SMS and Chat are available in the Portal from the Contacts sidebar.
Starting A New Conversation
In the Contacts sidebar, click the message icon across from your user to start a new conversation.
Sending From
From the “new conversation” widget, users can select which number to send from by using the arrow at the bottom. Available SMS numbers are those that have been assigned to your user.
Sending To
Note: Chat or SMS?
Remember that a chat conversation is between internal users. An SMS conversation involves contacts with SMS-enabled phone numbers.
Begin typing in the user extension, their name, contact number, or a new number in the box at the top of the “new conversation” widget. It will autocomplete for existing contacts. Multiple contacts can be added to the conversation and removed by clicking the X before sending the message. After the message has been sent, contacts can be removed from the conversation by clicking on the person icon in the top panel and then X’ing out contacts as needed.
Existing Conversations
Click on the message icon across from a contact (hover over it, and the buttons will appear). This will open the conversation between you and the other user. If there is an existing conversation, it will have been saved in the widget.
Button Navigation
This section explains the various buttons in the chat/SMS widgets.
Message Composition
This area includes a paperclip icon for attachments and an emoji icon to select various emojis. In the message composition box, type a message and hit enter/return to send it.
Chat or SMS?
A chat is between internal users, and an SMS is between SMS-enabled phone numbers. The conversation widget will display the type of conversation that is happening.
Video Call
A video session is available in a chat conversation but not an SMS conversation. Click on the video icon to open the video options: start a video meeting, screen share with group, or schedule a meeting.
Call Using Chat…
The phone icon across from a contact will place a call to your phone and forward the call to the destination number.
More Settings
The more icon (3 horizontal dots) will open the options to turn off notifications for that conversation, rename it, leave it (if there are multiple members), or delete it.
Receiving Notifications
There are multiple notification options for inbound SMS/Chat, including:
- an audible tone
- the minimized conversation widget will turn green
- browser notification if you’re not active on the portal screen
Chatting with Offline Users
If a user is not currently logged into the portal, you can still send a chat, and they will be notified upon their next login. Logged-in users are indicated by the green presence icon.
Missed Messages Notifications
When you log in, your user account will display notifications of missed messages. Messages can be voicemails and/or chat/SMS messages.
Click on Messages to view unread messages. Missed chat/sms messages are bolded in the table.
Conversation History
On the Messages page in the Portal, in the “Chat and SMS” tab, clicking on a user/contact in a row will open the conversation history with that user. The history page will look similar to this:
Usage Stats
With SMS enabled and at least one user enabled for SMS, SMS usage will be displayed on the OfficeManager scope home page, like so:
