Searching Your Workday Inbox & Creating Inbox Filters

What is the Workday Inbox? What are INBOX SEARCHES? What are INBOX FILTERS

1. Log into Workday via the My Mines Website see the screenshot below.
2. Once you have opened Workday you should see the home screen shown below. You will need to navigate your INBOX located in the upper right corner, see the icon circled in the screenshot below. 
3. Once you have opened the inbox you should see something like the image below. The screen is broken into three main sections (from left to right). 
   • Navigation Menu
   • List of Items requiring your action
   • Preview of the item pending your action
4. There are a variety of tasks that may show up in your inbox and that is why INBOX SEARCHES and INBOX FILTERS are such helpful tools. While both can help you drill down to specific tasks, they serve different purposes defined below.
   1. INBOX SEARCHES-Among the searching functionality within the inbox the main search function shown at the top of the list is the most basic. Unlike Filters you can find a specific item by searching by the report name, report number or in the case of an expense report/spend authorization by the report owner’s name.
      1. ADVANCED SEARCH – The advanced search would allow you search using parameters other than a keyword and have a search capability using the date and you can vary what date you want to refine your results by (think submission vs. system generated due date). The advanced search will allow you narrow down your list similar to a filter but can be applied just one time and will not require setting up a formal filter.
      2. SAVED SEARCH – If there is a specific general search that you feel you will want to use more than once you will see a prompt to save this search so you can apply the same parameters with just one selection.
   2. INBOX FILTERS- are better if you are trying to narrow down the items pending your action by type since they can be filtered by business process but may not help if you are looking for a specific item. A great use case for filters is if you plan on dedicating a set time for specific tasks like Expense Report & Spend Authorization Approvals. This will show the narrowed list with only these tasks. You can further narrow down the results with more advanced filtering, if you are interested in setting this up you can contact submit a Mines Help Center ticket or send an email to MAPS@mines.edu.
5. Using the NAVIGATION MENU located on the left side of the screen. This will allow you to jump to a SAVED SEARCH or an established INBOX FILTER. By Default, this navigation menu may or may not be collapsed, as seen in the screenshot below there is an arrow icon that will collapse or expand the menu for easier navigation.

How To Set Up an INBOX FILTER

1. Setting up an INBOX FILTER must be done by the account holder themselves. Start by following steps 1-3 above. Then working from step 5 you will click on the “Manage Filters” button from the NAVIGATION MENU shown below.
2. The screen below should open, you will see there are several filters already listed which you will not see but you will have the “Create Inbox Filter” button which is highlighted below- Click this button to get started. 
3. A Task Window will open titled “Create Inbox Filter” shown below, you will need to name your filter. This filter will only be for your personal use so you can name it whatever makes the most sense for you. Then you will navigate to the next section titled “View Definition” and will select the “Business Process Type(s)” Option. Once you have made this selection it will allow you to go into the field and select the tasks applicable to this filter. For example, if you wanted to create a filter for Expense Report and Spend Authorization approvals you will select the “Expense Report Event” and “Spend Authorization” tasks for this field. Once you have selected the items you will click “OK” and the filter is created. 
4. To confirm your filter has been made and use it go to the NAVIGATION MENU and click on Filters and a list of available filters will show up. Below are screenshots showing how to apply the filter and what the inbox will look like once it is filtered.