This article explains why the formatting toolbar (WYSIWYG editor toolbar) may be missing in the ticket reply area for a specific department, and how to restore it by adjusting the email template formatting settings.
Overview
In LiveAgent, each department can have its own email templates configured independently. If the formatting toolbar is not visible when replying to tickets in a particular department, it is most likely because the email template for that department is set to Plain text format instead of HTML format. Switching to HTML format will re-enable the WYSIWYG formatting toolbar.
Steps to Enable the Formatting Toolbar
- In your LiveAgent panel, navigate to Configuration.
- Go to Configuration > Email > Customer Email Templates.
- Locate the department where the toolbar is missing and open the relevant template — either Ticket Reply or New Ticket template.
- Scroll to the bottom of the template editor.
- Change the formatting option from Plain to HTML.
- Click Save to apply the changes.
- Reload the LiveAgent panel.
After reloading, the formatting toolbar with all WYSIWYG options (bold, italic, lists, links, etc.) will appear at the top of the ticket reply area for that department.
Important Notes
- This setting is per department. If you have multiple departments, you may need to repeat these steps for each affected department.
- Both the Ticket Reply and New Ticket templates should be checked and set to HTML if the toolbar is missing in both reply and new ticket contexts.
- Changing the format from Plain to HTML does not delete existing template content, but it is good practice to review the template after saving to confirm everything looks as expected.
What Is the WYSIWYG Formatting Toolbar?
The WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) toolbar provides agents with rich text formatting options when composing ticket replies, including:
- Bold, italic, underline, and strikethrough
- Font styles, sizes, and colors
- Numbered and bulleted lists
- Inserting links and images
- Text alignment and indentation
This toolbar is only available when the department's email template is configured to use HTML format.
How to Restore the Formatting (WYSIWYG) Toolbar in LiveAgent Ticket Replies by Enabling HTML Templates