Create Folders Using Workflows to Organize Conversations

Folders in Help Scout define conversations based on specified condition(s). In other words, a folder is a custom view of conversations that already exist in one of your other top-level folders. This article will help you create your first folder.

Why Folders Are Helpful

Folders are great for sorting conversations as they roll in to Help Scout. You can easily keep tabs on specific topics or problems and follow them through to resolution.

Folders are created via Workflows, so you can modify conditions to look for just about any conversation in your mailbox. Feel free to experiment with different conditions, and give us a shout if you get stuck along the way.

Note: Conversations that appear in a folder view have not been moved, so they remain visible in both locations. In other words, you'll never lose a conversation when you remove it from a folder.

Creating a Folder

You'll need to create a Workflow to copy conversations to a folder. You can use either automatic or manual Workflows to create folders to organize your conversations. The example below demonstrates the settings for an automatic Workflow to copy conversations tagged with urgent to a folder named Urgent Issues. 

Head to Manage > Mailbox(es) > Your Mailbox > Workflows or open your mailbox and click the gear icon to open Settings and select Workflows. Click New Workflow. 

1

Choose  Automatic and give it a name.

2

The conditions to find the conversations you want to see in the folder. Our example is using:  
Tag(s) Is  urgent
AND
Status Is equal to Active

3

On the Actions page, select Copy to Folder from the drop-down menu. Give the folder a name and set your visibility options. You can select from everyone, just you, or specific people.

4

Activate the workflow and head back to your mailbox overview page. You'll see your new folder on the sidebar. 

Removing Conversations From Folders

Automatic Workflow

Conversations added to a folder using an automatic Workflow will clear out of the folder automatically. A conversation will only appear in the folder if it matches the criteria for the Workflow.  

Manual Workflow

To remove a conversation from a folder created with a manual Workflow, head into the folder view and select the conversation(s) you wish to remove. Click the lightning bolt on the multi-select menu and choose Remove from Folder. 

Common Questions

Can I drag and drop a conversation in to a folder?
To show in a folder, a conversation must match the criteria set in a Workflow for that folder. Use either a manual or automatic Workflow to copy conversations to a folder. Drag and drop is not an option here. 

Why am I seeing the error The folder listed below has been taken by another workflow?
Folders can only be managed by a single Workflow. This error means you have a Workflow that is already using the folder name you've specified. To add additional conversations to that folder, edit the Workflow already associated with the folder with your additional criteria. 

My folder counts seem off. What gives?
You might notice some inconsistencies with folder counts if a Workflow is still running and copying conversations to the folder. If you've given it a bit of time and the numbers still seem off, get in touch and we'll manually refresh your folder counts.

How do I remove a folder?
Head into Mailbox Setting > Workflows and delete the Workflow that's being used to create the folder or to edit the Workflow and remove the Copy to Folder action from the Workflow.