1Overview #
Licence. A WhatsApp profile needs WhatsApp, a feature of the Communication Hub bought on its own. Without it the WhatsApp type is not offered for a new profile, a WhatsApp profile cannot be saved, and nothing is sent through one; SMS profiles do not need it.
2What is this page? #
- The desktop's SMS/WhatsApp Profile screen. Find (F2) loads a profile, Add (F3) creates, Modify (F4) edits, Save (F5) stores, Esc cancels an edit or closes the page.
- Duplicate copies the loaded profile under a new name (the FTP password is not copied).
- Nothing can be changed in View mode. After a save the page stays on the saved profile and lists any warnings.
3Step by step #
- Press Add (F3) , key a name and pick SMS or WhatsApp .
- Pick the sending account , then what the profile is used for and the voucher type, module or report.
- SMS: type the message. Put the cursor where a value belongs and click a placeholder on the right. Watch the counter under the box.
- WhatsApp: type the template name from your provider's portal, then the template values in the order the template expects.
- Add any default numbers that should always get a copy.
- WhatsApp documents: switch on Attach printed voucher , pick the format and how it is sent (fixed link or FTP upload).
- Switch Default on if senders should pick this profile first, then Save (F5) .
4Length and cost (SMS) #
- Plain text (GSM-7) fits 160 characters in one SMS; longer messages are split into parts of 153 .
- One character outside that set - a curly quote, an emoji, most non-English letters - makes the whole message Unicode: 70 characters, or 67 per part. The counter names the character.
- Characters such as [ ] { } ~ ^ | € count twice.
- The counter turns amber past 3 parts and red past 10. Providers usually charge per part.
- Placeholders are counted as typed: @ counts 10 characters although the amount may be shorter or longer.
5Placeholders #
- The list on the right follows the used for choice - pick the voucher type, module or report first.
- Click a placeholder to insert it where the cursor was in the message, the template values or the default numbers.
- @ - voucher values (@ , @ , @ , …), a module's fields, or a report's @ / @ / @ values.
- {MASTERSECTION.Column} / {STDVARIABLE.Column} - voucher header and standard values.
- $Name - standard variables such as $Today.
- A placeholder the page does not know is flagged with a suggestion; it is saved, but the sender will most likely send it as typed.
6Fields #
- Profile name - required, up to 100 characters, unique.
- Type - SMS or WhatsApp. Sending account - required.
- Used for - Voucher, Other or Custom Reports, with the voucher type / module / report (required).
- Message - required, up to 2048 characters. WhatsApp: the template name, one line.
- Default numbers - 7 to 15 digits each (an optional +), or a placeholder, separated by commas.
- Report sending - the sending option and the mobile-number column; with FTP upload also the voucher, type, party and date columns.
- Document (WhatsApp) - printed voucher format; a fixed https link, or an ftp:// folder with user, password and download address. (UserSession.IsErpLicensed) {
- Applicable branches (ERP edition) - none ticked means every branch. }
7Integrity rules #
- The name is unique ; a rename carries to the SMS account and lead settings that use it.
- Only one default per voucher type, module or report may cover a branch; the save names the profile that already is.
- A profile an SMS account or the lead settings use cannot be deleted .
- The report and its columns must exist; the print format must belong to the chosen voucher type or module.
- The FTP password is stored encrypted, the way the desktop reads it, and never shown again.
- Finding, adding, changing and deleting need Find / Create / Alter / Delete on SMS Template Definition in User Manager (Masters tab). The server checks them and the database checks them again.
- Every problem is listed at once, numbered.
8If something does not work #
"Another profile is already named '...'." / "Profile name can't exceed ... characters."
- Why
- Profiles are picked by name, and names are unique.
- What to do
- Choose a free, short name.
"Pick the sending account." / "The account '...' does not exist (Settings > SMS accounts)."
- Why
- A profile sends through an account, and the one named has gone.
- What to do
- Pick an account that exists.
"The SMS account '...' is disabled - nothing will be sent until it is enabled."
- Why
- The profile will save, but nothing goes out.
- What to do
- Enable the account.
"Pick the voucher type." / "Pick the print format to attach." / "Enter the provider's template name."
- Why
- A message profile says what it is sent against, what it attaches, and which approved template it uses.
- What to do
- Fill them; the provider's template name must match theirs exactly.
"That report does not allow sending SMS (report designer: Allow SMS)."
- Why
- The report itself must permit it.
- What to do
- Turn it on in the report's design.
"The message can't be blank."
- Why
- There is nothing to send.
- What to do
- Write the message, or pick the template.
"The document link must be a full http:// or https:// address." / "The download address must start with http:// or https://."
- Why
- A link in a message has to be a real, absolute address.
- What to do
- Paste the full address, scheme included.
"The FTP user name can't exceed 256 characters." / "The FTP password is too long to store."
- Why
- The credentials are longer than the columns hold.
- What to do
- Shorten them, or use another transfer method.
Messages never arrive although the profile tests fine
- Why
- Delivery belongs to the gateway: a template not approved, a sender id not registered, or no balance stops it after we hand it over.
- What to do
- Check the gateway's own dashboard and the Notification Log.
This is the help InvoiceNET® ERP shows beside the SMS/WhatsApp Profiles screen. Whether you have the screen depends on the modules of your licence and the rights your administrator has given you.
See this screen for yourself
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