possible for developers to build plugins that embed themselves in the composer instead.
More details on how to build composer plugins can be found here.
19 replies
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We would like to be able to modify the default font style - the options listed below are not showing up on our version:
" Set as default style
Select text, define the font, size and color and click on Set as default style. From now on, every message you send will use this style." -
Robin Thieme Hi! If you don't see this, please email us a screen shot so that we may assist you:
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In the previous version of Front, when a message was composed it would just appear in Front rather than a new window. Is there anyway we can change this setting so it does not compose in a new window?
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Frances Savage Hi Frances! This is actually a bug we're working on right now. We'll send you an email update once it's been fixed!
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The markdown toggle button disappeared in the new Front. Is it always markdown, or is that option gone now?
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Andrew Legrand Hi Andrew, yes, currently we don't have Markdown, but we do plan to build it. If you have any specific feedback or questions, please email us so we can direct it to the correct people on the team! support@frontapp.com
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Helena Li please, I am also interested on knowing how not to have it opened in a new windows! Could you tell me if it is fixed/how I can do it? Thanks :)
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Charlotte Baudet Hi Charlotte! The best way to report issues and get an update is to email support@frontapp.com so that we can properly triage and track them for your account. For this one, we're still working on it and I've made a note to email you when it's fixed! :)
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Thank you!
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Andrew Legrand Hey Andrew! Markdown is back on the composer, so just refresh and you'll see it :)
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Is there no keyboard shortcut to compose a new email? That is quite standard across all other mail apps.
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Hey Seth Viebrock the shortcut C will open a new composer window for a new email!
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Is there a way to indent a block of text? I see "Indent Right/Left" under the list menu but these are greyed out unless you're working on a list. If this is not an option it would be greatly appreciated to add this to the editing tools. Thanks.
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Hi Andy,
Not currently...however, we are making a lot of enhancements to our composer in the next couple of months, and this indenting fix will be part of it ,thanks so much for your continued patience!
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Kenji Hayward Great! Thanks for the reply.
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Andy Hund
Hi there,
A while ago, you reported issues with using our composer, and how track tabs + indent right/indent left, was impacted on your messages.
We recently released a change so that your reported issues should be fixed.
Please refresh your app to ensure you’re consuming the latest changes, and let us know if you continue to experience any issues. Thank you for your patience!
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Awesome! Thanks Front team!!
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Is it possible to add a font to the font family? We use Open Sans as a corporate identity but it is not in the basic fonts
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Karlijn Limpens We have this feature request in our backlog. I went ahead and added a +1 for you to that request. We will let you know as soon as we make this improvement to Front!
With that said, by default, Front uses Sans-Serif fonts. This can differ depending on the machine you're using. Front uses Helvetica and Helvetica Neue (macOS 10.10 and later) on Mac, and Segoe UI on Window Vista and later. Otherwise, it will default to Arial. Of course, there are many other options in the composer if you choose to change your font.
Hope that helps!