This article details the functionality and differences of My Messages, My Action Items, and All Action Items found in the Action Items tab. 

To access these sections, from the Vantaca dashboard, hover over the Action Items option in the main menu and select the desired section:

• My Messages
• My Action Items
• All Action Items
• Messages and Notes

Note: For security purposes, one-time access codes do not display in action item notes or messages. XN numbers remain visible for tracking and communication purposes.

My Messages

The My Messages section shows messages received as part of an action item. Think of this section as your email inbox and make sure to check it often to ensure effective communication. 



 

• Include Closed (1): Select to include closed messages.
• Select All (2): Select to select all messages.
• Select Message (3): Select the box beside each individual message to select it.
• Mark Read (4): Click to mark any selected messages as read. This applies to the current screen only.
• Export to Excel (5): Click to export all messages to an Excel file.
• Created: Shows the date and time of when the action item was created.
• Code: The Association Code to which the message relates.
• Association Name: The name of the association to which the message relates.
• Author: Shows who created the message.
• Type: Displays the type of message.
• Step: Shows the step the action item is in.
• Message: Shows the details of the message.
• Read:  Shows an X if the message is unread and a checkmark if the message is read.
• Click the Hamburger menu (6) beside a message to access the following options:
  • Mark Read: Marks the message as read for all users who share the same recipient role on that message. The message will continue to display in My Messages as long as the action item is open.
  • Msg: Creates a new message on this action item and sends it to the role or email address entered. When using Reply All on action items with external recipients, all recipients showing the Recipients (BCC) popup are automatically included in the communication.
  • Select: Selects the action item associated with the message, which opens it and also displays it in the Action Center pane.

There are three scenarios in which a message does not display in My Messages:

• When a user is created after the note/message has been created. This new user will not see any notes older than when their account was created even if assigned the same role.
• When an XN is closed, approved, or marked as stepped, the message does not appear in My Messages  to prevent auto-step messages from appearing. For example, to avoid multiple messages that say "This action item has been stepped to x".
• When a role makes a note and someone else has that same role, it is automatically read so they will never see it. For example, if someone with an AR role sends a message, others in the AR role will have the message but it will be marked as read.

Note: When reviewing action items, a blue dot on a step indicates an unread message within My Messages for the role(s) listed in the "Sent To" field for that step.

My Action Items

The My Action Items section shows a list of the action items that are currently in a step meant for a specific role with specific portfolios. These are broken out by Type and Step and are an easy way to get a snapshot of a to-do list and prioritize tasks for the day. You cannot view closed Action Items in this section.

The action items display in order based on follow-up and due dates. You can change the sort criteria, for example by XN (the highest XN is the newest), created time, or last note time, and save as your grid settings according to your preference.

• New Action Item (1): Click to create a new action item. You can also create action items from any screen in Vantaca using the New Action Item button in the header (located beside the Company ID).
• Red dot (2): Indicates an item that has gone past the follow-up date or is past due.
• Caret (3): Click to open the action item for  more details.
• Hamburger menu (4): Click to open options you select to Msg, Step, Note, Edit, Merge, Select, or Copy the selected item. If you select Select it opens the first item of that particular category and you can then work through that list. 

Important: Stepping an action item to a different step may remove it from My Action Items section. 

All Action Items

The All Action Item section displays all the action items viewable for an association based on your role regardless of the step they are in. 

Use the various sort criteria to narrow the list, for example by XN, created time, etc, and save as your grid settings according to your preference.

• Association name (1): Click the association name to select a specific or all associations to search for all action items across all associations.
• New Action Item (2): Click to create a new action item. You can also create action items from any screen in Vantaca using the New Action Item button in the header (located beside the Company ID).
• Include Closed (3): Select to view closed action items.

Note: Stepping an action item to a different step does not remove it from the All Action Items list.

