Optix gives you several ways to communicate with your users directly from the dashboard. You can send 1:1 messages, bulk message a group, review past conversations, and control who appears in the user directory.
Communicating with your users helps you:
Stay in touch at scale: Message one user or hundreds at once without leaving the dashboard.
Meet users where they are: Messages reach users via the app with a push notification, or by email if they haven't downloaded the app yet.
Keep a full conversation history: Review every message thread from the Inbox, and leave hidden internal notes for your team.
Control your community directory: Set who appears in the directory by default, or hide specific users and teams as needed.
Note: Looking for more advanced community communication tools? Inbox+ offers additional features for managing user conversations at scale.
How to send a message to an individual user
How to send a message to an individual user
You can reach a user directly from the Inbox or from the Users list.
Note: If a user has not yet downloaded the app, they will receive your message as an email. All other users will receive it via the app with a push notification.
From the Inbox:
Navigate to the Inbox from the far left-hand panel
Select the New message icon above your inbox list and type the user's name
Type your message in the message box on the right and send
Note: You can also leave hidden notes in a conversation for yourself or other admins. Users will not be able to see these notes.
From the Users list:
Click Users from the left-hand menu
Locate the user and click the three dots on their row
Select Send message
How to send a message to multiple users
How to send a message to multiple users
You can send the same message to several users at once from the Users list.
Click Users from the left-hand menu
Tick the checkboxes next to the users you want to message. To select all users, tick the checkbox at the top left of the list
Click Message all in the bottom menu
Enter your message and click Send
Pro tip: Use the Users filters to find a specific group before selecting them - for example, filter by plan, status, or check-in date to message a targeted segment.
How to manage directory visibility
How to manage directory visibility
As an admin, you control who appears in the community directory at two levels: a space-wide default that applies when new accounts are created, and a per-account override that lets you hide specific users or teams at any time.
Set the default for new users and teams:
Click Settings from the left-hand menu
Click Features, then Community directory
Under Privacy, use the toggle next to 'By default, include new users and teams in Directory'
Note: This setting only affects new accounts. It does not retroactively change the visibility of existing users or teams.
Hide a specific user or team:
Open the user's or team's account profile in the admin dashboard
In the Details section, find Directory visibility
Select Do not display in directory to hide them, or Display in directory to allow them to appear
Note: For a user or team to appear in the directory, both conditions must be true: the account's Directory visibility is set to 'Display in directory', and the user has not opted themselves out through their own app settings. If a user has opted out, the Directory visibility field will be read-only and cannot be overridden.
FAQs
FAQs
Will users receive my message as an email or through the app?
Users who have downloaded the Optix app will receive your message via the app with a push notification.
Can I send a message to all my users at once?
Yes. From the Users list, tick the checkbox at the top left to select all users, then click Message all. You can also use filters first to narrow down the group before selecting.
Can my users see the internal notes I leave in a conversation?
No. Internal notes are visible to admins only and will not appear to users in the conversation.
Can I force a user to appear in the directory if they've opted out themselves?
No. A user who has hidden themselves through their own app settings cannot be forced to appear by an admin. The Directory visibility field will be read-only for that account. The user needs to re-enable their own preference first.
Does the per-account Directory visibility setting also apply to teams?
Yes. You can control directory visibility for teams the same way as individual users - from the team's account profile in the admin dashboard.
Can users see that an admin has hidden them from the directory?
No. Users are not notified when an admin changes their directory visibility. Their own app setting still reflects their personal preference.
Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting
A user says they didn't receive my message.
Check whether the user has downloaded the Optix app. Ask them to check their inbox, including spam. If they have the app, confirm their push notifications are enabled on their device.
I can't find a past conversation in the Inbox.
Use the search bar in the Inbox to look up the user's name or keywords from the conversation. If the conversation was initiated from the Users list using the pop-up message box, it will still appear in the Inbox thread history.
I've set a user to 'Display in directory' but they are still not appearing.
Check whether the user has opted themselves out through their own app settings. Both conditions must be true for a user to appear: the admin Directory visibility is set to 'Display in directory', and the user has not opted out. If the user has opted out, the Directory visibility field on their profile will be read-only.
The Directory visibility field on a user's profile is greyed out and I can't edit it.
This means the user has opted themselves out of the directory through their own app settings. Admin cannot override a user's personal opt-out. The user needs to re-enable the 'Appear in directory' toggle in their own Settings first.
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