zulip/templates/zerver/help/open-the-compose-box.md

Open the compose box

The Zulip compose box starts off closed by default. There are a number of ways to open the compose box.

Using the keyboard (recommended)

All replies are to the message under the blue box.

• Reply: r or Enter

• New private message: x

• New topic: c

You can move the blue box around using the arrow keys, j, or k. You can close the compose box using Esc, or up/down arrow if the box is empty.

Using the mouse

• Click on any message.

• Click on New topic, New private message, or Reply at the bottom of the screen.

Why does Zulip close the compose box?

The main reason is so that keyboard shortcuts work. It also gives more real estate to the message feed when you're reading messages.

If you haven't done so already, try using n (next unread topic) and r (reply) to read and reply to messages, instead of using the mouse.

This is one of our most contentious features, since it's so different from how other apps do things. We may eventually add an option to pin the compose box open. However, if you plan on using Zulip for more than an hour a day, we highly recommend learning the n and r keyboard shortcuts as soon as you can.