Inbox & Email Management
Centralized email communication hub with powerful search, filtering, and collaboration tools.
Overview
The Inbox is your central hub for managing email communications, organizing threads, creating issues from conversations, and collaborating with your team. It provides powerful search and filtering capabilities to help you stay on top of all property-related communications.
Getting Started
Understanding the Interface
The inbox interface consists of several key areas designed for efficient email management:
Search & Filters
- Universal search across all content
- Advanced filtering by status and participants
- Property and contact-based filters
Message Organization
- Threaded conversations
- Read/unread status tracking
- Assignment and categorization
Real-time Notifications
The inbox provides real-time updates with an unread message badge that automatically updates as new messages arrive. Stay informed without constantly refreshing.
Search & Discovery
Universal Search
Search across all your communications using natural language queries:
- Email addresses and contact names
- Subject lines and message content
- Property addresses and names
- Attachment names and file content
Smart Content Filtering
Narrow your search results by content type and context:
- Messages: Search within email content
- Properties: Find property-related communications
- People: Locate contacts and participants
- Attachments: Filter by file types
Message List & Organization
Understanding Message Rows
Each message row provides comprehensive information at a glance:
Participants
- Sender and recipient information
- Your email appears as "me"
- Hover for full participant details
Content Preview
- Subject line and message snippet
- Thread count for conversations
- Attachment indicators
Status & Assignment
- Read/unread status (bold = unread)
- Assigned team member avatar
- Message timestamp
Filtering Options
- Read Status: All, Read only, Unread only
- Assignment: Filter by assigned team member
- Archive Status: Active, Archived, or All
- Participants: Filter by internal users
Sorting & Display
- Newest First: Most recent messages at top
- Oldest First: Chronological from oldest
- Pagination: 10, 25, 50, or 100 items per page
- Total Count: See exact message counts
Composing a New Message
Click Compose in the top right of the inbox to open the new message dialog. Draft, format, and send outbound email without leaving Cardinal.
Addressing the Message
- From: Choose which of your shared or property mailboxes the message is sent from
- To: Add one or more recipients by email address
- Cc/Bcc: Reveal carbon-copy fields for additional recipients
- Subject: Set the thread subject line
Formatting & Sending
- Rich text: Adjust font, size, bold, italic, and underline
- Links & media: Insert hyperlinks, inline images, and file attachments
- Send: Deliver the message and start a new thread in the selected mailbox
- Delete: Discard the draft without sending
Thread View & Management
Click on any message to access the full thread view with comprehensive management and collaboration tools:
Smart Message Folding
Long email threads are automatically organized for easy navigation:
Auto-Folding
- Threads with 4+ messages fold automatically
- First and last messages always visible
- Click count indicator to expand middle messages
- Individual message expansion on click
Content Processing
- Quoted/replied content automatically hidden
- Click "..." to expand full message history
- Inline image display
- Downloadable attachment handling
Thread Actions
- Create Issue from thread
- Archive/Unarchive threads
- Reply, Reply All, Forward
- Mark as read/unread
Assignment & Organization
- Assign threads to team members
- Associate with properties
- Link to specific units
- Connect to lease agreements
Collaboration
- Internal comment threads
- @ mentions for notifications
- File attachments in comments
- Subscriber management
Participant & Contact Management
Thread Participants
The sidebar automatically organizes all thread participants into categories:
People (External)
External contacts in your database
Users (Internal)
Team members and internal users
Unrecognized
New contacts not yet in system
Adding New Contacts
- Click "+" next to unrecognized contacts
- Contact details pre-populate from email
- Automatic association with thread
- Real-time updates to participant lists
Contact Navigation
- Click contact names to view profiles
- Access full contact history
- See all related communications
- Edit contact information
Mailbox Management
Manage your team's shared and property mailboxes from the dedicated Mailboxes page. Open it from Inbox → Manage Mailboxes in the sidebar to see every mailbox in a sortable table with name, email, description, type, message count, and activity dates. Organization admins and owners can create, edit, and configure mailboxes to organize incoming communications.
Adding a Mailbox
Click Add Mailbox to create a new shared mailbox. You'll be prompted to enter:
- Mailbox Name: A descriptive label visible to users with access
- Email Address: Auto-generated from the mailbox name, used for receiving and sending messages
- Description: An optional note describing how the mailbox should be used
- Color: A color tag to identify the mailbox in the inbox
- Mailbox Access: Invite other users to receive and send messages from this mailbox
Editing a Mailbox
Click the edit icon on any mailbox to update its settings. You can modify:
- Mailbox Name: Rename the mailbox at any time — the change takes effect immediately
- Email Address: Update the address and share it with external parties to route communications. The old address will continue to forward mail indefinitely, and senders will receive an auto-reply with the new address. You can change the email once every 30 days, up to 4 times per year
- Description & Color: Keep mailbox details current
- Mailbox Access: Add or remove users who can manage and send from this mailbox
Property Mailboxes
Mailboxes linked to a property are managed through the property settings and cannot be archived or deleted directly. To remove a property mailbox, archive the property instead.
Issue Creation & Integration
Converting Threads to Issues
Transform email conversations into trackable issues with full context preservation:
Automatic Data Transfer
- Subject becomes issue title
- Thread content provides description context
- Property associations carry over
- Unit and lease connections maintained
- Participant information transferred
Issue Management
- Set priority and assignment
- Choose issue type and status
- Add additional context
- Attach relevant files
- Link back to original thread
Linking Threads to Existing Issues
Connect an email thread to an issue that already exists so every related conversation lives alongside the work it belongs to. Use the Related issues section in the thread sidebar to link, review, or unlink issues without leaving the inbox.
Linking from a Thread
- Open the thread and find Related issues in the sidebar
- Click Link issue to open the picker
- Search by title and select the issue you want to associate with the thread
- Linked issues show their current status as a chip and link directly to the issue detail
- Remove a link with the × next to the linked issue — the issue itself is not affected
What Gets Connected
- Threads can link to multiple issues, and issues can surface multiple linked emails
- The thread that created an issue is marked as the Origin email on the issue
- Linking does not copy message contents into the issue; it creates a two-way reference
- Anyone with access to both the mailbox and the issue can follow the link in either direction
Linked Emails on an Issue
Open any issue to see the Linked emails panel in the sidebar. It lists every thread tied to the issue, marks the Origin thread if the issue was created from an email, and lets you attach additional threads with Link email.
Seamless Workflow Integration
Created and linked issues maintain their connection to the original email thread, allowing you to track progress while preserving the full communication context. Access issues from your main Issues dashboard or jump to them directly from the thread sidebar.
Best Practices
Efficient Organization
- Use assignments for clear ownership
- Associate threads with properties
- Create issues for actionable items
- Archive completed threads regularly
- Use internal comments for context
Search & Discovery
- Start with broad search terms
- Use property names for filtering
- Search by contact names for history
- Combine multiple filters for precision
- Save time with keyboard shortcuts
Team Collaboration
- Assign threads to appropriate members
- Use @ mentions in comments
- Subscribe relevant team members
- Document decisions in comments
- Monitor unread count for updates
Security & Access Control
- All email data is protected by enterprise-grade encryption and secure storage
- Access controlled by organization membership and property permissions
- Thread visibility based on participant lists and team assignments
- Complete audit trail of all thread interactions and status changes
- Regular automated backups ensure data protection and recovery
Support & Troubleshooting
- Verify organization permissions if threads aren't appearing
- Check email integration settings for missing messages
- Clear browser cache if search results seem outdated
- Refresh the page if real-time updates aren't working
- Check notification settings if you're missing updates
- Contact your administrator for permission-related issues