Guides | Messenger Pro

Messenger-Pro is a standalone PC application with which you can manage your entire messaging need from your desktop in your office, home-office or laptop. It doesn't use a web browser. You simply click open the application and everything you need is there.This Guide is designed to help you through the registration process and to provide assistance with using Clickatell Messenger-Pro.

Each of these is described in more detail on its own. To go directly to a particular section, click on the appropriate link.

Installing Messenger-Pro

If you want to install Clickatell Messenger-PRO, you will first need to download the product. Please go to http://www.clickatell.com/products/messenger_pro.php and click on the “download” button to begin this process. It is a small application and should take only a few minutes or less to download.

Install the application by double-clicking on the installer icon in the location where you have saved it, and follow the prompts that appear.

After installation, you will be able to launch the application by clicking on the Messenger-Pro icon in the system tray at the bottom right hand corner of your screen.

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Registration in Messenger-Pro

New users need to register first by clicking on the Register button and completing the form. If you are an existing user, simply enter your details at the Login section.

If you have previously registered for an older version of Messenger-PRO, please note that you will not be able to use any of that product’s details with the new version, and that you will need to re-register. Your credits can however be transferred.

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Options in Messenger-Pro

To customise Messenger-Pro, please select the options tab and choose your preferred settings at the different sections.

PREFERENCES:
If you only send to local numbers, use the "Default Country Prefix" to add the international dialing prefix of your country. This will be prepended with the correct prefix to all numbers starting with a zero. If you do not select a country prefix, please ensure that all mobile numbers that you send a message to are written in the International Mobile Format.

The Signature field should contain any text that you would like to add to the end of all your outgoing SMS's. TIP: Do not make your signature too long, as this will be part of the 160 character limit per SMS.

The Send Delivery Acknowledgements feature will notify you in your Outbox when your message is successfully delivered to a recipient. Ordinarily the default status will only reveal that the message has been delivered to the gateway.

Spanning multiple SMS messages will allow for concatenation. This is necessary for sending messages longer than 160 characters, but remember that this will cost you more for each additional message spanned.

By selecting the "Do not confirm message before sending" box, your message will be sent immediately without the "Message Confirmation" pop-up being displayed. TIP: The "Message Confirmation" pop-up is useful if you would like to verify your message and the recipients you are sending it to.

SEND OPTIONS:
The option "I am working online (send immediately)" will ensure that messages are sent immediately.

When choosing the option "I am working offline (send action required)", messages are listed as "pending" in your Outbox.

TIP: Choose the online option if you are connected to the Internet and wish to send immediately by default.

SCHEDULED MESSAGES DEFAULTS:
If you choose the option "Upload messages to server if messages are within 1-7 days from scheduled date" as your default for all messages, the messages will be kept in the Outbox until the "X" number of days before the scheduled date is reached. While the messages are in the Outbox, you will still be able to edit the messages. Once the "X" number of days before the scheduled date is reached, the messages will be uploaded to the server and you will not be able to edit or change it.

The option "Keep messages local until the scheduled delivery time" will keep the messages in the Outbox where you will be able to edit or change the messages until it is sent.

TIP: If you use this option, but you are not online at the time when the message is scheduled to be sent, the messages will not be sent. Please ensure that you are online at the scheduled times when choosing the option "Keep messages local until the scheduled delivery time".

EXTRA SETTINGS:
In your Extra Settings, the Sender ID allows you to specify the "From" field that appears on a recipients handset if a delivery route that supports this feature is available. For example if you set your Sender ID to "Your Company" the message will appear to have come from "Your Company" rather than a number.

Please note that Sender IDs need to be approved by Clickatell. If a Sender ID is set that is not approved, then the Sender ID will be automatically overridden by a default number assigned by Clickatell when a message is sent.

You can register and manage Sender IDs by logging into your Messenger PRO online account, selecting "My Settings" from the menu at the top and then selecting "Manage Sender ID" from the menu on the left.

Selecting the "Force Sender ID" option:
By choosing to force the Sender ID, it will ensure that your customized Sender ID will be used - if a delivery route that supports this feature is available. This may cost additional credits as the message may have to be delivered through a different gateway. If a route is not available then the message will fail.

EXAMPLE: You send a message that normally costs 1 credit, but you are not able to deliver the message with a Sender ID of your choice. Forcing the Sender ID will ensure that your message appears to come from your customized Sender ID that you set. However the message may cost up to 4 credits to deliver.

