# Inbox: your notifications > Inbox gathers your chat conversations, the items people share with you and contact requests in one list, newest first. Your email stays in Mail. Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-inbox Section: Communicate > Inbox and signatures Plans: All plans Updated: 2026-10-15 Inbox is where your PlexiDesk notifications land. It lists three kinds of thing in one place, newest first: - **Your chat conversations**, with the latest message from each. - **Items people share with you**, such as a room, a desk or a widget. - **Contact requests** from people who want to chat with you. Use it as the one place to check what has come in from other people, then click a row to go straight to it. Inbox does not hold email. Your email is in Mail. See [Mail](https://plexiidesk.com/help/mail-overview). > **Note:** > Inbox in the side menu and the [Inbox widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-inbox) are different things. The Inbox widget shows email on a desk. Inbox holds your PlexiDesk notifications. ## Before you start - **Sign in.** Inbox shows what reaches your PlexiDesk account, so you need to be signed in. Signed out, the page asks you to sign in and offers a **Sign in** button. See [Create an account and sign in](https://plexiidesk.com/help/account-sign-in). - **Plans.** Inbox is part of every plan. ## Open Inbox - In the side menu, under **Apps**, click **Inbox** in the **Tools** group. - Or press `⌘` `K` on a Mac or `Ctrl` `K` on Windows, type **PlexiInbox** and press `Enter`. See [The command palette](https://plexiidesk.com/help/command-palette). The page is titled **PlexiInbox**. ## What you see Each row has an icon, a title, how long ago it arrived and, under the title, a short preview. Rows you have not read yet are in bold, and a chat row shows how many messages are unread. The time is shown briefly: **now**, then minutes (**5m**), hours (**3h**) or days (**2d**). | Row | Title | Preview | | --- | --- | --- | | A chat conversation | The person, channel or space you talk to | The latest message. A voice note shows **Voice note**, a video message **Video message**, and a file its name. | | An item shared with you | **Shared** and the kind of item | **from @** and the sharer's handle | | A contact request | The person's handle and **wants to connect** | **Accept to start chatting** | If something someone shared has since been withdrawn, its row reads **Shared item** with **no longer available**. When there is nothing to show, the page says **Your PlexiInbox is clear.** ## Open a conversation Click a chat row. Chat opens with that conversation, ready for you to reply. See [PlexiiChat](https://plexiidesk.com/help/chat-overview). New chat messages appear in Inbox as they arrive. ## Open something shared with you 1. Click a row that starts with **Shared**. 2. PlexiDesk adds your own copy to the **Shared with me** room and opens it. A room opens with its desks. A desk opens on its canvas, and a widget opens on a desk of its own. The copy is yours to change. It is not linked to the original. To see everything that has been sent to you, and to choose which items to keep, use the **Shared** page instead. See [Rooms and desks shared with you](https://plexiidesk.com/help/shared-with-me). ## Answer a contact request When someone adds you in Chat by your email address, a request appears in your Inbox. Under it: - Click **Accept** to connect. A conversation with them starts and Chat opens, so you can write straight away. - Click **Decline** to turn the request down. It leaves your Inbox. To send a request yourself, start a new message in Chat with the person's email address. See [Direct messages and channels](https://plexiidesk.com/help/chat-conversations-and-channels). ## Check for new items Inbox loads the latest when you open it. To check again while it is open, click the circular arrow at the top right. Its tooltip reads **Refresh**. ## Tips - **Use the keyboard.** Press `Tab` to move to a chat or shared-item row and `Enter` to open it. - **Start your day here.** Inbox shows chat, shares and requests together, so one look tells you what other people have sent since you last checked. ## Common questions **Where is my email?** In Mail. Inbox holds only your PlexiDesk notifications. See [Mail](https://plexiidesk.com/help/mail-overview). **The page asks me to sign in.** Inbox shows what reaches your PlexiDesk account. Click **Sign in**, then open Inbox again. **I clicked a shared item and nothing opened.** Open the **Shared** page in the side menu, under **Rooms**, and add the item from there. If the share has expired, ask the sender for a new link. See [Rooms and desks shared with you](https://plexiidesk.com/help/shared-with-me). **Someone says they sent me a contact request, but I cannot see it.** Check that you are signed in with the account for the email address they used, then click **Refresh**. **How do I share something with someone?** See [Sharing and invites](https://plexiidesk.com/help/sharing-and-invites). ## Related tasks - [Rooms and desks shared with you](https://plexiidesk.com/help/shared-with-me) - [Sharing and invites](https://plexiidesk.com/help/sharing-and-invites) - [PlexiiChat](https://plexiidesk.com/help/chat-overview) - [Direct messages and channels](https://plexiidesk.com/help/chat-conversations-and-channels) - [Mail](https://plexiidesk.com/help/mail-overview) - [Inbox widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-inbox)