Send on Enter
Two habits collide in every chat interface: people who fire off short messages want Enter to send, and people who write several lines want Enter to break the line. Better Messages lets you pick a site-wide default and, optionally, hand the choice to each user.
What it adds#
- Site-wide default for whether Enter sends a message or starts a new line
- A separate default for mobile devices, where the on-screen return key behaves differently
- Optional per-user choice, so the two habits can coexist on one site
- Whichever key does not send always starts a new line — the two are never both bound to the same action
How it works#
On a desktop keyboard the two keys always swap roles:
| Site setting | Enter | Shift+Enter |
|---|---|---|
| Send on Enter on (default) | Sends the message | Starts a new line |
| Send on Enter off | Starts a new line | Sends the message |
The send button in the message input always works, whichever mode is active.
Mobile devices have their own setting, because a phone keyboard has no practical Shift+Enter. There, Enter either sends or starts a new line, and the send button is the alternative.
Which of the two settings a phone follows depends on Mobile Full Screen:
| Mobile Full Screen | What a phone follows |
|---|---|
| On (default) | The mobile Send on Enter setting |
| Off | The desktop Send on Enter setting, because the messenger keeps its desktop layout everywhere |
This is why the mobile Send on Enter row is greyed out while Mobile Full Screen is off — in that mode it has nothing to control.
Letting users choose#
Enable Send on Enter Control and every user gets a How do you want to send messages on desktop? choice in their own messenger settings:
- Send with Enter — Shift+Enter starts a new line. Best for quick back and forth chatting.
- Send with Shift+Enter — Enter starts a new line. Best if you often write longer messages over several lines.
Users who never open the setting keep following the site-wide Send on Enter toggle, so turning the control on changes nothing until someone actually picks. A user's choice applies everywhere they type — private conversations, group conversations, chat rooms, mini chats, the new conversation screen, and when editing a sent message.
With Mobile Full Screen on — the default — the per-user choice covers desktop keyboards only, and phones follow the mobile Send on Enter setting. With Mobile Full Screen off, the messenger keeps its desktop layout on phones too, so the user's choice applies there as well.
How to enable#
Navigate to WP Admin → Better Messages → Settings → Messaging → Miscellaneous.
- Send on Enter — the site-wide default for desktop keyboards
- Send on Enter Control — allow users to choose between Enter and Shift+Enter from their own settings, using the toggle above as the default
The mobile equivalent is under Settings → Mobile, as Send on Enter.
Frequently asked questions#
Can I set a different default per user role?#
Yes. The user's choice is stored in the bm_enter_to_send user meta as yes or no, so WordPress's own default_user_metadata filter can supply a per-role default for users who have not chosen. Anyone who picks explicitly overrides it.
Can I force one mode and stop users changing it?#
Leave Send on Enter Control off. The site-wide Send on Enter toggle then applies to everyone, and any choice a user made earlier is ignored while the control is off.
Does this affect the mobile app?#
No. The native mobile app always uses the mobile layout, so it follows the mobile Send on Enter setting and never the per-user desktop choice.
Why does Ctrl+Enter do nothing?#
It never has — the alternative shortcut is Shift+Enter. An older description of the Send on Enter setting mentioned Ctrl+Enter by mistake; it was corrected in 2.15.28.
See also#
- Text formatting — the toolbar above the message input
- Markdown support — typing syntax instead of using the toolbar
- Enhanced mobile — mobile full screen mode and its settings