|
Applications Administration Guide > Administering and Using Inbox >
About the Inbox
The goals of the Inbox are to provide end users with:
- A single screen that shows all approval and notification items assigned them regardless of the screen where the item originated.
- Enough detailed information about the item so that they can act on the item from the Inbox and not have to navigate to other screens for more information.
Table 16 lists some terminology used in this chapter.
Table 16. Inbox Terminology
|
|
Inbox item |
Inbox items are requests for approval and notification that appear in end users' Inboxes. Inbox items point to other records (or to feature objects in the database) which require review or approval. Inbox item is shortened to "item" in some text in this chapter. |
Inbox screen |
This is the screen where the end users:
- Take action on their current Inbox items
- View their completed items
- View their submitted items
|
Inbox Items List |
Inbox items that the user (the item's owner) needs to act on appear in the Inbox Items List. |
Submitted Items List |
Deactivated Inbox items that have been submitted by the user appear in the Submitted Items List. |
Completed Items List |
Deactivated Inbox items appear in this list. Typically these are the items for which the approval process is complete. |
Inbox action |
This is action that the end user takes on the Inbox item. Usually this is approval or rejection or acknowledgement. |
Inbox type |
The Inbox type determines some characteristics of the Inbox item, such as which actions (through business service methods) can be taken on it and its expiration date. |
Destination view |
The Name hyperlink leads to the destination view (which displays data from the feature object). |
Feature object |
A feature object is the underlying thing that the Inbox record points to; for example, a service request record or, for ESS, a row in the SmartScript session table. When you drill down on an item in the Inbox, you see the feature object. |
ESS |
Siebel Employee Self-Service application. The Inbox is an important feature for this application. Information that is specific to the ESS application is called out in this chapter. |
Universal Inbox |
This is an alternate name for the Inbox. |
How the Inbox Interacts with the Feature Objects
Inbox items contain references to the feature objects. Feature objects interact with Inbox items through the methods of the Universal Inbox business service. These methods can be invoked using various mechanisms, for example Run-time Events can catch the feature object's business component operations. The Inbox interacts with feature objects through Inbox actions, which are defined as part of the Inbox type. Integration business service methods are invoked when the users take action on Inbox items. Figure 8 illustrates interaction between feature objects and the Inbox.
Figure 8. How Inbox Interacts with Feature Objects
|
About the Universal Inbox Business Service
The Universal Inbox business service is the interface between the underlying feature object and the Inbox items. Universal Inbox business service methods handle creation, update, deactivation, and deletion of Inbox items. CAUTION: Do not interact with the Inbox through any channel other than the Universal Inbox Business Service.
For information about the methods in Universal Inbox business service, see Universal Inbox Business Service Methods.
| 
