Conversations Overview

In this tutorial, we’ll provide an overview of the Conversations section of your menu. Read on to learn how to navigate through this section.

Left Panel

1. Accessing Your Conversations.

• Click into your Conversations inbox.
• In the first column on the left, you’ll see a list of your messages.
• Using tabs, you can navigate between Unread, Recents, Starred, and all messages. Unread messages are messages that still need to be read. Recent messages will display the most recent messages. Starred messages will have a list of marked messages. All will, of course, be all of your messages.

Note: Please note that the system is limited to processing up to 100 conversations at a time.

You can search in the box at the top for a specific message, or use the dropdown menu to sort from Oldest or Latest messages first.

• Assigned (Contact Owner) – Filter conversations by the contact owner.
• Follower Assignemnt (Contact) –  Filter chats by those followed by you or any specific user, and users with “assigned only data” access can easily find the conversations they're following
• Mentions – Filter by conversations that mention you or a specific user.
• Last Message Direction – Filter by whether the last message was inbound (received) or outbound (sent).
• Last Outbound Message Type – Filter by the type of the last outbound message (e.g., SMS, email).
• Last Message Channel – Filter by the channel used for the message (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, SMS).

Note: When you apply filters, the system will also account for those filters while sorting conversations.

• You can also start a conversation. Click on the pencil icon, and choose a direct message or a group message to start a conversation.

Middle Panel

Viewing Conversation History

• You'll see the conversation history in the center when you click on a message.
• You can scroll up and “fetch older messages”, depending on the length of history of conversations you've had with the particular contact.

• In the top bar (next to the contact’s name), you can see 4 buttons: Archive, Mark As Starred, Mark as Read/Unread, Delete, and Activity Type Filters.

• You can also select multiple conversations and use the ‘Actions’ tab to Mark as Read or Unread, or Starred or Unstarred for multiple conversations. 

• You have the option to filter by activity. This allows you to select what you want to see in the conversation panel. The options are, conversations (you can also filter this by channel), and activity (updates in the contact, appointments, opportunities, payments, and invoices)

Composing a Message via Email

• You have the option to change from conversation channels. 

• If you are sending an email, you can CC and BCC another email.

Note: To learn more about CC and BCC, see our article “CC and BCC Features to Our Email Composer”

• The email composer has extra room to design and arrange, you can create emails with longer text sections and more elaborate layouts.
• In the email composer, this bar at the bottom shows. From left to right, they are Formatting Options, Attach Files, Add Link, Add Image, Insert Emoji, Insert Snippets, Request a Payment, and More Options.

• The more options feature will open up the custom fields, custom values, and trigger links. 

• Here’s an example of how to use the formatting option. 

• Drag and drop files in the message body to upload and share.

Note: If the file(s) you've uploaded exceed the total attachment limit of 25 MB, files within the limit will be sent as regular attachments, and the remaining will be uploaded as a media library link

• You can reply to the emails that show up in the thread by clicking on the 3 dots and then in the reply option. 

• You can also click on Details to see the message details, such as who sent the email, the “to email address”, if it’s an outbound or inbound, the timezone if it was sent from a workflow, and the email status.

4. Choosing a Phone Number & Composing a Message via SMS

You can also compose a message to send via SMS if you have a phone number integrated. The options here are from left to right: Attach files, insert emojis, insert templates, request payment, and more (custom fields, custom values, and trigger links). 

• You can select which phone number to send SMS messages from, providing flexibility for businesses operating in different regions or managing various services. 
• Selecting the “From” Number: Use the “From” dropdown to select any available number for sending your SMS.
  • Labels show the default and last-used numbers, plus friendly names and assigned users, for easy identification.
  • If there’s no previous conversation, the default number is selected automatically.
• Selecting the “To” Number: Click the dropdown next to the “To” field to choose which contact number to send the message to. By default, the primary contact number is selected if no previous conversation exists.
• Access Permissions:
  • Admins can see all configured numbers.
  • Users can view the default number, their assigned number, unassigned numbers, and the last-used number for that contact.

5. Schedule Message. 

• With this feature, you will have the ability to schedule messages directly on the conversation page with your contact and send them later. This includes both, SMS and Emails.
• You can pick the date and time you want the SMS/Email to be sent. By default, Referins will have this as sent on the next day at 9 am. You can also pick the time zone you want this message to be sent.
• Write your message, then click on the Schedule icon and then on the Send Schedule button.

• If you want to cancel the schedule message, click the pencil icon, select the Cancel Send Link, and close the pop-up. 

5. Internal Comments

The Internal Comments allows teams to collaborate more effectively within conversation threads by adding private comments visible only to team members. Mention team members using @, followed by their names.

Comments remain private to users and won't be visible to contacts.

6. Save Draft Messages in Conversations

• Unsent messages in Conversations are automatically retained.
• If you begin typing a message and leave the screen before sending, your draft will be preserved and ready when you return.
• This means you won’t lose your progress and can pick up right where you left off without having to retype.
  Note: This is not yet applicable to WhatsApp messages.

Right Panel

On the right panel, we have an expandable sidebar with a Slim Panel. This can toggle between contacts, appointments, opportunities, tasks, and notes by managing them from a convenient location. 

This will allow you to switch between them. 

1. Contact

• Manage contact details such as name, phone number, email, owner details, tags, campaign or workflow associations, and Do Not Disturb settings, all from the right panel. You can also see at the bottom where this contact was created and when.

2. Appointments

• Book, view, and reschedule both upcoming and past appointments directly from the right panel. This feature allows users to manage their schedules efficiently without switching screens.

3. Opportunity

• Create new opportunities, view all related opportunities, and edit details seamlessly. This integration enables users to manage their sales pipeline effectively within Conversations.

4. Tasks:

• You can create, edit, and delete tasks for any contact within the conversation module. If you accidentally delete a task, you can also use the "Undo Delete" feature to recover it.

5. Notes:

You can write, edit, and delete notes for any contact within the conversation module. If you accidentally delete a note, you can restore it using the "Undo Delete" feature.

For learning about Filters and Bulk actions, see our article “Using Filters and Bulk Actions in Conversations”
To learn about File Attachments within Conversations, see our article “How to Attach Files to an Email or SMS”
To learn about Activity Cards, see our article “Activity Cards for Your Contacts”

FAQ

1. How can I filter conversations by specific criteria?
You can filter conversations using options such as Assigned (Contact Owner), Mentions, Last Message Direction, Last Outbound Message Type, and Last Message Channel. Simply apply the desired filter and sort your conversations accordingly.

2. What options are available when composing a message via email?
When composing an email, you can CC and BCC other emails, attach files, insert images, emojis, snippets, and request payments. The email composer also allows you to design longer messages with more formatting options.

3. Can I schedule messages to be sent later?
Yes, you can schedule both SMS and email messages to be sent at a specific date and time. By default, messages are scheduled for the next day at 9 AM, but you can adjust the time and time zone as needed.

4. How do I manage contact details in the right panel?
In the right panel, you can manage contact details such as name, phone number, email, tags, campaign associations, and Do Not Disturb settings, all in one convenient location.

5. Are unsent messages saved as drafts?
Yes, any unsent message is automatically saved as a draft. If you leave the conversation screen, your draft will be preserved and ready for you when you return, except for WhatsApp messages, which are not yet supported for this feature.