PLEASE NOTE: This feature will only apply to network operators who support this feature. For example, customers cannot use custom Sender IDs when delivering messages to the US due to certain limitations with US network operators. For a full list of network operators that support this feature, please go to basic coverage and click on the relevant country. Please note that alpha and numeric must be supported in order to enable the Sender ID feature.

Deselecting "Force Sender ID":
Sender ID will appear on the recipients' handset if a delivery route that supports this feature is available. By deselecting the "Force Sender ID" option, the message will still be delivered to the number, but it will appear from the default Clickatell number and not the Sender ID you set. Thus ensuring that the message is still delivered, even if the recipient is on a Network that does not support Sender ID.

Also refer to the Sender ID document.

HTTP PROXY SETTINGS:
In order to connect to the internet to access our server, Messenger-Pro uses the properties in your web browser as the default setting. Should you need to change these properties, you can do this within your HTTP Proxy Settings. By clicking on the "Test" button you will be able to gauge whether a successful connection has been made.

OUTLOOK PROFILE SETTINGS:
If you wish to use your Outlook address book , please provide your profile name and password for easy lookups. Without this, the lookups from within your Messenger-PRO address book will not function. Lookups are also available from your Windows Address Book (WAB) by ticking the appropriate radio button.

TIP: To update information in your Contacts go to the SMS screen, right click on "Outlook" or "Recent" and choose "rebuild."

REDEEM VOUCHER:
If you have any Clickatell Vouchers that you would like to redeem, you can enter your voucher number into the Redeem Voucher box, and click the "Redeem" button to top up your balance.

Clicking on the "Buy Credits" button will take you to the Clickatell website, where you need to complete the purchasing process.

START MINIMISED:
This means that the Messenger-Pro program window will minimize to a button on the Windows taskbar.

START ON WINDOWS STARTUP:
By choosing this option, the Messenger-Pro program will start automatically when you start-up your PC.

HELP:
Clicking on the "Help" button will take you to the detailed Messenger-Pro Help section available on the website.

BALANCE:
This is an indication of the amount of credits you have available to use in Messenger-Pro.

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Send SMS in Messenger-Pro

TO:
In order to send an SMS, you either need to type in a number (or numbers) in the to field, or select recipients from the Contacts screen on the right of the interface. Please see the correct NUMBER FORMAT for all numbers.

TIP: For your convenience, you can buy credits at any time, by simply clicking on the "Buy Credits" button on the SMS screen. This will take you to the Clickatell website, where you need to complete the purchasing process.

FROM (SENDER ID):
This "From (Sender ID)" field allows you to specify the number or company name that your message will appear to come from on a recipient's handset.

Please note that each customized Sender IDs must be registered and authenticatied with Clickatell. If a Sender ID is set that is not approved, then the Sender ID will be automatically overridden by a default number assigned by Clickatell when a message is sent. You can register Sender IDs by logging into your Messenger PRO online account, selecting "My Settings" from the menu at the top and then selecting "Manage Sender ID" from the menu on the left.

Read more about the extra settings for Sender ID under the "Options" section of this document. Also refer to the Sender ID document.

MESSAGE:
In the message area, type the message you wish to send. The amount of characters used by your message will be indicated.

The message field can be customised by clicking on one of the field insertion buttons, for example the <<Name>>, <<Title>>, <<Surname>>, <<Custom>> or <<Signature>> buttons. This is useful when you want to personalise the message or if you need to send the same message to multiple recipients. When sending the message, Clickatell will merge the necessary information for you.

For instance, if you want to personalise all messages to a group of people, you can click on the <<Name>> button which will insert the recipient's first name into the message.

You can select up to 10 different custom fields, which can be used for information like Account Number, Reference Number, Outstanding Balance, etc.

MESSAGE TYPE:
You can choose the message type in the "message type" drop-down menu. Please note that a flash message will appear directly on the handset screen, but cannot be saved on some handsets.

SEND:
When you are ready to send your message, click the "Send SMS" button. A "Message Confirmation" screen, confirming all your message settings will pop-up. You can choose to proceed with sending the message, or choose "Cancel" if you wish to edit your message.

TIP: If you do not wish to see the "Message Confirmation" screen each time you send a message, you can turn it off. Click on the "Options" tab and at the "Preferences" section, deselect the "Do not confirm message before sending" option.

SCHEDULE:
In order to schedule a message for a specific day or time in the future, click on the "Schedule" button instead of the "Send" button. This will open a pop-up "Message Schedule" screen, which will allow you to specify when the message should be sent. Please note that scheduled messages remain on your machine until the scheduled time, which means that your machine must be on, the application running and you must be connected to the Internet when the schedule arrives.

