---
title: "Add a button to a message"
description: "Make a message actionable with a Link Button, a Link To Library Content button or an embedded form, and track who acts on it so reminders and escalations can follow."
sidebar:
  order: 2
area: flows
feature: steps
appPath: /flows/home
lastVerified: 2026-10-22
version: "2026-10-16"
audience: admin
screenshots:
  - id: flows-steps-editor-widgets
    caption: The Widgets menu in the message toolbar.
related:
  - library/content/use-content-in-a-step
  - flows/forms/embed-a-form-in-a-message
  - flows/steps/add-reminders
  - activity/actions
intercom:
  - id: "7157050"
    title: Choosing your message add-on
    url: https://intercom.help/pyn/en/articles/7157050-choosing-your-message-add-on
    note: "Pyn 1 article, kept for reference"
---

A message that asks for something needs a button: "Read the handbook", "Confirm your equipment", "Pick a buddy". A button with **Track Action** turned on tells Pyn whether the recipient acted, which is what reminders, escalations and the [Actions](https://support.pynhq.com/activity/actions/) view are built on.

## Before you start

- The step is a **Send Direct Message** or **Send Email to Employee** step. Channel posts take buttons too, but nobody in particular is asked to act.
- For a content button, the content is published in [Library](https://support.pynhq.com/library/content/). For a form button, the form is published in [Forms](https://support.pynhq.com/flows/forms/).

![Insert widget opens the Widgets menu for buttons, forms, custom tokens and the avatar.](https://support.pynhq.com/media/flows/steps/flows-steps-editor-widgets.png)

## Steps

1. In Pyn, open the automation from **Flows**, **Automations**, and select the step to open it in the drawer.

2. Place the cursor in the message where the button goes, then select **Insert widget** (the puzzle icon) in the toolbar. The **Widgets** menu opens.

3. Choose the kind of button:
   - **Link Button**: enter the **Link** (a web address or an email address) and a **Label** of up to 32 characters.
   - **Link To Library Content**: search for and select the **Library Content**, then set the **Label**. The recipient opens the content on a page of its own.
   - **Embed Form**: choose the **Form** from the list (forms and polls both appear). The label is the form's title.

4. Choose a **Button Style**: **Default**, **Primary** or **Danger**.

5. Leave **Track Action** ticked so clicking the button counts as actioning the step. Untick it only for a link you do not need to follow up on.

6. Select **Save**. The button appears in the editor as a pill you can select to edit again.

7. Select **Preview** and then **Send a test to yourself** to check the button opens the right thing, then **Publish** the automation.

> **Note:** Only a step with a tracked button or form is actionable. On a step without one, the **Reminders** tab reads **This step has no actionable content such as buttons or forms**, and every reminder you add would send regardless.

## What you should see

In Slack the button renders as a Slack button; in email it is a styled button in your theme colours. Once sent, the delivery under [Messages](https://support.pynhq.com/activity/messages/) reads **Delivered**, then **Clicked** when any link is opened, and **Actioned** once a tracked button or form is used. The [Actions](https://support.pynhq.com/activity/actions/) view lists every tracked ask with **Actioned**, **Clicked** or **Unactioned**.

## Related

- [Use content in a step](https://support.pynhq.com/library/content/use-content-in-a-step/) for the content behind a Link To Library Content button.
- [Embed a form in a message](https://support.pynhq.com/flows/forms/embed-a-form-in-a-message/) for form buttons and the Slack picker.
- [Add reminders](https://support.pynhq.com/flows/steps/add-reminders/) to follow up when nobody clicks.
- [Actions](https://support.pynhq.com/activity/actions/) to see who has acted and export the list.

## Related Intercom articles

- [Choosing your message add-on](https://intercom.help/pyn/en/articles/7157050-choosing-your-message-add-on) — Pyn 1 article, kept for reference