You can ask for this instead. Ask Command Center "what is waiting?" or "where does our work come in?". It reports what is in the inbox, which mailboxes feed it and whether they are still receiving mail. A mailbox that went quiet is often the answer to "why are no reports arriving?".
What you achieve
The Inbox is the shared work queue for customer mail. Mail that arrives on a connected mailbox shows up here as a conversation. FixControl assesses every mail and proposes one next step: create an issue, reply to the customer, link the mail to an existing issue, or do nothing. You decide what happens.
The Inbox holds e-mail only. Reports through Slack, Microsoft Teams or the website chat become an issue directly once someone confirms; they do not appear in the Inbox. Tickets from support software do not either.
What you need first
- A connected mailbox. An administrator connects it in a project under Connections → Connect mailbox, or under Settings → Mailboxes. There are three ways:
- Forward to FixControl — you forward mail from your support address to an address FixControl creates for you. Only available where FixControl has set this up for your environment. - Microsoft 365 / Outlook — you sign in at Microsoft and pick the mailbox. - Gmail / Google Workspace — only where FixControl offers it for your environment, or where your organization already has a Gmail connection.
- The mailbox must belong to a project, otherwise FixControl does not know where the work belongs.
See Connecting e-mail for the steps.
What FixControl does with every mail
After a mail arrives, FixControl assesses it and puts the outcome in the AI suggests strip:
| Outcome | When | What you see |
|---|---|---|
| Linked to an issue | The conversation already has an issue. The mail is added to it; a second issue is never created. | Linked to an issue, with Open issue. |
| Issue created automatically | The mail qualifies under the mailbox's Create issues automatically setting, with enough certainty, and the mailbox has a project. | Issue created automatically. |
| Reply to the customer | A support question. The AI prepares a reply, where the project allows it. | Reply to the customer, with Use AI draft. |
| No action needed | An auto-reply, bulk mail or bounce. | No action needed. |
| Review manually | Not enough certainty, no project linked, automatic creation off, or the AI unavailable. | Review manually, with Create issue when that is the recommendation. |
| Intake failed | Something went wrong during the assessment. FixControl retries a limited number of times. | Intake failed, with Retry. |
View analysis shows what the recommendation is based on.
Automatic issue creation is off by default. An administrator sets it per mailbox under Settings → Mailboxes, on an existing mailbox, with Create issues automatically:
- Off — you create an issue yourself (the default).
- Bugs and feature requests — a clear bug or feature request becomes an issue in the linked project; questions stay in the Inbox.
- Every customer request — every request becomes an issue, questions included (as a Support issue, which still gets the AI's reply suggestion). Spam, auto-replies and a bare "thanks" never do.
In every case a conversation that already has an issue never gets a second one.
Turning a mail into an issue
- Open the conversation.
- Choose Create issue (in the strip, in the conversation header, or with
i). - Check the Project (suggested from the mailbox; No project (unassigned) is possible too), the Title, the Summary and the Type: Bug, Feature or Support.
- Confirm. If you do this twice, you get the existing issue back instead of a duplicate.
What happens next depends on the project: for a project about software problems FixControl usually starts an AI mission straight away; for a support project it waits until someone chooses Run fix. See Issues.
Replying
Below the conversation is the editor with the tabs Reply and Internal note.
- Reply goes to the customer, from the mailbox's address. The button reads Send, or Submit for approval when your project requires approval for this reply.
- An Internal note is never seen by the customer.
- Save draft keeps your text; Discard throws the draft away.
- Use AI draft puts the AI's proposal in the editor. You can edit it before sending.
Replying only works when the mailbox has Allow replies switched on. That is off by default. A forwarded mailbox that does not receive through FixControl can never send.
Whether the AI prepares drafts or sends low-risk replies itself, and whether replies must be approved first, is set per project. By default the AI only makes a suggestion and a person sends. See Replies to customers.
Working the list
- Views: All, Mine, Unassigned, Waiting and Needs review (the outcomes Review manually and Intake failed).
- Filters by category and by signal: Unassigned, Stale, Customer waiting, High risk, Has unread, AI low confidence.
- A conversation's status: Open, Waiting on customer, Pending internal, Resolved or Ignored. A new mail from the customer reopens a resolved or ignored conversation.
- Other actions in the header: Assign to me, Snooze, Archive, Mark as spam, Delete and Run intake again.
- Categories are managed from the toolbar menu.
Keyboard shortcuts
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
j / k | Next / previous conversation |
Enter | Open conversation |
r | Reply |
n | Internal note |
i | Create or open issue |
a | Assign |
s | Snooze |
e | Archive |
x | Select |
/ | Search |
f | Full screen |
Esc | Back or clear selection |
When it does not work
| What you see | What it means | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| No mail arrives | The mailbox is not (or no longer) receiving, or forwarding has not been set up yet. A forwarding address shows Set up, waiting for the first email until mail has really arrived. | Check Activity and the mailbox status under Settings → Mailboxes. |
| Review manually with Automatic issue creation is off for this mailbox | This is the default. | Create the issue yourself, or have an administrator switch automatic creation on. |
| Review manually with No project is linked to this mailbox | The mailbox does not belong to a project. | Have an administrator connect the mailbox to a project. |
| Intake failed | The assessment went wrong. | Choose Retry. If it keeps failing, report the conversation and the message to your administrator. |
| Sending does not work | The mailbox may not send, or the send failed at the provider. | Have an administrator switch on Allow replies. A failed send stays as a draft that you can retry. |
See also
Replies to customers · Issues · Connecting e-mail · Contacts