Message Center

Motion.io's Message Center enables you and your team to manage the chat messages clients send in their portals and the comments they leave on tasks across all your active projects in one centralized location.

This article will explain how the Message Center works and how you can use it to streamline communication and respond to clients more efficiently.

How Motion.io's Message Center Works

In your Motion.io account, the "Messages" tab in the left sidebar will display a red notification informing you of new, unread chat messages and task comments across your Motion.io projects. You can access the Message Center by clicking the notification badge or the "Messages" link beside it.

Searching, Filtering & Bulk Actions

The Message Center's clean layout includes powerful tools to help you manage communication more efficiently:

• Search messages by client name or project name.
• Filter by read status, sender type and source
• Take bulk actions like archiving, flagging, or deleting multiple messages at once.

The Message Center is also updated on a per user basis - if you make a flag an email or close a chat, it won't affect your team's inboxes.

How to Respond to Clients in the Message Center

To respond to client communication in the Message Center, click on the task comment or chat message you want to reply to, type your message into the text box, and click "Send."

After replying to a communication in the Message Center, the green arrow will indicate to other team members who may be involved in the project that you have replied to the client.

Responding to Task Comments

When responding to task comments, the name of that task is displayed in the top left. For additional context about the task you are replying to, click the "+" icon in the top right corner to display any attached files, forms, or information.

After you write a reply and click "Post," your response will be added to the comment thread on the task where the client initially posted it.

Responding to Chat Messages

When responding to chat messages, the name of the project the client sent that message in is displayed in the top left.

After responding to a chat message in the Message Center, your response is automatically to the corresponding "Chat" page in that client's Motion.io portal.

How to Manage Communications in the Message Center

The options that appear in each task comment and chat message viewable in the Message Center provide additional tools for keeping client communication organized across multiple projects. The section below will explain what each option does.

Set follow up flag

The "flag" icon is a valuable tool for marking messages that require further action or follow-up, and that you would like to keep easily accessible via the filter in your inbox.

Archive

The archive option is helpful for messages that need no further follow-up and are unlikely to be referenced again in the immediate future. To archive a message or comment, click the "folder" icon to remove it from "Inbox" into the "Archived" tab.

Bulk Actions

If you have multiple items in your Message Center that you wish to modify collectively, you can do so using bulk actions. Simply select the checkbox next to all the items you want to modify, then proceed to make the desired changes - click the "envelope" icon to toggle read/unread status, the "flag" icon to flag, and the "folder" icon to archive.

How to Convert a Client Message Into a Task

If a client message includes a request or action item you'd like to track, you can quickly turn it into a task without retyping anything.

Just open the message thread in the Message Center and click the "Convert to Task" button on the far right of the Inbox Options (next to the archive and delete icons).

This will open a task creation window that’s automatically pre-filled with the client’s message and a placeholder title.

From here, you can:

• Assign the task to yourself or a teammate
• Add it to a project stage
• Attach files, forms, contracts, or a checklist
• Set a due date, reminders, or mark it as recurring

Once you save the task, it will appear in your Tasks dashboard and stay linked to the original message and project for easy tracking.