Messages (SMS/MMS) – Conversations | Tasks | Blocking Spam

• Access
• Overview---
  
  • Filtering Conversations
• Message Content Options
• Conversation Options---
  
  • Blocking/Unblocking Number
• Assigning Conversations as Tasks
• Starting a New Conversation ---
  
  • Entering Contacts and Selecting an SMS Line 
  • Spell Checking and SMS Signature 
  • Attaching Files, Voice Notes, and Emojis
• Pre-Message Templates
• Scheduled Messages
• Undelivered Messages

Access

Use the (Messages) icon on the leftpanel menu to access the Messages screen.

If you don't see the Messages icon, it means your Telebroad account role is missing the TeleConsole SMS permission. Assuming there is no reason you shouldn't send and receive messages, you can ask your administrator to add the SMS permission to your role or give you a role that includes it.

Overview

On the Messages screen you can send and receive SMS/MMS messages to external contacts  with your Telebroad SMS line (Telebroad SMS lines are separate from Telebroad phone lines.) If you need to message internal contacts use the Team Chat feature.

   If you cannot see your messages or conversation refer to this article for troubleshooting suggestions.

The Messages Screen shows existing conversations on the left and their content on the right.

Existing SMS/MMS conversations

A conversation is a sequence of messages between you and another party. 

Each conversation box indicates the name or number of the other party, the time the last message was sent or received, and the content of the last message in the conversation – text, image, PDF, voice note (audio attachment), or a file.

Filtering Conversations

With the filter button ( ) you can select to display all or certain conversations:

• All Conversations: Display both read and unread conversations.
  
  
• Unread: Display only new conversations that you have not opened yet. Unread conversations appear in bold type in the conversations list. 
  
  After opening a conversation, you can still mark it as unread for future reference from the conversation options.
  
  
• New plus my conversations: Display new conversation as well as conversation you have assigned as tasks to yourself.
  
  
• Filter SMS numbers: Check to show conversations you sent or received from specific SMS numbers that belong to your account. 

  
  

   If you uncheck all numbers here you will not see any conversations!
  
  
• My Conversations: Display only conversations you assigned as tasks to yourself.
  
  
• Unresolved: Display unresolved conversations you assigned as tasks to yourself or to other users.

Assigning conversations as tasks is explained below. 

Conversation Content/Options or New Conversation

This area shows the messages and attachments for a selected conversation or where you can compose a new conversation. You can continue a conversation with a text message or attach images, files, and voice notes. These work just the same as when starting a new conversation. See MMS options below.

The messages and attachments that you sent are aligned to the right.

The messages and attachments that you received from the other party are aligned to the left.

Conversations are broken into segments marked by   . A new segment starts whenever the other party responds or sends you a new message.

Message Content Options

The mini-menu ( ) for message content options is hidden by default. Tap a message or hover your mouse over it to show it!

Images, files, PDFs, and voice notes in existing conversations can be downloaded and viewed using the Download Manager.

  Be careful downloading any files (and for that matter any attachments) that arrive from contacts or numbers you are not familiar with. PDFs, images, and voice notes can be viewed or played directly in the TeleConsole which is safer than downloading them.

These are the options available for message content:

• Phone number links – phone numbers in conversation are automatically converted to links. Clicking or tapping such a link will prompt you to select the TeleConole or other calling apps to place a call to the number. You can also select web browsers to perform a web search for the number.
  
  
  
  
• Text – you can Copy text to paste it into any text fields in the TeleConsole or other programs. If you Delete the text it will only delete the selected message and not the entire conversation (to delete a conversation see conversation options.)
  
  
  
  
• Image– you can Download an image or Delete it from the conversation.
  
  Selecting the image will open it in a TeleConsole preview window.
  
  
  
  
• Voice note – play/pause the note with the / button. Control the playback speed by selecting 1X. You can also Download the voice note or Delete it from the conversation.
  
  
• PDF file – you can Download the PDF attachment or Delete it from the conversation.
  
  Select View PDF in Teleconsole to open a preview window. In the preview window, you can select to show the PDF thumbnails on the left. You have to close the preview window to go back to the TeleConsole.
  
  Instead, if you select View in new window (not supported on the Web version), another TeleConsole window will open. You can keep working with the main TeleConsole window while viewing the content of the PDF on the other window as needed.
  
  
  
  
• Files – attachments that are not PDFs or images cannot be previewed in the TeleConsole. Use the mini menu to Download a file and open it from the Download Manager or Delete it from the conversation.
  
