Getting end users into a CoBrowse Session

Getting Customers Into a CoBrowse Session

Overview

Once an agent starts a CoBrowse session, the customer needs a way to enter the session PIN and begin sharing their browser. This article covers three methods for getting customers into a session: Quick Links (best for live chat), clickable links that open the PIN modal automatically, and hotkeys that let customers trigger the modal themselves. Each method requires the ScreenMeet CoBrowse script to be installed on the destination page.

Method 1: Quick Links (Live Chat)

Quick Links are the fastest option when you are already in a live chat with the customer. After starting a CoBrowse session, the agent console displays a set of Quick Links directly below the session PIN. Each link is a pre-configured URL with the session PIN embedded as a hash parameter, for example:

https://www.example.com/support#cobrowse_pin=432017

The agent clicks the copy icon next to the desired URL and pastes it into the chat. When the customer opens the link, the CoBrowse script on the page reads the PIN from the URL and joins the session automatically, with no manual PIN entry required.

Method 2: Clickable Link That Opens the PIN Modal

If you want customers to land on a CoBrowse-enabled page and be prompted to enter a PIN without needing the agent to send a session-specific link, append #startcb to any page URL that has the CoBrowse script installed. When the customer opens the link, the PIN entry modal opens automatically.

https://www.example.com/support#startcb

This approach is useful when you want to embed a persistent "Start CoBrowse Session" link in a support portal, email template, or chat widget. The customer clicks the link, the modal appears, and they enter the PIN the agent provides verbally or in chat.

Method 3: Hotkeys

Hotkeys allow customers to open the CoBrowse PIN modal themselves using a keyboard shortcut, without clicking any link. This is useful when the CoBrowse script is already embedded site-wide and you want an always-available entry point that does not depend on the agent sending a URL.

Hotkeys are enabled by adding the following configuration block to your page, before the CoBrowse bootstrap script loads:

window.Cobrowse = window.Cobrowse || {};
window.Cobrowse.modal = window.Cobrowse.modal || {
  commandQueue: [],
  useHotkeys: true
};

With hotkeys enabled, the default key combinations are:

• Shift + Space — opens the PIN entry modal

• Shift + Escape — ends the current session

These bindings can be customized. The following example changes the start shortcut to Shift + Enter:

window.Cobrowse = window.Cobrowse || {};
window.Cobrowse.modal = window.Cobrowse.modal || {
  commandQueue: [],
  useHotkeys: true,
  hotkeys: {
    startSession: {
      shiftKey: true,
      keyCode: 13
    },
    endSession: {
      shiftKey: true,
      keyCode: 27
    }
  }
};

To disable hotkeys entirely, set useHotkeys to false.

Comparison

Related Articles

• CoBrowse Quick Links

• CoBrowse Script Installation

• Starting a CoBrowse Session

• CoBrowse Deployments and Deployment Keys