Sending text messages

[bloodbanker]

I will preface this as I do most posts, I am not a developer / programmer.  We have a CF10 server for our department intranet.

We need to be able to notify a small group of people (less than 100) at once, and thought it would be best to use text messaging.

I tried searching for examples of sending text messages using CF, I found a great article from Ben Nadel from 2007 but that was using mail to forward to the text message service.  

I was hoping to find an example of testing that I could modify to suit us.

Is anyone aware of a sample text page I could modify?

Thanks

[WolfShade]

This link should be helpful.  It does not state what versions of CF has it, but it's the documentation for using SMS in CF Server.

https://helpx.adobe.com/coldfusion/developing-applications/using-external-resources/using-the-sms-ev...

There's also this SO link that might help.

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/41552949/sending-receiving-sms-using-coldfusion

HTH,

^ _ ^

[bloodbanker]

Thanks all.  I suspect this is more than I am capable of.  We'll look for another solution.

[WolfShade]

Although I've never used the SMS Gateway, it does seem pretty straight-forward.  Not sure of costs involved, if any.  But the choice is yours.

V/r,

^ _ ^

[BKBK]

Hi bloodbanker,

We cannot let you go empty-handed. If you bear with us, we shall be able to guide you through an implementation of the SMS gateway in ColdFusion.

My experience with ColdFusion's SMS gateway goes back to the year 2008. We built an SMS messaging platform that sent messages to subscribers' telephone numbers, depending on notifications. It was part of an enterprise messaging system. The application notified subscribers whenever a ship crossed a certain point on its way from the English Channel to the Netherlands. The subscribers were mainly from companies engaged in shipping logistics.

The notifications were triggered by in-coming e-mails and form-posts from admin. We were then on ColdFusion MX 7.x if I remember correctly. The application ran smoothly, even in those early days of ColdFusion, SMS and messaging technologies.

Given that potential, it will be easier to use CF10 "to notify a small group of people (less than 100) at once." So, would you like us to explore the possibilities of ColdFusion SMS Gateway for you? 

[bloodbanker]

Well, if you're willing to give it a try, so am I.  I would need silly simple instructions.  I do have full access to the server including CF administrator, so that should help.

[BKBK]

Right, you can expect suggestions in the coming days. Rest assured, I shall assume no prior knowledge or experience.

[BKBK]

Hi bloodbanker,

Sorry that I couldn't return to this, until now. It's been quite a hectic period. 

I searched and have found some SMS gateway code samples from years ago.

Now, let's start by confirming your requirements:

1) A ColdFusion page that contains a form. The form contains multiple FullName, TelephoneNumber and Message fields, one set for each Recipient. The form also has a MessageToAll field.

2) After you fill and submit the form, you want the messages to be sent as SMS messages to the telephone numbers of the recipients.

Could you please confirm.

[BKBK]

There is an easier way that requires zero coding and that works on Mac and Windows: WhatsApp! 🙂

1. Create a WhatsApp group that includes all the telephone numbers you wish to send messages to.
2. Install the above WhatsApp application on your Mac or Windows server, performing the QR scan at the end, and voilà!

[WolfShade]

I'd be real careful about using WhatsApp.  Owned by Facebook.  It does have e2e encryption, but the backups are stored in cleartext.  And various other security issues.  Here's an article from DEC 2019:

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-security-threats-whatsapp-users-need-know/

The link says four security threats, but five are listed in the article.

HTH,

^ _ ^