  Again, be cautious downloading and opening files from unfamiliar contacts or numbers.
  
  
  

Conversation Options

Conversation options are available at the top-right corner and apply to the whole conversation (for message content options see the previous section.)

• Place a call () to the person whom you are conversing with. The keypad screen will open with the other party's number automatically inserted in the call recipient's field.
  
  
• Contact options () —
  
  
  • If the other party already exists in your contacts, this will open their details in the contacts screen.
    
    
  • If the person does not exist in your contacts, you will get the option to Create new contact with their number or Add (their number) to existing contact. See more about creating new contacts here.
    
    
    
• New window () – this will open a TeleConsole window with the current conversation, allowing you to have access to its content while using the main TeleConsole window for other functions. You can open multiple conversation windows this way.

  
  

  This option is not available on the Web version but instead, you can manually open additional TeleConsole tabs. The easiest way, if your browser supports it, is to duplicate the current tab.
  
  
  
  
• Select to display additional options –
  
  
  • Download the conversation ( ) as a CSV file. The file will include the text of the conversation and fields with message details such as number, time, message ID, etc. Emojis will be included but can only be viewed in a text editor. Any other attachments are not included but can be downloaded separately as explained above.
    
    
    
    
  • Block number ( ) to automatically reject spam messages or anyone you don't want to receive SMS/MMS messages from.
    
    Blocking is applied per channel and to completely block a number you need to block it across all of your SMS channels.
    
    Blocked conversations are marked with icon.
    
    
    
    The blocked number will be added to the Blocked Numbers List that is accessible in the Messages Settings.
    
    If a number is already blocked you will see the option to Unblock number or you can remove it from the Blocked Numbers list in the Messages Settings.
    
    
    
    Messages from blocked contacts will be automatically rejected, however calls from these contacts will still be accepted! To block phone calls you need to go to the Calls Log screen.
    
    
  • Mark as unread ( ) – will tag the conversation as unread displaying it in bold type in the existing conversations list. This is useful for reminding yourself to address it again at a later time.
    
    To mark a conversation as read simply select it.
    
    Under account options you also have the option to Mark all notifications as read which will reset all the badge counters and also mark all your messages/conversations as having been read.
    
    
  • Delete () – to delete the entire conversation.
    
    To delete a message inside the conversation, see the message content options above.

Assigning Conversations as Tasks

SMS Groups and Tasks

An SMS group is created when an administrator assigns the same SMS phone number to several agents. This is done in the Admin Center's general settings of the number. The group members can view and access all the messages, sent or received, for the number.

The tasks feature helps the group members decide who is responsible for particular messages by assigning messages to themselves or to other group members.

With the filtering options you can focus on conversations you assigned to yourself, unassigned conversations, or tasks that have not been resolved yet. 

Assigning Conversations as Tasks

Use the Assign () button to assign a conversation as a task.

You can do one of the following:

• Select Assign to me to assign the conversation to yourself.
  
  
• Select an agent to assign (or reassign) a conversation to (if the conversation has been already assigned to an agent their name will be grayed out).
  
  To make the agent aware of the task assignment they will receive an email with the conversation details.
  
  
  
  

The name of the agent who was assigned to the conversation appears under the sender's number and in the body of the conversation. The conversation is also marked with an icon of the initials of the agent. The icon's color is specific to each agent.

Note that the time stamp for the conversation ("2 minutes ago" in the sample figure) indicates the sending or receiving of the last message in the conversation and not when the conversation was assigned as a task. 

Unassigning, Resolving, and Reopening Tasks

You can unassign a conversation by selecting Assign and Unassign ().  The agent's initials icon will be removed.

Once a task has been completed use the Resolve button ( ) to mark it as such. The conversation will appear greyed out in the conversations list with  icon (the time stamp for the conversation keeps referring to the last message and not to when the task was resolved.)

You can mark conversations as resolved, even if you have not assigned them to anyone, as a visual way to indicate they have already been handled.

A resolved task can be reassigned to the last agent who handled it with the Reopen () button. If you have not previously assigned it (meaning you just marked it as Resolved), reopening it will assign it to you.

Starting a New Conversation

To compose a new SMS/MMS conversation select on the top-left of the screen.

The message will be sent from your default SMS number (selected in Messages Settings). If you have multiple SMS numbers, you can select which one to use for outgoing messages in the From: field (see the sample screenshot in the previous section.)

Entering Contacts and Selecting an SMS Line

You can enter one or several recipient names or phone numbers in the To: field. Matching results, for both company and personal contacts, will be shown as you type. 