TIP: Read more about the extra settings at "Scheduled message defaults" under the "Options" section of this document.

CLEAR SMS:
Clicking the "Clear SMS" button will delete all information from the "To" and "Message" fields.

CONTACTS:
In order to expand the contacts directories listed in the right-hand screen, double-click on the name, eg "Address Book". This will display all the groups in that directory.

You can select either groups or individuals as recipients by clicking the selection boxes next to the name of the recipients, and expand or reduce the tree menu structure by clicking on the "+" and "-" signs.

TIP: Numbers entered in the "To" field manually, will be added to the "Recent" folder under the "Contacts" section. However, to permanently add a new recipient to your address book, you will first need to create a new group in the Addresses section. Click the "Addresses" button at the top menu. Please refer to the section "Addresses" in this document for more detailed information.

RECIPIENTS SELECTED:
The number of recipients selected from your contacts will be displayed at the top right of the contacts section.

QUICK SEARCH:
This will search for contacts in your Messenger-Pro Address Book, Windows Address Book and Outlook Address Book.

BALANCE:
The balance of your credits available will be indicated here.

BUY CREDITS:
You can buy credits at any time, by simply clicking on the "Buy Credits" button on the SMS screen. This will take you to the Clickatell website, where you need to complete the purchasing process.

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Address book in Messenger-Pro

GROUPS:
Your Messenger-Pro address book is stored on your machine, and consists of groups and recipients. To add a list of multiple contacts, refer to the "Upload/Import" section below.

TIP: Right clicking on a Group will give you a number of options like "New Group", "Delete Group", "Rename Group" and more.

NEW GROUPS:
In order to add any contact, first create a new group. You can now highlight the group and click on the "new contact" button, which will allow you to add a single contact.

QUICK SEARCH:
This will search for contacts in your Messenger-Pro Address Book, Windows Address Book (WAB) and Outlook Address Book.

MEMBERS OF GROUP:
The names of the contacts relevant to the selected group will be displayed.

TIP: Right clicking on a name within a group will give you a number of options like "New Contact", "Edit Contact", "Delete Contact" and more.

NEW CONTACT:
In order to add any contacts, first create a new group. Or select an existing group to add contacts to that group.

A new contact can belong to a number of groups at the same time. These contacts will all be saved in the Messenger-Pro Address Book.

You can select up to 10 different custom fields, which can be used for information like Account Number, Reference Number, Outstanding Balance, etc.

UPLOAD / IMPORT:

In order to add, upload or import multiple contacts at the same time, click on the "Upload/Import" button. The "Browse" button will allow you to choose the location where you want to locate a previously created CSV (comma-separated version) file or folder.

Please note that you need the correct headers in your file (headers are the first line of entries) and that the FName & Mobile Number are required fields.

To add a list of multiple contacts, you will need to create a CSV file in MS Excel with the required headers and save it as a CSV file. Then upload this file to Messenger-Pro by clicking on the "Upload/Import" button and following the steps as instructed.

EXPORT:
This will allow you to export contacts from your Messenger-Pro Address Book and to save it in a folder or destination of your choice.

Click on the "Browse" button to specify the location where you want to save the Messenger-Pro Address Book.

To select only certain contacts you wish to export, click on the Group of your choice (from within the "Addresses" tab). You can multi-select certain contacts from this Group, by holding in the Ctrl key & clicking with the mouse. Once you have made your selection, click on Export, follow the steps ensuring the "Export Selection" option is chosen.

Group export displays the groups from your Messenger-Pro Address Book and allows you to choose specific or all groups you wish to export to a file.

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Outbox in Messenger-Pro

All messages that are sent are placed in the "Outbox". If you are connected to the Internet and are working on-line, you will be able to send messages immediately and view these sent messages in the "Outbox".

VIEW & FILTER OPTIONS:
By clicking on the drop down options, you will be able to filter your list of sent messages according to pre-defined day, week or month options and according to specific status options.

TIP: You can export the results from the view & filter option to save it as a CSV file at a location of your choice.

SORTING:
Clicking on any of the column headings will sort the sent messages in an ascending or descending order.

SEND NOW:
If a message is in a pending status, you are able to select it and click on "Send Now" to send the message.

TIP: Right clicking on a message will give you a number of menu options like "Copy", "Delete", "Send Now" and more.

STATUS INFO:
The meaning of each icon represented in the "Status" column is explained in more detail when clicking on the "Status Info" button.

EXPORT CSV:
You will be allowed to export all of the messages, or certain pre-selected ones (Ctrl + click with mouse) in your Outbox. Click the "Export CSV" button and specify the location where you want to save the file.

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