# Preferences

As a Supervisor, you can tailor Chat Desk to your business needs by setting your preferences under [*Settings* ](https://guides.clickatell.com/chat-desk/chat-desk-dashboard/settings)*-> Preferences.*

You can view and edit the following:

* [General Preferences](#general-preferences)
* [Live Chat Routing](#live-chat-routing)
* [Timers & Timeouts](#timers-and-timeouts)

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### **General preferences**

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1. **Maximum Chats per Agent**

Manage your agents' workload by setting the maximum number of chats that can be assigned to them at any given time. The maximum limit is customizable for each agent, and can be adjusted when necessary.

This number must be between 1 and 100.

{% hint style="success" %}
Ensure that the maximum you select allows all your agents to operate at their best. Overloading agents with chats may lead to sub-standard customer service.
{% endhint %}

2. **Additional Agent Notes to Closed Chat**

This allows agents to capture additional information when ending a chat that can be useful for future interactions. If this feature is disabled, the only context available for future interactions is the customer's chat history.

{% hint style="info" %}
All notes saved to a chat will be visible to any agent who assists the customer in the future.
{% endhint %}

### **Live Chat Routing**

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1. **Last Agent Routing**

If enabled, the system attempts to assign a live chat to the last agent that engaged with the customer. If this agent is not available, the chat is assigned to any other available agent.&#x20;

If disabled, live chats are distributed to any available agent based on your settings for *Chat Routing Distribution* (see below).

2. **Chat Routing Distribution**

Select the way that chats should be distributed:&#x20;

* *Averaged Chat Distribution:* Incoming chats are distributed evenly among agents based on the number of chats assigned to them. A chat is routed to the agent with the lowest number of chats first.
* *Random Chat Distribution:* Incoming chats are routed at random to any available agent.

***Example:*** There are ten incoming chats and five available agents. If *Averaged Chat Distribution* is selected, two chats are assigned to every agent. If *Random Chat Distribution* is selected, it is possible that one agent gets assigned six chats, and the other agents each get assigned only one.

3. **Route to Specific Departments**

If enabled, you can specify the department(s) where all live chats should be routed first. Chats are distributed to any available agent in these departments. Once routed to these departments, chats can be transferred to other departments. You can also add more departments from here.

### **Timers and Timeouts**

<figure><img src="https://content.gitbook.com/content/AeMbivaErQPM4rXdM6fm/blobs/iIWSqnffk8ShIxQK69lw/image.png" alt="" width="563"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

1. **Agent Chat Timeout**&#x20;

If a chat is assigned to an agent and the agent fails to respond within the specified time, the system automatically transfers the chat to another available agent. You can set this timeout duration to be up to a **maximum** of **24 hours**.

2. **Media Files Expiration**&#x20;

You can set the duration after which media files that were sent/received via Chat Desk get deleted from Chat Desk. Once expired, all media file previews are automatically removed from Chat Desk. The text references to the media file are stored in the chat's history.&#x20;

For example, if the Clickatell logo was sent as an image in a chat, the logo's image is deleted, but in the chat history, it still states *ClickatellLogo.jpeg sent on 12/10/2020 at 4:45pm*.

3. **Inactivity Timeout**&#x20;

Set the duration that a chat session remains open after the last message was sent by an agent to the customer. After the set duration, the chat is converted to a ticket.&#x20;

4. **Pending Chats Auto-Closure Time**

Set the duration after which a chat in the *Pending* tab is automatically closed and moved to the *Closed* tab. This setting is only applicable to chats in a *pending* status.

{% hint style="info" %}
Remember to save your changes to update your preferences.
{% endhint %}