Guide: Send a message with buttons and quick replies
This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-steps/send-a-message-with-buttons-and-quick-replies
Topic: Flow steps
Time: about 4 minutes
Who can do it: Owner, Administrator or Manager
Author: https://anantgupta.xyz (Anant Gupta, founder of CommentWatchDog)
Start in the app: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox
Result when done: A message with link buttons, branch buttons, quick replies and more ways to say it.
Context: Message is the step most flows are made of: text, up to three buttons that open a link or lead to a step, up to thirteen quick replies that each lead their own way, and up to five ways to say it so people do not all get the same words. The person sees typing dots for about a second and a half before it arrives.

Before you start:
1. Up to 1,000 characters on Instagram and 2,000 on Messenger; 640 when the message carries buttons.
2. It needs an open chat: in a comment flow it goes after the private reply's tap.
3. Buttons and quick replies show in the Instagram app; Instagram's website shows the text only.

Steps:
Step 1 of 5: Add Message to your flow.
Where: Open the flow (Automation, then the flow's row). In the Steps panel on the left, under Send, drag Message onto the canvas, or select the step it should follow and click Message. On a phone: Add step at the top left of the canvas, then Message under Send.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox (Open the app)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-flow-palette.en.webp (The Steps panel: Message, under Send.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-flow-palette-phone.en.webp (On a phone, Add step lists the same steps: Message, under Send.)
You should see: The Message card is on the canvas and its settings panel is open (a sheet on a phone).

Step 2 of 5: Write the text.
Where: Panel, the box at the top: what they will receive. Insert, under the box, adds a variable (username, page name, and the {x} button for the rest). Variables fill in when it is sent: {{first_name}}, {{username}}, {{name}}, {{email}}, {{phone}}, every answer and field you saved, and earlier HTTP answers. A variable that would push the text past the limit is shortened at a word, never sent broken.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-node-message.en.webp (The message text. Insert, under it, adds a variable.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-node-message-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: The card on the canvas shows the text.

Step 3 of 5: Add buttons.
Where: Panel, Buttons: Add button, up to 3. Each has a label of up to 20 characters (sent exactly as typed, no variables) and a choice under it: Goes to a step (choose it under Next steps, or drag from the button's dot on the canvas) or Opens a link (an address starting with https://). Add button greys out once there are 3.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-node-message-more.en.webp (Buttons: the first button, with its label and its choice, Goes to a step or Opens a link. The third, See the menu, opens a link.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-node-message-more-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: A button that goes to a step gets its own way out on the card.

Step 4 of 5: Add quick replies.
Where: Panel, Quick replies, under Buttons: Add quick reply, up to 13 taps under the message. Each leads to its own step, and they disappear once one is tapped. Labels are up to 20 characters. Under Next steps, at the end of the panel, each quick reply has a row of its own: choose its step there, or drag from its dot on the canvas.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-node-message-end.en.webp (Quick replies, under Buttons: Morning and Afternoon, then Add quick reply. Under them, Next steps has a row for each.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-node-message-end-phone.en.webp (Quick replies on a phone, with Next steps under them.)
You should see: Each quick reply is a way out of the card.

Step 5 of 5: Add more ways to say it.
Where: Panel, under the text: Add variation, up to 5 in all. Each person gets one of these at random.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-node-message.en.webp (Add variation under the text.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-node-message-more-phone.en.webp (Add variation on a phone, under the text (scroll the sheet a little).)
You should see: The card counts the variations, such as +2 variations.

If something is off:
Problem: A tap on a button ends the flow
Fix: That button's way has no wire. The canvas warns "leads nowhere yet"; wire it to the next step.
Problem: People on a computer see no buttons
Fix: Instagram's website shows the text only. A person who types a button's words instead of tapping counts as the tap.
Problem: The message is refused for length
Fix: With buttons it is 640 characters; without, 1,000 on Instagram and 2,000 on Messenger.

Common questions:
Question: Can one message have both buttons and quick replies?
Answer: Yes. Meta accepted both on one message on Instagram and Messenger in a live test, and the builder allows it.
Question: Are clicks on link buttons counted?
Answer: Yes. Every link a flow sends is a tracked link per person and message, so Insights counts each click per button.
Question: What happens if someone taps a button on an old message?
Answer: It still leads where it should: each tap is signed with the step it came from.

Related guides:
- Send cards: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-steps/send-cards
- Ask a question and save the answer: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-steps/ask-a-question-and-save-the-answer
- Add, connect and remove steps: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-builder/add-connect-and-remove-steps

Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-steps/send-a-message-with-buttons-and-quick-replies.md
All guides for assistants: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/llms.txt