Sending Messages

How Many Messages can be sent per minute?

• The speed of message delivery will be determined by
  1. Network connection speed between your PC and eTXT
  2. Method of connecting to eTXT (email or via the web page)
  3. The destination carrier. Some carriers throttle message delivery based on their network requirements.

Can the source number be set when sending a message?

• Yes, however this is done at an account or company level and not per message.
  • Contact the provider of eTXT (Bulletin Wireless) to get more information.

Can the recipient see a name instead of a number when they receive a message?

• No, however this can be done (on some networks) via Bulletin Connect using rate codes if required.

Can I see when a recipient received a message on their handset?

• Yes. Although a few networks do not provide the message status information most do and they will be shown with the message in the eTXT Message Log.

Can I see when a recipient reads a SMS message I sent them?

• No. Standard SMS does not provide this sort of information.

How is sending text messages from eTXT different from usual text messaging?

• You have the convenience of messaging from a web site and being able to send a group message from your phone in a very cost-effective manner.

How do I send a message to a mobile?

• When you log in to eTXT you'll be presented with the main screen for sending messages. Here you simply type your message into the text box, select the contacts or Recipients you'd like to send the message to and click 'SEND'.

Can we set up eTXT so each login can only see certain numbers/groups?

The company admin user can close the address books so users can not send to any contacts that are not in the address book that the CA sets up.

How do I create a message that will be sent at a later time?

• Create the message as normal, by adding the recipients and entering the message text. Instead of clicking Send, click Send Later.
  This takes you into the Schedule Message screen where you can select from a calendar what day to send the message and then use the pull down menus to select the time you want the message sent.
  Then you click Save and you will be taken to the Confirm Schedule screen where you check the message content and confirm the time you'd like the message sent. If you are happy with the message content and the timing of the message delivery click 'OK' and you'll be taken back to the Send Message screen.

How can eTXT be automated to send the same message to different recipients on a regularly basis?

• Example: I'm looking to do is send monthly messages to our customers once their account reaches a prescribed limit. What sort of information we would need to provide in order to organise this? Would you simply require a file with the account numbers / mobile contact number, etc ?
  eTXT can be used to send out the same message to thousands of recipients at once. This can be done in a variety of ways to a varying level of automation depending on your needs, environment and technical level.

  Warning eTXT must not be used for unsolicited SPAM or marketing messages. Users that do so may have the service restricted or cut off. Download the NZ Unsolicited Electronic Messages Legislation.

  If you are using an email method to send eTXT ensure that the address you are sending from is configured in the eTXT system before you send the messages.

  1. manually import contact file into eTXT as an address list
     When you import an address list the contacts are available to be used in the eTXT web site or via email.
  2. email 'mail merge'
     eTXT can use email to SMS so you may be able to do a mail merge using your email client such as Outlook. Each email system differs in how they do mail merges so see your email user guide for more information.
  3. TXTmail for windows
     If the number file is automatically generated and stored in the same location each time, then maybe TXTmail can be used.
     See the TXTmail user guide about this feature that can use a file of numbers to send a message to. Download the latest TXTmail for Windows.
  4. Automated address book updates
     Another option is to automate an address book update so one of your eTXT address books always contains a current list of these numbers assigned to one group.
     See the user guide for information on automating address book updates.
     This option would require a plain text file with name, number and group/s (eg "MonthlyWarning"), one contact per line in the file.
     If this is automated the most current group of contacts would be in that address book and you could send a message to the MonthlyWarning group (eg MonthlyWarning@...) which would SMS all the current members of that group.
  5. Scripting and batch files
     Since eTXT can use email to send SMS messages, a simple windows batch file, linux shell script or even an MS Office macro could be quickly written to process your file of recipients and send the same message, or even a customised message, to each person . How this is done depends the language you use, the complexity of the message and your network environment.
     Some (free) command line tools* that you may find useful for sending automated email are
     • BLAT
     • SendEmail
     • bmail

* these links are provided for information only and without guarantee or any explicit or implied association. If you need assistance with any of these tools please contact the relevant vendor.

Receiving Messages

Where do replies go?

• Replies to messages sent from the eTXT site will come back to the site and show up in RECEIVED MESSAGES. Click the MESSAGES tab to see these messages. Replies are attached to the original message in a 'thread' so you can keep track of your conversations.
  In addition, if the SMS was sent via email, the reply will be sent back to the originating email address.

Address Books

How do I store contact numbers?

• Select Address Book from the Main Menu and then click 'Create Individual'. You then type in their contact details, and the new contact is added to your Address Book.

How do I create groups?

• Select Create Group from the Address Book Menu. All members in your Address Book are displayed on the page. You then assign a Name and an Alias to the group. Members can then be added to the group simply by selecting them and clicking the 'ADD' button.

Why can't I add a new group?

• In some instances the Company Administrator may deny access to add contacts to the Address Books. Contact your Company Administrator if this is the case.

How do I import an address book?

• Click on the Manage Address Books menu option . This option works best if you have existing contact lists stored in the form of a CSV (Comma Separated Values) file such as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Set your spreadsheet up with header rows of Number, Name, Alias, Group, Group Alias, and further rows containing the contacts you wish to import and eTXT will attempt to import the data. See Manage Address Books for more information.

Why am I getting warnings and/or errors when I try to import into an address book?

• It is important that the records you want to import conform to eTXT requirements. These are some common causes for imports not completing correctly.
  • eTXT can not import contacts or groups that already exist in your address books. If they already existing your address book, try copying them in the Manage Address Book screen.
  • Contact or Group names can not contain spaces or many other special characters. Remove the spaces from names or replace them with the underscore "_" character.
  • Aliases can not be longer than four characters.

Contact your service provider if you have problems with the data you are trying to import.

Message History and Reports

How do I view messages that I have sent and received?

• Click on the Message menu option to display a log of messages. You can also choose to filter by Sent, Received or Scheduled messages with details on their current status. eTXT functionality allows you to Forward (F), Reply (R) or delete any messages from the message log or message detail pages.

How do I change the Recent Messages display?

• Click on Display in Options and you can select the number of Recent Messages to display by setting values from 2 - 20 messages. Click SAVE to keep your changes.

Can I change the Sent/Received messages display?

• Simply select in the same way as the Recent Messages display and click SAVE.

Account Options

How do I change my options?

• Click on the Options tab in the top menu bar. This will take you to the Settings page where you can set your screen refresh rate, time zone and mobile shortcuts. The Screen Refresh Rate determines how often your browser checks for new messages. The Time zone option is used to determine where you are sending messages from and when scheduled messages are sent. Mobile shortcuts allow you to enter your common mobile phone prefixes and configure them to international format. Mobile shortcuts are used when sending messages, they allow you to enter local phone numbers in a format you are comfortable with, and eTXT will change it to the international format it requires.

Where do I set my Signature?

• In the Options menu under "Signature" and you can type in a signature that can be added to messages before you send them or automatically attached to all new messages sent via the web site (not email). Remember it is best with limited character numbers to keep your signature short.

More Information

What do people use this service for?

• The range of ways people use it is quite varied. Some people use it in ways we never intended and have managed to integrate it into their system very nicely.