Setting up Mobile Inbox on iOS

Apps using version 6.2.0 and later of Iterable's iOS SDK can save in-app messages to an inbox. This inbox displays a list of saved in-app messages and allows users to read them at their convenience. The SDK provides a default user interface for the inbox, which can be customized to match your brand's styles. This document describes how iOS developers can add Iterable's Mobile Inbox functionality to your mobile app.

To learn how to use Iterable to send in-app messages that can be saved to a mobile inbox, read Sending In-App Messages.

# In this article

# Installing Iterable's iOS SDK

To add a mobile inbox to your iOS app, first install Iterable's iOS SDK.

# Displaying the mobile inbox

To display the mobile inbox in your app, use one of two classes included in Iterable's iOS SDK:

• IterableInboxNavigationViewController
• IterableInboxViewController

There are two primary ways to display this view controller:

1. As a tab on a UITTabBarController

   To display the mobile inbox in this way, configure a tab to load an IterableInboxNavigationViewController (either in code or with a storyboard).

   When using this approach, the tab representing the mobile inbox automatically shows a badge count for unread messages.

2. In response to a user interaction

   To instantiate and display a mobile inbox in response to user interaction, use code similar to the following:

   let viewController = IterableInboxNavigationViewController()
   present(viewController, animated: true)
   

# Syncing a mobile inbox across many devices

Iterable's iOS and Android SDKs automatically sync a mobile inbox across all the devices on which a user has logged in to your app. Additionally, they sync the read state for each message.

If you're not using one of Iterable's mobile SDKs:

• To determine whether or not a message has been read, examine its read field, as returned by GET /api/inApp/getMessages.
• To mark a message as read, call POST /api/events/trackInAppOpen.

# Customizing the mobile inbox

To learn how to customize a mobile inbox for your iOS app, read Customizing Mobile Inbox on iOS.

# Further reading

User guides:

• In-App Messages and Mobile Inbox
• Sending In-App Messages
• Events for In-App Messages and Mobile Inbox

Developer documentation:

• Iterable's iOS SDK
• Iterable's Android SDK
• In-App Messages Overview
• In-App Messages on iOS
• In-App Messages on Android
• Setting up Mobile Inbox on Android
• Customizing Mobile Inbox on iOS
• Customizing Mobile Inbox on Android
• Animating In-App Messages with CSS
• Image Carousels in In-App Messages
• Testing and Troubleshooting In-App Messages
• In-App Messages Without the SDK
• API Overview and Sample Payloads
• API Overview