Your Inbox contains tasks, and notifications. Tasks are electronic assignments. Notifications are messages that an event has occurred.

A task can be assigned to you manually by another user or automatically by a business process known as a workflow. A workflow is a series of tasks assigned sequentially from user to user. When you complete a workflow task, the workflow automatically sends a task to the next user in the workflow.

In some cases, a task that appears in your Inbox might be assigned not only to you but also to other users. In such a case, the first user to accept the task becomes the one who performs it. The task is automatically removed from the other users’ inboxes.

If your organization uses work queues, you can request task assignments, as described in Work queue tasks.

A task can include attached files that you are asked to edit or review. Attached files continue to the next user in the workflow.