Working the inbox
Finding your way around
What each part of the screen is for, what every sidebar view lists, and what the numbers beside them count.
Three columns: the sidebar on the left is navigation, the middle is the list and the conversation, and the thin rail on the right holds tools. The rule that keeps it tidy: the left side is where mail lives, the right side is what you do to it.
The sidebar, top to bottom
Workspace. Your company’s name and icon, set in Settings → Teammates.
The + beside it composes a new message.
Shared inboxes. One row per team inbox you are a member of. The number depends on how that inbox is worked (see Connect a shared inbox): for an assignment queue it is how many conversations nobody owns, the same for everyone; for a general inbox it is your unread count, like Gmail.
Mine.
- My Inbox is your own connected Gmail, private to you. If you have not connected one, the row still exists and points you to Settings.
- Assigned to me is your queue across every inbox. The number is how many are still open.
- Subscribed is every conversation you follow: ones you commented on, were mentioned in, or chose to follow from the reader menu. The number is how many are still open. Archiving something drops it off both.
Library.
| View | Lists | The number |
|---|---|---|
| All Open | Every open conversation in every inbox you can see | Same |
| Mentions | Every conversation you were ever @mentioned in, any state | Conversations with a mention you have not looked at yet |
| Starred | What you starred, any state. Stars are private to you | Your starred conversations that are still open |
| Snoozed | Everything parked, and when it comes back | Same |
| Drafts | Conversations with an unsent reply, yours or a teammate’s | Same |
| Sent, Archived, Trash, Spam | What you would expect | No number |
The numbers are the point: each one counts remaining work and hits zero when that work is done. A badge that never empties is a queue you are avoiding.
Assigned Conversations. Every teammate, with how many open shared conversations each one owns. Click a name to see their queue; All Teammates shows everyone’s. Personal inboxes never appear here.
Workspace tags and My tags. Click a tag to see everything carrying it. See Tags.
The foot. Your avatar and your availability, Available or Busy. Busy pauses round-robin assignment to you. The gear beside it opens Settings.
How far back the list looks
The list shows the last seven days by default. The picker in the list header widens it to 14, 30 or 90 days, or all time. The sidebar numbers follow the same window, so a badge never counts something the list would not show. Drafts and tag views ignore the window.
Tabs and filters
Most views have a tab strip: Open · Snoozed · Archived · Trash · Spam, and for an assignment-queue inbox, Unassigned · Assigned in front. The funnel beside the header filters by assignee or tag, and the sort button flips between newest and oldest first.
The right rail
Top to bottom: the notification bell, then two context panels that open beside the conversation, Conversation history (every other thread with this sender) and Contact details (who they are and how often you have talked). A connected integration such as Stripe adds a third. Then Search, Docs, and at the foot dark mode and the keyboard shortcuts list. Click a panel’s button again to fold it away; the choice is remembered.
Getting somewhere fast
⌘K / Ctrl K opens a switcher: type the name of a view, an inbox, a
tag or Settings and press Enter. Every view has its own URL, so a
conversation link pasted into chat opens exactly that conversation, and
the browser’s back button does what you expect.
The sidebar collapses to a thin rail from the arrow at its top. Hovering the rail pops it back out; Keep sidebar open pins it.
Updated September 2026. Something wrong or missing? Tell us and one of the two of us will fix it.