Mentions & Notifications#

Stay informed without being overwhelmed. CommFlow's mention and notification system helps you get the attention you need and control the alerts you receive.

@Mentions#

Mentioning People#

Get someone's attention by mentioning them:

@john Can you review this?

How to mention:

1. Type @ followed by their name
2. Select from the autocomplete dropdown
3. The person will be notified

Mention Types#

@channel vs @here#

@channel - Notifies everyone in the channel, regardless of their online status. Use sparingly for truly important announcements.

@here - Only notifies members who are currently online. Better for time-sensitive requests that don't need to disturb offline members.

Notification Settings#

Global Notification Preferences#

Access via Settings > Notifications:

Desktop Notifications:

• Enable/disable browser notifications
• Sound alerts on/off
• Preview text in notifications

Mobile Notifications:

• Push notification settings
• Quiet hours configuration
• Badge counts

Email Notifications:

• Digest frequency (instant, hourly, daily)
• Mention emails
• DM notifications when offline

Per-Channel Settings#

Customize notifications for each channel:

1. Open the channel
2. Click the channel name header
3. Select Notification Preferences

Do Not Disturb#

Pause all notifications:

1. Click your profile picture
2. Select Set status
3. Choose Do Not Disturb
4. Set duration or custom end time

While in DND mode:

• No desktop or mobile notifications
• Mentions are still collected for later
• A moon icon shows your DND status

Notification Schedule#

Set automatic quiet hours:

1. Go to Settings > Notifications
2. Enable Notification Schedule
3. Set your working hours
4. Outside these hours, notifications are paused

Managing Notifications#

Notification Panel#

Access all notifications:

1. Click the bell icon in the header
2. View unread mentions and messages
3. Click to jump to the conversation

Filtering Notifications#

Filter your notification feed:

• All - Everything
• Mentions - Only @mentions
• Replies - Responses to your messages
• Reactions - When someone reacts to your message

Marking as Read#

• Single notification: Click to mark as read
• All notifications: Click "Mark all as read"
• Auto-mark: Messages are marked read when you view them

Unread Messages#

Unread Indicators#

Visual cues for unread content:

• Bold channel name - Unread messages in channel
• Badge count - Number of unread messages
• Red badge - Unread mentions
• Unread bar - Separator showing where you left off

Catching Up#

Quickly catch up on unread messages:

Jump to Unread#

• Click "Jump to unread" button in channels
• Use keyboard shortcut to navigate to next unread channel

Reaction Notifications#

Get notified when someone reacts to your message:

Enable/Disable:

1. Go to Settings > Notifications
2. Toggle Reaction notifications

What you'll see:

• Who reacted
• Which emoji they used
• Link to the message

Thread Notifications#

When you participate in a thread:

• You're automatically subscribed to replies
• Unsubscribe by clicking "Following" in the thread

Thread notification options:

• All replies
• Mentions only
• Unfollow thread

Mobile Notifications#

Push Notification Setup#

1. Download the CommFlow mobile app
2. Sign in to your workspace
3. Allow push notifications when prompted

Mobile-Specific Settings#

• Notification sounds - Choose alert tones
• Vibration - Haptic feedback
• LED color - For supported devices
• Notification grouping - Bundle by channel or conversation

Sync Across Devices#

Read on one device, synced everywhere:

• Reading on desktop clears mobile notifications
• Badges update across all devices

Keyboard Shortcuts#

Best Practices#

1. Use @channel sparingly - Reserve for truly important announcements
2. Prefer @here for urgent - Respects offline teammates
3. Set channel-specific preferences - High-traffic channels on "Mentions only"
4. Use DND - When focusing on deep work
5. Check notification settings - Ensure you're not missing important updates

Troubleshooting#

Not Receiving Notifications?#

1. Check browser permissions - Allow notifications for CommFlow
2. Check Do Not Disturb - Make sure it's not enabled
3. Check channel settings - Verify not set to "Nothing"
4. Check notification schedule - Outside working hours?
5. Clear browser cache - May resolve notification issues

Too Many Notifications?#

1. Mute noisy channels - Set to "Mentions only"
2. Leave unused channels - Reduce noise
3. Use notification schedule - Set work hours
4. Disable reaction notifications - If too frequent

Next Steps#

• Team Chat Overview - Return to Team Chat basics
• Channels - Learn about channel management