Manage Messages

This guide covers the advanced features of the inbox for daily message management: composing replies, using emoji, reacting to messages, moderating comments, assigning conversations to team members, and filtering efficiently. If you are new to the inbox, start with the Shared Inbox article first.

Composing Replies

Writing and Sending a Reply

1. Select a conversation in the left panel
2. The message history or comment thread loads in the right panel
3. Type your reply in the text area at the bottom of the right panel
4. Click the Send button (arrow icon) or press Enter to send
5. A loading indicator appears on the send button while the message is being delivered
6. On success, the message appears in the thread and a confirmation toast is shown at the top of the screen

Keyboard shortcuts:

Message Display

Messages in the thread are displayed differently based on their direction:

• Incoming messages appear on the left side of the thread with a white background and a light border. The sender's profile picture is shown to the left of the message bubble.
• Outgoing messages appear on the right side with your theme color as background and white text. Your profile icon is shown to the right of the bubble. A "Sent" suffix appears after the timestamp.
• Below each message, a relative timestamp is shown (e.g., "Just now", "5 min ago", "2 h ago", "3 d ago"). The timestamp format adapts to the elapsed time.

Emoji Picker

The emoji picker lets you add emojis to your messages for a more personal tone:

1. Click the smiley icon in the bottom-right area of the reply text field
2. The emoji picker opens as a popup below the icon
3. Browse through emoji categories or type in the search field to find specific emojis
4. Click an emoji to insert it at the cursor position in the text field
5. The emoji is added to your reply text immediately
6. Click outside the picker, press Escape, or click the smiley icon again to close it

The emoji picker uses the system-native emoji set, so emojis will appear as they do on your operating system. You can insert multiple emojis by clicking them one after another without closing the picker.

Message Reactions

Reactions allow you to respond to individual messages with an emoji without typing a full reply. This is useful for acknowledging a message quickly.

1. Hover over any message in the thread (incoming or outgoing)
2. A small reaction button (smiley icon) appears at the top corner of the message bubble
3. Click the reaction button to open the reaction picker
4. The picker displays six predefined reactions:

1. Click on a reaction to send it to the platform
2. The picker closes automatically after selecting a reaction

Note: Reactions are sent directly to the social media platform (Facebook Messenger or Instagram). The recipient sees the reaction in their native app. Reaction availability depends on the platform's API support.

Comment Management

When viewing comments (via the Comments tab in the header), you have access to a full suite of moderation tools for each comment in the thread.

Replying to Comments

1. Find the comment you want to reply to
2. Click the "Reply" text link below the comment (next to the timestamp)
3. An inline text field appears directly below the comment
4. Type your reply and press Enter to send
5. A loading indicator appears while the reply is being sent
6. On success, the reply appears indented below the parent comment and a confirmation toast is shown

Replies to comments are always shown indented below the parent comment with a vertical left border line, creating a visual hierarchy.

Liking Comments

• Click the heart icon below a comment to like it
• The heart turns filled and pink, and the like count increments by one
• Click the heart again to remove the like (the count decrements)
• The like/unlike action is applied immediately (optimistic update) -- if it fails on the server, it reverts automatically
• The like count badge is displayed next to the sender name in a pink badge when greater than zero

Editing Comments

Important: Editing is only available for Facebook comments. Instagram does not support comment editing through its API.

1. Hover over one of your own comments
2. The action icons appear in the top-right corner of the comment bubble
3. Click the pencil icon
4. The comment text transforms into an editable input field
5. Make your changes
6. Click the checkmark to save or the X to cancel
7. A loading indicator appears while the edit is saved
8. On success, the comment text updates and a confirmation toast is shown

Deleting Comments

1. Hover over one of your own comments
2. Click the trash icon in the top-right corner of the comment bubble
3. A red confirmation area appears below the comment with the text "Are you sure?"
4. Click "Delete" to permanently remove the comment
5. Click "Cancel" to dismiss the confirmation
6. The comment is permanently removed from the platform and from the Content Mate thread

Warning: Deleting a comment is irreversible. The comment is permanently removed from the social media platform.

