Sending Text Messages using CSV Files (Video)

Modified on Wed, Jun 4 at 12:04 PM

General Information

This article provides basic information on sending text messages using CSV files. This method can be used if you want to control the phone numbers that you are sending to externally from the portal. It can also be used to send text messages to multiple numbers on the same account.


This article does not cover the enhanced options such as including PDF files and custom fields. For more complex scenarios see the following article:


Importing Documents with Emails or Text Messages using CSV Files


Zip File Format

All files placed on the SFTP site must be a zip file. Every file must have a unique name. You are responsible for not uploading a file with the same name more than once. We recommend using a date or time stamp to avoid this from happening. Once files are processed, they are removed from the FTP site. Nonetheless, names should not be reused. Some examples of good names are:

  • 2020-12-05-AccountStatements.zip
  • 2020-05-14-DepositNotices.zip
  • 2020-06-08-ManyDifferentDocumentTypes.zip

Each zip file must have the following contents:

  1. A single CSV file titled header.csv
  2. One or more PDF files with unique names
  3. The number of PDFs must match the number of records in the CSV file.

Header.csv File Format

The header.csv file must exist in every zip file. It is the index file for the rest of the documents within the file.

Basic Format

  • The CSV file must be an ASCII text file. Unicode characters are not supported.
  • Each line of the CSV file must end with a carriage return line feed combination (ASCI 13, and 10).
  • The first row in the file must be a header row consisting of the fields you are including.
  • Carriage returns and line feeds cannot exist in any data fields.
  • A carriage return/line feed is not required on the last row of data (but is allowed)
  • Any blank line in the file (after the header) is ignored
  • The following fields are required in every file.
    1. AccountNumber
    2. TextTemplateName
    3. TextNumber
  • For more advanced options see the article: Importing Documents with Emails or Text Messages using CSV Files


Field Values

The values for each field are described below:

Name

Description

AccountNumber

The account number that this text will be associated with.

TextTemplateName

The existing Text Template that you are sending

TextNumber

The phone number to send the text to. Include 10 digits only. Do not include spaces, hyphens or parenthesis. Example: 7165551212


 

Example File

Below is an example of a single file. Because of word wrap, some records appear to extend onto multiple lines. That would not be the case when saving in a CSV file.



AccountNumber,TextTemplateName,TextNumber

2121104,Chat with an Agent,7165551212

2121104,Chat with an Agent,7165553434

2121104,Chat with an Agent,7165557878


To test with this file:

  • Copy the text
  • Modify it to match your own template names
  • Modify it to have your own cell phone numbers
  • Save the file has header.csv
  • Zip the file
  • Upload the zipped file to the SFT site or directly into that portal.




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