# Open the compose box

The Zulip compose box starts off closed by default. There are a number of
ways to open the compose box.

### Using the keyboard (recommended)

All replies are to the message under the **blue box**.

* **Reply**: `r` or `Enter`

* **New private message**: `x`

* **New topic**: `c`

You can move the blue box around using the **arrow keys**, `j`, or `k`. You
can close the compose box using `Esc`, or up/down arrow if the box is empty.

### Using the mouse

* Click on any message.

* Click on **New topic**, **New private message**, or **Reply** at the
  bottom of the screen.

## Why does Zulip close the compose box?

Zulip's model gives more vertical real estate to the message feed when
you're reading messages, and allows us to use 1-character keyboard
shortcuts such as `n` for [common workflows](/help/reading-strategies)
in reading messages, which make catching up on a lot of messages in
Zulip delightful.

This feature sometimes confuses new users, since it's different from
how other apps do things. However, once users learn how to open the
compose box, they're generally quite happy with Zulip's efficient
read/reply/compose workflow.
