How to archive a conversation

Overview

Archiving (along with snoozing), will be your team's key tool to reaching inbox zero. You can think of the Open tab of your inbox as a to-do list-- when you reach inbox zero, this means all the tasks on your to-do list are complete. The Archived tab of your inbox represents tasks you've checked off your to-do list.

Once you've taken the necessary action on an open conversation--whether that's sending a reply, leaving a comment, or simply reading the newest message--archive it. The conversation will be moved to the Archived tab of the inbox, where you can easily reference or reopen it if necessary.

If there is new activity in an archived conversation, the conversation will automatically reopen, and will move from the Archived tab back into the Open tab of the inbox.

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Instructions

To archive a conversation, click the file box icon at the top left corner of the conversation. You can also use keyboard shortcuts to archive your conversations. Shortcuts differ based on your shortcut mode; check out this article to find the archive shortcut for your shortcut mode.

Note: If you archive a conversation belonging to a Gmail or Office365 sync inbox, the archive action will sync from Front to Gmail/Office365. See here for more details.

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Location of archive

After you archive a conversation, you will always see it moved to the Archived tab of the inbox/section that you archived it from.

However, archiving has different impacts based on who archives a conversation, and where they archive it from. This means that a conversation that's been Archived in one place can still remain in the Open tab elsewhere.

Have you ever hesitated to archive a conversation, because you weren't sure how it would affect your teammates? If so, we've broken things down for you below! Here's what happens when you archive a conversation from each of the following locations:

Team inbox

When performed from a team inbox, archiving impacts everyone. It will appear in the Archived tab for anyone viewing the team inbox, regardless of which teammate archived the conversation.

However, this will not archive the conversation for any teammates subscribed to the conversation. The conversation will remain in the Open tab of subscribers' Shared with me sections.

If a teammate archives a conversation from a team inbox, and they are not the assignee, then the conversation will also stay open in the assignee's Assigned to me section after being archived in the team inbox.

If a conversation lives in more than one team inbox, archiving it from one inbox will cause it to be archived in the other team inbox(es) as well. 

As the assignee

When you archive a conversation you're assigned to, it will move to the Archived tab of both your Assigned to me section, and the Archived tab of the team inbox itself. Archiving as the assignee has the same impact as archiving from a team inbox-- it impacts everyone.

Shared with me

When performed in your own Shared with me folder, archiving will only impact you, no matter the circumstances. It will be moved to the Archived tab of your own Shared with me folder, but will not archive the conversation in any other inboxes/sections, nor will the conversation be archived for any other teammates.

Individual inbox

Archiving a conversation from your individual inbox will only impact you. If you've shared this conversation with any other teammates, it will not archive the conversation in their Shared with me sections.

Delegated inbox

If a teammate has delegated their inbox to you, and you archive a conversation from their individual inbox, the impact will be the same as the inbox owner archiving the conversation themselves. It will only impact their individual inbox.

If you look at your teammate's inbox, you'll find the conversation in their Archived tab. However, if you are personally subscribed to this conversation, it will not archive the conversation in your own Shared with me section.

Teammates list (under Assigned conversations)

If you archive a conversation when viewing another teammate's Assigned conversations, it has the same impact as archiving that conversation from the team inbox. It will move to the Archived tab of the team inbox for everyone viewing the team inbox.

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When to archive

Move a conversation out of your Open tab when no action is needed on your part. Archiving will allow you to remove the conversation from view until new activity occurs. Here are examples of when to archive a conversation:

• Announcements and notices: Archive informational or promotional messages that don't require your response. You can easily search for these messages in the future if needed.
• Send & Archive: In most cases, when you're sending a message, no further action will be required on your part until the customer writes back. In these scenarios, use Send & Archive.
• Subscribed conversations: Archive conversations in your Shared with me folder once you've taken your own necessary actions. Unless you mute the conversation, it will reopen in your Shared with me section any time there is new activity, so that you don't miss anything.
• Automated emails: Archive automated updates or notifications, so that they don't clutter up your inbox.

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Archive vs. trash

We generally recommend archiving conversations to remove them view in your Front inbox, instead of trashing them. Reserve your Trash tab for spam or other junk messages.

Here are the key differences between archiving and trashing:

• Analytics: Actions taken in Archived conversations will be factored into your team's Analytics metrics. When you trash a conversation, all activities (such as outbound messages, assignments, and tags) will be ignored in Analytics.
• Search: By default, Archived conversations appear alongside open conversations when searching in Front; conversations in Trash do not. If you want to search for a trashed message, you will have to filter your search to include trashed messages.

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Mute and archive

If you want to stop receiving updates on a conversation, use Mute and archive to mute the conversation. See here for more information.