Messaging

RingRx includes a powerful text messaging system to collaborate with colleagues and patients

How RingRx messaging works

RingRx messaging can be used between:

Two RingRx Users

Messages between two staff in the same organization is completely secure and encrypted

Users can message each other by: :extension: This is an alias and will be converted into the username :username: Messages will arrive from/to the username

A RingRx User and a mobile phone number

A user sending a message from RingRx to a mobile phone number will be translated into the outbound RingRx number in Users - Outbound SMS Number

Inbound messages sent to a number will be routed to the destination in that phone numbers SMS Extension

This means that your administrator can setup many numbers that route back to one user, but that user will only be able to reply as one of them.

Important

Take care to make sure that a users outbound SMS number routes back in a way that makes sense to avoid confusion

A RingRx Group and a mobile phone number

In the case a Phone number has SMS routed to a group extension a different flow applies that is described in Group SMS routing

SMS Auto Responder

When a phone number routes directly to an end-user that user has the option of configuring auto-responses to their inbound messages as well.

An auto-response is sent only when ALL of the following criteria are met:

  • The inbound message was sent to a phone number whose SMS Extension is the user, not a group

  • The inbound message was not sent from another internal user

  • The user is SMS enabled

  • The SMS Auto-responder is enabled and has text populated

  • No text message rule matched the inbound message. A matching rule sends its own reply, or no reply.

  • The inbound message is not a carrier keyword such as STOP or HELP

  • The sender is a regular phone number

  • No auto-reply has been sent to this sender from this phone number in the last hour

The auto-response is sent from the phone number that received the message.

Important

We will only send one automatic reply to each sender from each of your phone numbers in any one hour. This includes replies from text message rules and from the SMS Auto-responder together. If the sender sends more messages in that hour, they do not get another reply. This is to avoid spam and loops.

Text Message Rules

Text message rules control what happens to an inbound text before anyone sees it. Use them to block unwanted senders, move unwanted texts to a Spam folder, or send an automatic reply such as an away message.

There are two kinds of rules:

Phone number rules:

An administrator sets these on a phone number. They apply to every text sent to that number, whether its SMS Extension is a user or a group. See Phone Numbers.

User rules:

An administrator sets these on a user, or users set their own on the My Phone page. They apply only to texts sent to a phone number whose SMS Extension is that user. See Users and My Phone.

If no rule matches a text, the text is delivered as usual. Thus you only need rules for the texts you want to handle differently.

How rules are checked

When a text arrives at one of your phone numbers:

  1. If the whole text is a carrier keyword (STOP, STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, QUIT, HELP or INFO), no rules are checked and no automatic reply is sent. The text is delivered as usual.

  2. The phone number rules are checked from the top of the list. The first rule that matches is used. The rules below it are not checked.

  3. If that rule blocks the text, processing stops. Otherwise, if the SMS Extension of the number is a user, the user rules are checked from the top of the list. The first rule that matches and is active at that time is used.

  4. One automatic reply is sent at most (see Automatic replies).

  5. The text is delivered, moved to the user’s Spam folder, or blocked.

Note

Texts between two RingRx users never go through rules. Texts to a phone number whose SMS Extension is a group only go through the phone number rules.

Matching a text

Each rule has two filters, and a text must pass both. A blank filter matches all texts.

From:

Any sender, One number (enter the full phone number) or Starts with (enter a country or area code, for example +44 or 1415).

Message:

Any message, Contains words or Pattern.

Contains words matches a text that has any one of the words, in upper or lower case. Separate the words with commas, for example gift card, wire transfer, promo.

Pattern is a regular expression for advanced users. It is case-sensitive. Start it with (?i) to ignore case, for example (?i)\brefill\b. A pattern can have 255 characters at most.

Use the Try it box in the rule dialog to test a sample message against your words or pattern before you save the rule.

Actions

Phone number rules:

Block:

The text is not delivered. Nobody sees it, and integrations and callbacks do not run. User rules are not checked.

Deliver:

The auto-reply is sent and the text is delivered as usual. User rules are still checked.

User rules:

Send to Spam:

The text goes to the user’s Spam folder. The phones and mobile app do not ring, and no push or email alert is sent. Integrations and callbacks do not run.

Deliver:

The auto-reply is sent and the text is delivered as usual.

A Deliver rule must have an auto-reply, because a text that matches no rule is delivered anyway. For Block and Send to Spam the auto-reply is optional.

Automatic replies

  • An auto-reply can have 320 characters at most. The rule dialog shows the number of characters and SMS segments.

  • The reply is sent from the phone number that received the text.

  • One reply is sent at most for each text. A phone number rule’s reply is used first. If it has none, the user rule’s reply is used. The user’s SMS Auto Responder is used only if no rule matched.

  • Each sender gets one automatic reply an hour at most from each of your phone numbers. This includes rule replies and the SMS Auto-responder together.

  • Replies from user rules show in the user’s Sent folder.

  • Replies are not sent to carrier keywords (STOP, HELP and similar) or to senders that are not regular phone numbers.

When a user rule applies

User rules have a schedule. Phone number rules always apply.

Always:

The rule always applies.

Weekly:

The rule applies on the days you select, all day or between two times. A window that passes midnight (for example 6:00 PM to 8:00 AM) is saved as two rules, one before and one after midnight.

One time:

The rule applies from one date and time to another, for example while you are on vacation. The rule is deleted after it ends.

Always and Weekly rules can also have a Stop after date. The rule is deleted after the end of that day.

All days and times are in the account time zone. The rule list shows the status of each rule: Active now, Off now, Starts (with the date) or Active · ends (with the date).

When you add a user rule you can start from a template:

I’m away:

A one-time rule that delivers texts and sends an away message.

After hours:

A weekday evening rule that delivers texts and sends an after-hours message.

Filter to Spam:

Moves texts that contain “promo” or “unsubscribe” to Spam.

Editing rules

Rules are in a Text Message Rules panel. Click Edit to change the rules, then Save to apply all your changes together, or Cancel to discard them.

  • Add Text Rule opens the rule dialog. The pencil icon edits a rule and the trash icon deletes it.

  • The order of the list is the order in which rules are checked. Drag a rule, or use the up and down arrows, to change its position.

  • Changes take effect as soon as you save.

A phone number can have 100 text message rules, and a user can have 50. If you try to save more, the portal shows an error and does not save.

The Spam folder

Texts that a Send to Spam rule matches go to the Spam tab of Messages & Faxes. The tab shows the number of unread spam texts.

Not spam:

Moves the text to your Inbox. The rule that matched is not changed, so the next text from that sender also goes to Spam. Edit your text message rules to stop this.

Move to Trash:

Moves the text to Trash.

Texts in Spam do not count toward the mailbox quota or the unread message counts. They are deleted on the same schedule as your other text messages.

Important

A user with no mailbox has no Spam folder. Texts that a Send to Spam rule matches for that user are discarded.

Messaging limitations

Supported messaging

Text messaging:

Text based messages

URLs and hyperlinks:

text URLs and hyperlinks

Unsupported messaging

MMS messages:

Picture, video or other multimedia messaging is not presently supported

Group messages:

Messages to a list or group of users will be sent as an individual message to each party.