This article explains how the messages in a Learner's inbox are classified in Absorb. Each message is labeled in two independent ways: by its Priority, and by whether it is a System Message that Absorb generates automatically or a message sent by a person. Because the two labels are applied separately, a single message can be a priority message, a System Message, both, or neither.

Priority Messages

A message's Priority is controlled by a setting attached to the message itself. Messages sent directly to Learners by an Admin or Manager are always marked as priority. Many of Absorb's built-in Message Templates are also pre-set as priority so that time-sensitive notifications stand out in the inbox.

Notifications that are set to priority by default include:

• Certificate Expiry
• Course Due Date
• Receipt
• Session Reminder
• Direct Messages sent by an Admin or Manager

System Messages

A System Message is any message that Absorb generates automatically, with no person listed as the sender. These are the routine notifications the platform sends as Learners move through their training. A message sent by an Admin or Manager is not a System Message, because it has a human sender.

Examples of System Messages include:

• Course Enrollment
• Course Completion
• Curriculum Enrollment
• Curriculum Completion

How Priority and System Labels Work Together

Because the two labels are applied independently, they often overlap. A Session Reminder, for example, is a system message because Absorb generates it automatically, and it is also a priority message because its template is pre-set as priority. A Course Enrollment notification is likewise a system message, but it is not priority. A direct message from an Admin is a priority message, but it is not a system message because a person sent it.

Where Messages Appear

Messages appear to the Learner in two places: the header at the top of the Learner Experience, and within the Learner's Profile. The five most recent unread messages surface in the header so Learners can see them at a glance.

For more information about the templates that generate these notifications, see the Message Templates article. To learn how the inbox works on a mobile device, see Messages Inbox in the Mobile App.