Sending and Receiving Text Messages

If your account has text-enabled numbers, you can send and receive text messages (SMS and MMS) through your text log.  This article will cover sending or replying to single text messages (messages with a single recipient).  For more information about bulk text messaging, see the full article here.

Individual text messages are inherently limited to 160 characters. Longer messages of up to 1600 characters are sent by splitting the message into segments of 160 characters each (10 messages). Messages longer than 1600 characters will be truncated to fit. Special characters may use more than a single character when composing a message.

Starting a New Text Message

FROM THE TEXT LOG

1. Navigate to Activities → Texts.
2. Click the New Message button in the upper right corner of the text log page.
3. Use the drop-down menu to select the tracking number from which you want to send the message.
4. In the following field, select the country code and enter the phone number where you want to send the message.
5. Enter the message you would like to send in the Message field.
6. Click the arrow on the right side of the message box to send the message.

FROM THE CALL LOG

1. Navigate to Activities → Calls.
2. Use the search bar or scroll through the call log to find the contact you wish to message.
3. Click Edit to the left of the call record to open the detail panel.
4. Click the Text Message tab.
5. Use the drop-down menu to select the tracking number from which you wish to send the text message.  By default, this will be set to the tracking number that the contact called.
6. Enter the message you would like to send in the Message field.
7. Click the arrow on the right side of the message box to send the message.

File Attachments

The formats accepted for file attachments are JPEG, PNG, GIF, and vCard. The maximum size is 8 MB.

Replying to Text Messages

You can reply to messages from either the Call Log or the Text Log in your account.  To reply to messages, open the activity detail panel and select the Text Message tab, as in the instructions above.

As you reply to messages, the Text Message window will update to show the entire conversation.

How to Filter Profanity for SMS  

Using a Trigger, you can filter out unwanted profanity in inbound text messages. To set this up, you will need to go to Triggers:

Select → New Trigger

• Name your Trigger
• Add a description (Optional) 
• Next, go to Trigger (Drop-down menu). Select → When an activity is received 
• Toggle on: Trigger for all Activities 

• Select Workflow
• Add Condition → If SMS Body 
• Add Condition → Is
• Add Condition → Obscene 
• Add Action →  Redact Activity
  • Check the "You understand this action is not reversible" checkbox
• Select Save Changes

How to Apply the MMS Safe for Work Filter 

CallTrackingMetrics offers Image obscenity detection for MMS, a feature that classifies images for inbound Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) that restricts unwanted obscene images. (Additional costs per image apply and vary based on your plan.) The service cost is:

Marketing Pro Plan: $0.03 per image received 

Sales Engage Plan: $0.03 per image received 

Enterprise Plan: $0.03 per image received  

Growth Plan: $0.03 per image received  

Connect Plan: $0.02 per image received 

The recommended classifications for the images are as follows:

• Safe for Work (SFW)
• Not Safe for Work (NSFW)

In order to activate the service you will need to set up two triggers: one that you label SFW and the other you’ll label NSFW. To get started: 

• Go to Triggers and select → New Trigger 
• Name the Trigger SFW
• Add a description (Optional) 
• Next, go to: Trigger (drop-down menu) Select →  Through a voice menu or other trigger 
• Toggle on → Trigger for all events
• Go to Workflows and click Add Action
• Choose Tag Call and add SFW
• Click Save Changes
• Exit the trigger you created 

• Next, create another New Trigger
• Name your Trigger NSFW
• Add a description (Optional)
• Next, go to: Trigger (drop-down menu) Select →  Through a voice menu or other trigger
• Toggle on → Trigger for all events
• Go to Workflows and click Add Action
• Choose Redact Activity
• Choose Tag Call and add NSFW
• Click Save Changes
• Exit the trigger you created 

• Next, create another New Trigger
• Name your Trigger Image Obscenity Detection Test
• Add a description (Optional) 
• Next, go to: Trigger (drop-down menu) Select →  When an activity is received
• Toggle on → Trigger for all events
• Go to Workflows and click Add Workflow
• Add Condition → If Type
• Add Condition → Is any
• Add Condition → Inbound Text 
• Add Action →  Classify Image
• Go to Trigger Media When Not Safe for Work
• Select the new trigger marked: NSFW
• Next, go to Trigger Media When Safe for Work
• Select the trigger for SFW
• Click Save Changes