Hiding and Unhiding Comments

Hiding a comment removes it from public view without deleting it. This is useful for moderating inappropriate content while preserving it for your records.

1. Hover over any comment (not just your own)
2. Click the eye-off icon (hide) or the eye icon (unhide)
3. Hidden comments are displayed with reduced opacity (50%) and a "Hidden" badge next to the sender name
4. The comment remains visible to you and your team in Content Mate
5. The public on the social media platform can no longer see the hidden comment
6. Click the eye icon again to make the comment visible to the public again

Tip: The comment author typically does not receive a notification that their comment was hidden. This makes hiding a gentle moderation option compared to deleting.

React on Facebook

For Facebook comments, a blue "React on Facebook" link is available below each comment. Clicking this link opens the comment directly on Facebook in a new browser tab, where you can use Facebook's extended reaction system (Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad, Angry) which may offer more options than the Content Mate interface.

Assigning Conversations

Assignments help your team coordinate who handles which conversations. When a conversation is assigned, all team members can see who is responsible.

Assign a Conversation

1. Open a conversation by clicking it in the left panel
2. In the conversation header (right panel), find the assignment dropdown
3. The dropdown shows "Unassigned" by default, or the name of the currently assigned member
4. Click the dropdown to see a list of all workspace members
5. Select a member to assign the conversation to them
6. The assignment is saved immediately
7. A confirmation toast appears: "Conversation assigned to [Name]"
8. An assignment badge appears next to the platform badge in the conversation header

Remove an Assignment

1. Open the assigned conversation
2. Click the assignment dropdown
3. Select "Unassigned" at the top of the list
4. The assignment is removed immediately
5. A confirmation toast appears: "Assignment cleared"

Filter by Assigned to Me

When your workspace has multiple team members, an "Assigned to me" button appears in the filter area of the left panel:

1. Click "Assigned to me" to activate the filter
2. The conversation list shows only conversations assigned to your user account
3. The count in parentheses shows how many conversations are assigned to you
4. Click the button again to deactivate the filter and show all conversations
5. This filter works in combination with the account filter and source selector

Efficient Filtering and Searching

Filter by Account

1. In the filter area at the top of the left panel, click on a specific account button
2. Only conversations from that account are shown
3. Click "All" to reset the filter
4. The total count updates to reflect the filtered result

Filter by Type

Use the source selector tabs in the inbox header:

• Messages -- Shows only direct message conversations (Facebook Messenger, Instagram Direct)
• Comments -- Shows only comment threads on your posts

Switching between tabs reloads the conversation list. Your previously selected conversation is deselected.

Search Conversations

1. Type a keyword in the search field in the left panel (below the account filter)
2. The search filters conversations by:
   • Sender name
   • Last message content
3. Results update as you type
4. Clear the search field to show all conversations again
5. The search works in combination with the account filter, source selector, and "Assigned to me" filter

Platform Differences

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can I not edit Instagram comments?

Instagram does not provide a function for editing comments through its API. This is a platform limitation, not a Content Mate limitation. As a workaround, you can delete the comment and write a new one.

What happens with hidden comments?

Hidden comments are not visible to the public on the social media platform but remain viewable for you and your team in Content Mate. The comment author typically does not receive a notification that their comment has been hidden. You can unhide a comment at any time to make it public again.

How do I recognize unread conversations?

Unread conversations are marked with a red dot next to the sender name in the conversation list, and the sender name appears in bold. As soon as you open a conversation, it is automatically marked as read and the indicators disappear.

Can I assign a conversation to multiple people?

No. Each conversation can only be assigned to one workspace member at a time. To change the assignment, select a different member from the dropdown. The previous assignment is replaced.

Are reactions visible to the message sender?

Yes. When you react to a message, the reaction is sent to the platform and is visible to the other party in their native messaging app (Facebook Messenger or Instagram Direct).

Next Steps

• Shared Inbox -- Back to the inbox overview
• Create and Schedule Posts -- Create posts that will generate comments
• Create Workspace -- Set up a workspace for team collaboration
• Analytics Overview -- Track engagement metrics from your inbox activity