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Inboxes

Inboxes and channels

An inbox is 1 channel that you connect to your account, for example a WhatsApp number or an email address. The conversations of all inboxes come into the same list. Thus, an agent works in 1 list and not in 1 application for each channel.

Only administrators can add an inbox and change its settings. The X channel shows only when Hams support turns on X Channel (Mentions + Chat) for your account. The Phone channel and the Call Center tab show only when Hams support turns on Call Center and Voice Channel for your account. The Campaign pace tab shows only when Hams support turns on WhatsApp Campaign for your account.

Create Inbox lists every channel type you can connect.
Create Inbox lists every channel type you can connect.

Available channels

ChannelWhat it connects
WebsiteA live chat widget on your website. See Live chat.
FacebookThe messages of a Facebook page. See Facebook.
WhatsAppA WhatsApp Business number, through Meta or through Twilio. See WhatsApp.
PhoneThe calls to 1 or more Cloud Call Center numbers. See Voice.
SMSText messages, through Twilio or Bandwidth.
EmailA mailbox at Microsoft, Google, or another email provider.
APIYour own application, through the API.
TelegramA Telegram bot. See Telegram.
LineA LINE official account.
InstagramThe direct messages of an Instagram account.
XThe direct messages and the public mentions of 1 X account. See X and X Mentions.

A channel card that you cannot click is not available for your account. The Facebook and Instagram cards need a Meta app on the Hams installation.

Add an inbox

Get the details of the channel before you start. The table in What each channel needs lists them.

1

Open the inboxes

Open Settings > Inboxes. The page is at /app/accounts/{account_id}/settings?tab=inboxes. {account_id} is the number of your account in the dashboard URL.

2

Start the wizard

Click Add Inbox. The wizard opens at the Choose Channel step.

3

Select the channel

Click the card of the channel. Then click Next. The Create Inbox step opens.

4

Enter the channel details

At the Create Inbox step, enter the details of the channel. For some channels, you sign in to the provider instead.

5

Add the agents

At the Add Agents step, select the agents who work in the inbox. You must select at least 1 agent.

6

Finish

At the Voilà! step, click Take me there. The new inbox opens.

For a WhatsApp Cloud, Twilio, Bandwidth, or Line inbox, the last step also shows a callback URL. Add this URL in the settings of your provider account. Without it, the inbox does not receive messages. A WhatsApp Cloud inbox tries to register the URL at Meta for you. See WhatsApp.

An X inbox does not use the Add Agents step. After you sign in to X, the Inboxes list opens. Add the agents on the Collaborators tab of the inbox. See X.

What each channel needs

ChannelFields and actions
WebsiteWebsite Name and Website Domain. You can also set the Widget Color, the Welcome Heading, the Welcome Tagline, and a greeting message.
FacebookSign in to Facebook. Then select a page that you manage.
WhatsApp, provider Quick setup with MetaClick Connect with WhatsApp Business and sign in to Meta. The system names the inbox from your business name. This provider shows only when the Hams installation has a Meta app for it.
WhatsApp, provider WhatsApp CloudInbox Name, Phone number, Phone number ID, Business Account ID, and API key.
WhatsApp, provider TwilioInbox Name, Phone Number, Account SID, and Auth Token.
SMS, provider TwilioInbox Name, Account SID, Auth Token, and the Phone Number or the Messaging Service SID. You can also select Use API Key Authentication. Then enter an API Key SID.
SMS, provider BandwidthInbox Name, Phone number, Account ID, Application ID, API Key, and API Secret.
EmailSelect Microsoft or Google. Then sign in. For another provider, select Other Providers and enter the Channel Name and the Email.
APIChannel Name. You can also enter a Webhook URL that starts with http:// or https://.
TelegramThe Bot Token of your Telegram bot.
LineChannel Name, LINE Channel ID, LINE Channel Secret, and LINE Channel Token.
InstagramClick Continue with Instagram and sign in.
XSelect the X app or Add a new X app. Select X Chat, Mentions, or both. For a new app, enter the Client ID, Client Secret, API Key, and API Key Secret. For X Chat, enter the X Chat PIN. Then click Connect with X and sign in to X.

Settings of an inbox

To open the settings of an inbox, open Settings > Inboxes. Then click Settings on the inbox. The tabs depend on the channel. All inboxes have the Settings, Collaborators, Business Hours, and CSAT tabs.

A WhatsApp inbox can also have these tabs:

TabWhen it shows
ConfigurationThe provider is WhatsApp Cloud, Quick setup with Meta, or Twilio.
Bot ConfigurationAgent bots are on for your account.
Account HealthThe provider is WhatsApp Cloud or Quick setup with Meta.
Campaign paceHams support turns on WhatsApp Campaign for your account.
CallsThe provider is WhatsApp Cloud or Quick setup with Meta, and Hams support turns on Voice Channel for your account.
Call CenterThe provider is WhatsApp Cloud or Quick setup with Meta, and Hams support turns on Call Center and Voice Channel for your account.

An SMS inbox and a Phone inbox also have the Call Center tab. See Voice.

An X inbox also has the Configuration tab and the Account Health tab. See X.

Campaign pace

The Campaign pace tab sets how fast WhatsApp campaigns send on the number of the inbox. It has 2 fields:

  • Messages per second: a whole number from 1 to 1000. The default is 20.
  • Daily cap: the maximum number of campaign messages in 24 hours. The default is no cap.

Click Derive from number health to get a suggested pace from the health of the number at Meta. Then click Save. All campaigns on the number share the pace and the daily cap. The pace does not apply to an inbox with the provider Twilio. For the full procedure, see Set the pace.

Voice

Cloud Call Center calls become conversations in the inbox that their DID links to. A Phone inbox gets the calls of 1 or more DIDs. A WhatsApp or SMS inbox can get the calls of its own number, so calls and messages share 1 conversation. A call on a DID that links to no inbox stays in Cloud Call Center only. Calls through Twilio Voice on a Twilio SMS inbox (the Voice tab) and WhatsApp calls (the Calls tab) also become conversations in their inbox. See Voice.

X

An X inbox can get the direct messages and the public mentions of 1 X account. You turn on each feature for the inbox. Direct messages become conversations in the inbox. Mentions become threads in the X Mentions view, not conversations. See X and X Mentions.