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The Inbox is a unified message hub in the Vantaca Home portal that gives homeowners a single list of all their requests, compliance notices, violations, reservations, and general communications. The Inbox replaces the Messages section on the dashboard and the My Items tab used in earlier portal versions. This article describes what the Inbox does, how items appear and are categorized, what homeowners see in the detail view, and the action item configuration that controls Inbox content.
Contents
- What the Inbox Does
- How Items Appear in the Inbox
- Inbox Filter Categories
- The Needs Attention Filter
- What Homeowners See in the Detail View
- Configuration Notes
- Mimic Mode and the Inbox
What the Inbox Does
The Inbox consolidates all of a homeowner's portal communications into a single list. Homeowners reach it from the left navigation menu, which displays an unread count badge next to the Inbox label.
From the Inbox, homeowners can:
- View all their open action items and messages in one place, sorted by most recent activity.
- Filter by category: All, Needs Attention, Requests, Reservations, or General.
- Click any row to open the detail view, which defaults to the Messages tab.
- Reply to messages from your management team directly from the detail view.
- Toggle Unread only to limit the list to items with unread messages.
Note: The Inbox shows the open items returned for the homeowner. Items advance to a closed state when their action item step indicates they are closed and are filtered out before they reach the portal.
How Items Appear in the Inbox
The Inbox includes all open request categories returned for the homeowner's selected property. Unlike the Compliance and Notices page (which filters to Violations and Collections only), the Inbox applies no category exclusions. Every open action item the homeowner is associated with appears in the list.
Each row in the list shows:
- Category: Derived from the action item's action category name.
- Subject: The action item subject.
- Status: The current step or status.
- Date: The date of the most recent update.
- Unread indicator: A blue dot for unread items, a red dot for unread compliance items (Violations and Collections).
The list paginates at 10 items per page and resets to the first page when the homeowner changes filters, toggles Unread only, or switches properties.
Inbox Filter Categories
The Inbox generates filter tabs automatically from the action category values present in the homeowner's data. Tabs appear only when the homeowner has at least one item in that group:
- All: The full list of open items. Subject to the Unread only toggle when on.
- Needs Attention: Groups Violations and Collections. Uses a high-contrast visual treatment to draw attention to compliance items.
- Requests: Shows Homeowner Requests, ARC Requests, and Work Orders.
- Reservations: Shows amenity reservation items.
- General: Remaining Standard category items that are not amenity-related.
Note: Filter tab counts reflect unread items in that group, not the total. Toggling Unread only filters the list (and the All count) to show only items with unread messages.
The Needs Attention Filter
The Needs Attention filter is a grouped filter that combines all Violations and Collections items into one view with stronger visual emphasis than other filter tabs. It is designed to draw homeowners' attention to compliance items that may require a response or action.
Items appear in Needs Attention when their action category is Violations or Collections (case-insensitive). The same items appear on the dedicated Compliance and Notices page in the portal.
What Homeowners See in the Detail View
Clicking any Inbox row opens a detail view with two tabs. Unlike the Requests and Compliance and Notices detail pages (which default to the Details tab), the Inbox detail view defaults to the Messages tab. This prioritizes the message thread, reflecting that homeowners typically open an Inbox item to read or respond to a communication.
Messages Tab
Shows the full message thread for the action item. Homeowners can read all communications and send replies. When replying, homeowners select which role or roles receive the message from the recipients available on the current action item step.
Details Tab
Shows the action item fields, including Subject, Category, Item Number (XN), Date, Property, Description, and any Attachments uploaded to the item. A Back to Inbox link appears at the top of the detail view to return the homeowner to the list.
Configuration Notes
The Inbox itself requires no separate configuration. What appears in it is determined entirely by existing action item and portal configuration. The following settings directly affect what homeowners see.
Action Item Category
The action category on each action item determines which Inbox filter group an item appears in. Verify your action types use accurate, consistent category names. Inconsistent naming (for example, 'violation' versus 'Violations') can cause items to fall into unexpected filter groups or appear only under All.
Portal Visibility
Action items appear in the Inbox only when the homeowner is associated with them through the portal. Items at steps with Hide From Portal selected do not appear in the homeowner's Inbox. Review your step rules if homeowners report missing items.
Portal Reply Configuration
When a homeowner replies from the Inbox detail view, the message is routed based on the Portal Reply field configured on the current step of the action item. Configure Portal Reply on steps where you expect homeowners to respond. If Portal Reply is not set, the reply may not route correctly.
Block Creation
Action types with Block Creation selected do not appear in portal request lists. However, existing action items of that type that are already associated with the homeowner still appear in the homeowner's Inbox.
Mimic Mode and the Inbox
To see what a homeowner sees in their Inbox, including counts, filters, and detail views, mimic the homeowner from their profile in Vantaca. Use mimic mode when a homeowner reports missing items or unexpected filter behavior. For instructions, see the "Vantaca Home: Mimic a Homeowner Portal" article.
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