Inboxes
Inbox Participants
Inbox participants are the teammates who have access to a shared inbox. Their inbox roles determine whether they can view its calls and messages, communicate using the inbox, and collaborate on the customer conversations connected to it.
Inbox roles control what each teammate can do in a shared inbox. Viewers can read its activity, Members can answer and reply, and Managers can also manage its settings and people.
An inbox role is separate from a teammate's organization role. It also does not decide which incoming calls ring them. Use Default Ring Order to choose who rings and when, and Assigning Numbers to connect phone numbers.
Understand inbox roles
| Inbox role | What the person can do |
|---|---|
| Viewer | Read the inbox's calls, messages, and recordings. This role does not make them ring or let them call or text from the inbox. |
| Member | Read and work with the inbox's calls and messages, and call and text from its number. They can be included in the ring order. |
| Manager | Everything a Member can do, plus change the inbox's settings, call flow, ring order, and people. |
Only organization Owners and Admins can assign or remove the Manager role. An inbox Manager can add and manage Viewers and Members, but cannot change or remove another Manager.
Managing phone numbers, choosing the inbox's registered caller name, and archiving a shared inbox still require an organization Owner or Admin with access to manage it. An inbox's Manager role does not grant those organization-level controls. Only the organization Owner can release a phone number.
Before you begin
- Select the correct shared inbox.
- To change its people, you must be an inbox Manager or an organization Owner or Admin with access to manage it.
- The teammate must already belong to your organization. Invite them first if they have not joined.
- Choose Viewer for read-only access, Member for answering and replying, or Manager for inbox configuration responsibilities.
- A person who should ring needs the Member or Manager role and a place in the ring order.
Open People
On the web, open Inboxes, select the shared inbox, and scroll to People.
On mobile, open the shared inbox's settings and select People. For more information, see Open inbox settings in Mobile App Overview.
Add someone on the web
- Under People, select Add person.
- Select the teammate and choose their Role. Member is the initial selection. Manager is offered only to organization Owners and Admins.
- Select Add.
- If you added a Member or Manager, review the confirmation. Select Add to ring group if they should answer incoming calls, or Close to finish without changing the ring order.
Adding a Viewer gives read-only access and does not show the ring-group follow-up. Viewers cannot be added to the ring order.
If the teammate uses a deskphone, follow any phone-update notice that appears. See Set Up a Deskphone. A custom Ring Users step has its own people; see Ring Users if the call flow does not use the inbox's default order.
Add someone on mobile
- Open People and tap the person-plus Add person control.
- Choose the role under Add as. The available roles depend on your permissions.
- Find and tap the teammate to add them.
- If they should answer calls, open Default Ring Order and include them in the appropriate group.
A Viewer can read the inbox but cannot join the ring order. Follow any deskphone notice shown after adding a Member or Manager.
Change someone's role
On the web, select the person's Role under People and choose the new role. On mobile, tap their role in the People list and choose from the available roles.
Changing a Member or Manager to Viewer removes their ability to work from or ring for that inbox. Review their ring groups before making the change. At least one Member or Manager must remain; a Viewer does not satisfy that requirement.
Only organization Owners and Admins can promote someone to Manager or change an existing Manager's role. A person cannot change their own role on their personal inbox.
Remove someone from a shared inbox
- Open People in the shared inbox.
- Select the person's remove control.
- Review the confirmation, then select Remove.
- If Waveline reports that they still belong to a ring group, resolve that first and try again. On mobile, review any additional ring-group removal confirmation before continuing.
Removing a Member or Manager removes their working membership and their place in the inbox's Default Ring Order. Removing a Viewer removes their Viewer access. Access granted by an organization Owner or Admin role is not taken away by either action.
This does not remove the person's Waveline account, personal inbox, or roles in other shared inboxes. They can be added back later.
At least one Member or Manager must remain. If a person is used by a custom Ring Users step, update that step and publish the call flow before removing them. Follow any deskphone notice; if a connected deskphone requires another inbox, arrange that before continuing.
Organization roles and personal inboxes
Owners can manage every inbox. Admins can manage shared inboxes and the personal inboxes of organization Members. An Admin does not gain access to an Owner's or another Admin's personal inbox through their organization role.
A personal inbox has one assigned teammate. That person can be a Member, who can use the line, or a Manager, who can also configure its settings, call flow, and ring order. An eligible Owner or Admin can change this under Owner's role. Nobody changes their own role on their personal inbox.
Personal inboxes do not accept additional working members. Eligible Owners and Admins can add themselves as Viewers of a teammate's personal inbox. An Owner can also remove another Viewer from that personal inbox. Viewing does not make an additional person ring for the line.
To choose which eligible inboxes you follow and which notifications you receive, see Viewing and notifications in Inbox Overview. If several people need to answer and reply from the same business number, use a shared inbox.
Troubleshooting
The person can read the inbox but cannot call, reply, or ring
Check whether they are a Viewer. Assign Member or Manager if they should work from the inbox, then configure the Default Ring Order if they should receive incoming calls. Also check Availability and their enabled calling methods.
I cannot choose Manager or change a Manager's role
Only organization Owners and Admins can assign or remove the Manager role. Ask an eligible Owner or Admin to make the change.
The teammate is missing from Add person
Confirm that they have joined your organization and are not already listed under People. If they are already present, change their existing role instead of adding them again.
I cannot remove someone or change them to Viewer
Keep at least one Member or Manager in the inbox. Only an Owner or Admin can change or remove a Manager. Resolve any ring-group or connected-deskphone warning before trying again. If a custom Ring Users step uses the person, update and publish that step first.
I removed someone, but they can still open the inbox
Removing an inbox role does not remove access granted by an organization Owner or Admin role. It also does not remove their organization account or their access to other inboxes.
A Member or Manager does not ring
Adding someone to People does not automatically add them to the Default Ring Order. Check their ring group, availability, calling methods, and the published call flow. See Default Ring Order.