SMS/MMS
These features allow the user to send/receive SMS/MMS messages.
The MMS message is an enhancement of the standard SMS message. The main difference between SMS and MMS messages is that the user can send multimedia files and others in their messages. It includes media such as videos, images, audio clips, GIFs and much more. The maximum size of uploaded files is of 500 KB or up to ten (10) files per message.
Furthermore, MMS allows up to 1,000 characters of text in a message , which is much more than a standard SMS.
Communicator applications allow users to synchronize their conversations and SMS messages across multiple devices, ensuring they can access their messages from any device they use.
SMS number
If the user has associated an SMS number with their extension, they must open the screen Personal information to view it.
To see the contact's SMS number, right-click the contact, and in the drop-down menu, select the Icontact information.
Shared SMS number
An SMS number can be shared between several extensions. In the case where the user receives a message from the number used by multiple extensions, the SMS conversation will be displayed as in the image.
All extensions using this number can see all messages sent/received.
Furthermore, click the label Multiple users share this number in the conversation to see who is using this SMS number.
Messages from other users with whom you share the number will have a header with their name and avatar, as in the image. Your messages will not have this header.
Start an SMS conversation
There are two ways to start an SMS conversation:
The first is to open the SMS window by clicking on theSMS icon in the toolbar of the Communicator main window. The SMS window will appear. Then, enter the contact's name or number in the search field and click on the result to start a conversation.
The second method is to right-click on the contact and, in the drop-down menu, select Send SMS.
If the contact has multiple phone numbers, the pop-up will appear with all of their numbers and the user will be able to select the number they want to send an SMS/MMS message to.
SMS/MMS notifications
SMS/MMS notifications have the same behavior as chat notifications. When the SMS/MMS message is received, a notification appears.
All extensions using this number can see all messages sent/received.
The application will display the number of unread SMS messages in the main Communicator window, the taskbar, the status bar icon, and at the bottom of the SMS window.
To disable SMS notifications, go to Preferences > Alerts and uncheck the option Notify me when I receive a new SMS.
SMS notifications are unchecked by default.
SMS window
The SMS window is similar to the chat window. In the upper left of the blue bar is displayed the SMS number of the contact the user is currently talking to.
On the right side of the blue bar, there are two options:
Phone icon : Calls the currently selected user.
Delete icon : Deletes the current conversation.
The search field is located below the contact's SMS number. The user can use it to filter contacts, conversations, and search for messages.
Below the search field is a list of conversations of all the users' conversations, sorted by most recent activity.
Next to it is the message view. Deleting messages can be done by right-clicking the desired message and selecting the option Delete in the drop-down menu.
In addition to the Delete option, users can copy the highlighted text by selecting the Copy option from the drop-down menu.
The white rectangle represents outgoing messages and the blue one incoming messages.
An input field is located below the message view. Click the send SMS icon on the right side of the input field to send an SMS message. The key Entrer of the keyboard represents a new line.
It is not possible to send more than four (4) messages at a time.
Furthermore, the character counter appears above the SMS send icon as soon as you start typing the message.
You can upload a maximum of 500 KB of media data.
A folder icon used to send files is located next to the Send SMS icon.
Clicking the icon opens a dialog box in which the user can select up to ten (10) files to send to the currently selected conversation.
Please note that the supported MMS files are as follows:
– Image files: jpeg, png, gif
– Audio files: MP3, OGG, AMR
– Text files: PDF, Vcard, txt
– Video files: mp4
The application will compress images ( jpeg and png ) before sending, which gives the user the ability to send images larger than 500 KB. The application will preserve quality as much as possible and adjust the resolution if necessary.
If a file is selected, an SMS message becomes an MMS message, which is visible above the Send SMS/MMS icon as the counter of remaining kilobytes is displayed instead of the character counter.
After selecting the files, a thumbnail with the file name of each selected file will be displayed above the text area in the input field. In addition, it is possible to remove the selected files from the MMS message by hovering over them and selecting the blue circle with a white dash in the upper right corner of the thumbnail.
Communicator will automatically download all files smaller than 500 KB . If the file is not downloaded for any reason, the user can click on it to re-download it.
The associated SMS number (or the alert icon) is displayed at the bottom left of the SMS window. What is displayed depends on whether the SMS option is enabled or not.
If the user has associated an SMS number with their extension, the SMS number will appear. This means that they can send/receive SMS/MMS messages. Click on it to copy it to the clipboard.
Next to it is an indicator of unread SMS messages. It informs the user whether there are currently any unread SMS messages.
If there are unread messages, a red circle will appear with the number of missed SMS messages inside to draw the user's attention.
Click it to open a menu displaying a list of all conversations with unread messages, indicating the number of unread messages in parentheses.
There is also an option to mark all messages as read.
Marking all messages as read will effectively treat all messages as read and remove the unread count indicator even if you have not yet read them.
If the SMS number is not associated with the user’s extension, the alert icon will appear instead of the SMS number with the message No SMS number assigned.
This means that SMS/MMS messages cannot be sent or received.
SMS message statuses
The SMS/MMS message can have three states:
– Sending
– Sent (This does not mean that the message is delivered.)
– Failed (When the SMS/MMS message is in this state, click the Retry option to send it again.)
Enable/disable SMS messaging on the desktop
By default, SMS/MMS messaging is enabled in the Communicator Desktop application.
The user can disable it if they do not wish to use the Communicator application for SMS/MMS messaging.
To disable SMS/MMS messaging, go to the Preferences > Messaging and uncheck the option Enable SMS messaging on the desktop.
Unchecking this option will disable sending/receiving SMS/MMS messages via the Communicator Desktop application, but users can still send/receive SMS/MMS messages via the Communicator GO application.
Enabling/disabling desktop SMS messaging can only be done if the PBXware version is earlier than PBXware 7.
Export the old SMS history
To export an old SMS history, go to Preferences > Messaging and click the button Export SMS history.
The button Export SMS history will only be displayed when older SMS history exists.
After clicking the button, a file picker will appear, allowing selection of the desired location to export an old SMS history. All old SMS conversations will be exported as individual files in the new SMS folder created by the application. In the case of MMS messages, the application saves the existing files in the SMS folder.