• Company contacts need to have an active business SMS number, otherwise use the direct chat feature to message them instead (which is preferable in any case.)
  
  
• If you enter a phone number, please use a ten-digit format – a three-digit area code and a seven-digit number.
  
  
• If a contact has more than one phone number all will be shown. Select the one labeled Mobile.
  
  
  

The name or number of contacts that you started conversations with recently appears under the RECENTLY SENT list and can be selected for the To: field as recipients. All Company Contacts appear first, followed by your personal contacts.

You can select   to add the number as a new contact (if the contact already exists the button will open their details instead.) To remove an item from the list, hover your mouse over it and select  . 

Note that the RECENTLY SENT list is specific to the messages screen. The keypad and fax screens have their own separate "Recent Contacts" list! Also, the list is only available locally and is not shared with other devices where you use your account.

Spell Checking and SMS Signature

Enter your message in the Type a message field and select to send it. Note that the send button is split into two. The left is to send the message immediately and the right for a scheduled delivery. 

On the desktop versions you can right-click (control-click on a Mac) misspelled words that are underlined in red to get spelling suggestions. Select Add to dictionary to make the spell checker ignore the selected word (such as names or technical terms.)

If you have added an SMS signature in the TeleConsole settings, it will automatically appear just under your message.

Once delivered to the recipient, the signature appears together with your message, like this –

Attaching Files, Voice Notes, and Emojis

You can enhance basic SMS messages with multimedia elements – files, images, voice notes, and emojis. Doing so converts the message to an MMS message. This makes no difference to you but may result in additional fees to the recipient, depending on their mobile plan.

You can send up to 4 attachments with each message (voice notes count as attachments). You can add as many emojis as you like (with consideration to a limit of 1600 characters on MMS messages.)

Attaching Files or Images

Use the   button to navigate and attach files or images from your device. The files you attach show up as boxes. Images show up as a thumbnail. Remove either by selecting .

You can preview images and PDF files directly in the TeleConsole before you send your message, by selecting the image thumbnail or the View PDF in the TeleConsole option. Other types of files cannot be previewed.

On the desktop versions, you can also drag and drop files/images from other windows over the message to attach them.

Recording Voice Notes

Instead of typing a long message you can record voice notes by selecting   (you can still add text to the message if you want.) The message will start recording instantly and audio waveforms will show as you speak.

Select to stop the recording and attach the voice note to your message. Select to stop and discard the recording.

If the recording option is not working you should test (and possibly change) the default microphone. You can do this from the Sound & Devices quick menu or from the TeleConsole settings. If you can't solve the problem in the TeleConsole try changing the audio configuration from the settings of your device.

Use to preview a voice note before sending it. Select 1X to change the playback preview speed of the voice note.

Emojis

Insert emojis in your message with the    button.

Find different emojis based on the categories at the top of the windows, by scrolling down, or by typing a term in the search field. 

You can select a color for emojis by clicking at the bottom-right of the window. It is only possible to change the color of emojis from the People & Body category ().

Pre-Message Templates

Pre-Message templates let you keep and send messages you frequently use so you don't have to type or copy-paste them every time.

Open an existing conversation or start a new one and select  to use and manage your templates. The templates list will be empty the first time you access it.

Select ADD PRE-MESSAGE to create a new template. Enter the Template Description and the Message content and select SAVE.

Select USE next to any template to insert it into the message box.

Note that the text of the template will overwrite any text you have already written in the message box. So you should edit and add any additional text in the message box after you insert the template.

You can select  to edit or delete existing templates.

Your templates are kept on your TeleCosole account and can be accessed from any TeleConsole desktop client.

Scheduled Messages

Sometimes you may want to send a message at a later time when you might not be available to write it.

You can do this by selecting   on the right side of the send button to bring up the Schedule message options.

You can select from a few pre-defined choices or select a Custom time and select a specific date and time of your choice.

The message will show in the conversation with a "Send schedules for..." confirmation. The Telebroad server will deliver it at the selected time. If you select CANCEL in the confirmation box the message will be removed from the conversation and will not be delivered.

If you send a regular message after a scheduled message it will still be delivered instantly to the recipient as usual.

Undelivered Messages

You obviously need to select a number that can receive SMS messages – a real mobile number or a VoIP number that is compatible with SMS (like a Telebroad business SMS number), otherwise the message will not be delivered. 

An undelivered message will be marked with    in the conversation content window.

If you click the    icon, you will see a notice about the destination number being unable to receive SMS messages.

To fix this copy the content of the message and start a new conversation with the correct phone number!