Filtering and Reporting

You can report on action items (especially if a client cannot find the information they are seeking through Vantaca's pregenerated reports). Use the filters on the All Action Items page to customize the information:

• Select Include Closed (1) to include closed action items.
• Enter keywords (2) in the search field of any column to help customize the export file.
• Click the Hamburger menu (3) beside any column header to open additional selection options.
• XN Date Range (4): Select a date range from the list or select Custom where you can enter a start and end date. The table populates with items that have a created date that is equal to or between the set range. If you accidentally select a range that exceeds a calendar year a warning displays. 

After the desired columns are selected and filters set up, click Export to Excel (5) to generate and export the customized Excel file. 

Note: If you cannot find action items that you expect to see, check the XN Date Range setting. The system defaults to showing only items from the "Last 90 Days," which may be hiding older action items you're looking for. To view additional action items, expand the date range beyond this default setting, as the current range restriction is likely preventing those items from appearing on your screen.

Messages and Notes

If you are viewing All Action Items or My Action items, you can click the caret beside an action item to view all of the messages associated with that item.

• New Message (1): Click to open the New Message screen where you can provide information and send a new message with attachments, documents, and reports from this action item.
• New Note (2): Click to open the New Note screen where you can provide information and attachments to create an internal note on this action item that is visible only to internal .NET authenticated users. Internal notes are not sent via email or displayed to portal users (including board members and ARC committee members).
• Hamburger menu (3): Click to open additional selection options.
• Reply: Opens a message where you can select the roles and enter email addresses in the Send To, Cc, and Bcc fields.
• Reply All: Opens a new message with the Sent To field prepopulated with the actual author of the selected action item message, and the Cc and Bcc fields populated with all email addresses and roles from that message, including external recipients that were copied.
• Email (4): Click to open a screen to review emails that have been sent with this action item.
• Send To Details tab: Click the Sent to link on a message or note to open the Details screen, and then click Send To Details tab. This tab shows the specific users who were included in each Send To role at the time the note was logged, for Message, Step, and Reply notes. By default, the first role's user list is expanded. You can drill into any role to see the full recipient list at the time of the note. This data is retained indefinitely
  
  
   

For more information, see the "Best Practices – Action Item Message Details" article.

FAQ

Q: Why am I unable to find a particular XN within All Action Items?

b If you cannot locate an XN, check the following:

1. Include Closed Items: Select the Include Closed box to display both open and closed action items
2. Association Search: Expand your search to All Associations using the Association Search screen
3. Date Range: The default date range is Last 90 Days. If the XN is older, increase the date range at the top of the screen
4. Access Permissions: Verify that:
   • Your role is listed in the Default Followers for that action type
   • The association containing the XN is part of your portfolio

Q: Why is a user missing from the Message Details screen on an action item step or message?

A: This typically happens when a user has no communication preference selected in Help > Comm Preferences and the action item step uses the "(General User Preference)" Notifications setting. The user still receives the action item in their My Action Items screen (or My Messages for a message being sent), but they won't appear in Message Details. To resolve this, the user must select a communication preference in Help > Comm Preferences.

Q: Can I view messages that I sent on action items within My Messages?

A: No, this is not currently possible. My Messages functions as an inbox that displays only messages sent to your roles. There is currently no sent items functionality within this screen to view messages you have sent within action items.

Q: What does the Send To Details tab show on a message?

A: The Send To Details tab shows the specific users who were in each Send To role at the exact time that action item note was logged. This applies to Message, Step, and Reply notes. The data is retained indefinitely, so you can always see who received a communication even after role membership changes. By default, the first role's user list is expanded. Click any role to see its full recipient list.

Q: If I mark a message as read, does it mark it as read for everyone?

A: Not for everyone, only for users who share the same recipient role on that message. Read/unread state is tracked at the role level, not per individual user. When one user with a given role marks a message as read, all other users assigned to that same role will also see it as read, even if they never opened it. Users assigned to a different role on the same message keep their own separate unread state. This behavior is the same whether you mark a message read from the Dashboard Unread Messages section or from My Messages — both use the same underlying logic.

Q: How can I find all open action items that are for previous owners?

A: There is no built-in filter to search for action items assigned to previous owners. To get this information, contact Vantaca Support and request that the Technical Support team run a report of open action items meeting this criteria.