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Inbox Enhancements

Updated
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  Prerequisite Skills

Inbox; Rules Editor

  Required Permissions

Inbox; Rules Editor

Overview

With Inbox enhancements, you can include original messages in replies, forward messages, send attachments, create custom inbox message dashboards to display person record data, and track messages at a more granular level using message metadata. You can also automate the setting of custom Inbox Message-scoped fields, star messages to indicate priority, and flag or unflag SPAM messages that should appear in the Junk folder.

Message Enhancements

Column Sorting

Sort Inbox messages in ascending or descending order by clicking on the Received, Message, or Sender columns.

Tags

Set a tag on a message to, for example, concisely represent a message's content or subject or action to take. Use tags to filter messages that appear in your Inbox view.

Inbox_Tag_Screenshot.png

Message Viewing

Manage responses by seeing if another user is working on an existing message.

If another user is viewing the message that is currently opened, their icon and name appear to the left of the message toolbar.

Forwarding

To forward Inbox messages and preserve the original message in replies:

  1. Click the forward icon on the message toolbar. The Forward Message popup appears.
  2. Add a Recipient. Note that only one email address can be entered in the Recipient field. To forward the message to multiple email addresses, include those addresses in a comma-separated list in either the CC or BCC field.
  3. Select Include Attachments if an attachment from the original message will be included.
  4. Select a send setting:
    • Forward: Forwards the message but keeps the message open.
    • Forward and Resolve: Forwards the message and marks it as resolved.
    • Cancel: Cancels forwarding the message.

Address Book and BCC

Use the address book to select a Slate user, relationship, or record email address:

  1. Click the sender or recipient details. The Edit Properties popup appears.
  2. Click the address book icon on the right side of either the recipient, CC, or BCC field. 
  3. Select the user, record, or relationship email address.
  4. Click Add Recipient.

Internal Notes

To add custom notes to a message:

  1. Click the notes icon in the message toolbar. The Add Note popup appears.
  2. Add a Subject and Note.
  3. Click Save.

When a note is added to a message, it will appear in the thread among the sent and received messages in the order that it was submitted. In an SMS thread, an internal note is designated in the bottom right corner of the note. In an email conversation, an internal note is designated by the user submitting the note, along with the note's subject and content:

Send Attachments

Add attachments to a message:

  1. Click the attachment icon in the message toolbar. The Edit Attachments popup appears.
  2. Choose a file.
  3. Click Close.

The number on the attachments icon indicates the number of attachments uploaded to the message.

  Tip!

A paper clip icon appears next to the subject of any Inbox message that includes an attachment.

Metadata and Custom Fields

Message metadata can be added for more granular message tracking through custom Inbox Message-scoped fields.

To add custom Inbox Message-scoped fields:

  1. Click Database on the Slate navigation bar and select Fields.
  2. Click Insert.
  3. Set the scope of the field to Inbox Message and customize your field settings.
  4. Click Save.

To add a metadata form:

  1. Click Forms on the Slate navigation bar.
  2. Click New Form.
  3. Give the form a title, for example "Inbox Meta Data."
  4. Click Save.
  5. Click Edit Form, then Edit Properties and change the scope of the form to "Inbox Message Metadata."
  6. Delete the person-scoped fields and add the desired inbox message-scoped fields.

To grant form access to role:

  1. Click Database on the Slate navigation bar and select Role Groups & Permissions.
  2. Select a role for those who should have access to the form.
  3. Select the desired form from the Notes Form list.

    metadata.png

To add metadata to an individual message:

  1. Click the metadata icon on the message toolbar. The Edit Metadata popup appears.
  2. Complete the relevant inbox message fields.
  3. Click Save.

Important!

Only Inbox Message-scoped fields can be used to set message metadata.

Star Messages

To mark important messages with a star:

  1. Click the star icon on the message toolbar.
  2. View starred messages along with all messages, or select the Show Starred status filter on the right side of Inbox to show only messages that have been starred.

 Tip

The appearance of the envelope in the message list is based on a combination of the message being starred and read or unread.

Dark Envelope: Starred & Unread
Light Envelope: Starred & Read

Enable a Message in the Reader

To set a message for viewing in the Reader:

  1. Click the Reader icon on the message toolbar to flag the message as enabled in the Reader. When Enable Reader Display is turned on for a message, the icon will turn yellow.
  2. Set up a Reader Tab Material to show Inbox Emails:
    • Use a Reader tab Material Type of Inbox Emails
    • Select the Role of the flagged inbox emails that should be displayed
  3. View the flagged message in the Reader.

  Tip!

Changes to Reader Tab Materials may not be reflected immediately in the Reader. Make sure to clear the cache in your browser to see the most up-to-date changes in the Reader.

Custom Dashboards and History

The Dashboard and History tabs can be viewed below each message. Add specific fields to view on the message dashboard.

To create a custom Inbox message dashboard query:

  1. Click Queries / Reports on the Slate navigation bar.
  2. Click New Query.
  3. Enter the following configurations:
    • Name: Add a name for the query.
    • Sharing: Mark the query to share with others.
    • Folder: Select System.
    • Base: Select Message Inbox.
    • System Key: Dashboard
  4. Click Save.

Visit the Customizing Dashboards Knowledge Base article for more information on customizing dashboards.

View notes, message access details, and message audit events in the History tab:

Editing Past Replies in Responses

When an Inbox message is responded to or forwarded, previous replies can be edited. Click an Inbox message to respond and adjust the content of prior messages and the current message as desired.

Signatures

To add user-specific signatures to Inbox messages:

  1. Click Inbox on the Slate navigation bar.
  2. Click Snippets.
  3. Click Edit Signature to customize the signature.
  4. Save.

 

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