Send a Message

Dialpad offers external SMS and MMS services, as well as our internal Dialpad Chat — allowing you to keep your lines of communication open from anywhere within Dialpad.

Dialpad messages are sent via internet, starting a 'chat' between Dialpad users.

If the contact you're messaging isn't a Dialpad user, messages are sent via traditional SMS/MMS-based networks.

Let's dive into the details.

Send a message (chat & SMS)

To send a chat or SMS message from the Dialpad app, select Message in the left sidebar.

1. Select the Message icon in the left sidebar

2. Enter a contact's name or number

3. Type your message

4. Press the Enter key when you're ready to send the message

By default, your message will be sent from your personal Dialpad number. You'll have the option to change this at the top of the screen if you're assigned as an Operator or Agent on a Shared Line.

Want to use a GIF?

Just type '/giphy' and a term, then press the Enter key to display a variety of GIFs. Hover over the GIF to see a preview.
You can also access GIFs from the emoji icon in your message.

Note

Depending on who you are messaging, character limits may apply:

• Messages sent to non-Dialpad numbers have a character count limit of 1500 characters (160 characters per page).

  • If your message contains emojis or special characters, the character count reduces to 63 characters/page.

• Dialpad-to-Dialpad messages are unlimited.

Timezone support

Global teams mean colleagues working in different time zones, and the last thing you want to do is send someone a message at 3AM if it’s not urgent.

With Timezone support, if it's between 7PM and 8AM and the user does not have Personal Working hours configured, you’ll see a notification above the message field telling you the recipient’s local time.

Note

If someone has DND enabled, they won’t be notified of your message. Similar to the Personal Working Hours notification, you’ll see a banner stating the recipient’s notifications are paused.

Link previews

Previews appear when you send an external website URL.

Previews can be removed after sending by selecting the 'X' icon on the left.

You can only remove website previews for messages that you have sent.

If you don't want link previews to show, contact Customer Support to have them turn off this feature.

Note

Preview functionality is determined by the website, not Dialpad. If the page does not support previews, you will not see a preview when sharing a URL within Dialpad.  

Send an image or video (Chat & MMS)

To send an image or video via chat (MMS), drag and drop the image or video into your conversation thread, or select the image icon to open your device's file browser.

Select a photo or video, then start typing the message (if necessary) and press the Enter key.

Messages sent to users outside of Dialpad that include a photo or video are MMS-based (multimedia messaging service).

Supported MMS Files

Whether in a group or a one-on-one Dialpad chat, MMS between Dialpad and PSTN is limited to 1MB for both images and video. Between Dialpad users in group or Dialpad chat, the size limit is 32MB.

You can see all of the supported MMS file formats in the image above. (Pure audio files are not supported at this time.)

Forward a message

To forward a message to another Dialpad User, first, head to your Dialpad App Inbox.

1. Select the Messages tab

2. Select the message you'd like to forward

3. Select More actions option

4. Select Forward

5. Search a contact's name or enter an email address

   • Add an additional message if required.

6. Select Forward Message

7. Select Done

Edit a message

Did you type your instead of you’re? Not to worry, Dialpad makes it easy to edit messages after sending them.

1. Select More actions option

2. Select Edit

   

3. Type your updated text message into the box

4. Select Save Changes

   

   Your message will be instantly updated, and you’ll see an Edited stamp underneath the message.

Note

You can only edit messages sent within your company.

If you are in a group conversation and have included an external contact, you cannot edit any messages in the group conversation.

Message reactions

Add humor and delight to your conversations with emoji reactions!

Add emoji reactions

Adding emoji reactions is quick, and simple and adds a personal touch to your message. Follow the steps below to add emoji reactions.

1. Select the message you would like to react to by hovering over the message

2. Select the smiley face
   

3. Select your desired emoji from the recommended emojis, or search the emoji library.

Your emoji will appear beneath the message — add as many as you like!

For mobile users, long-press on any message, tap on one of the shortcut emojis, or the plus icon, to access the full emoji library.

Once one emoji has been added, select the smiley beside the other emojis to add more.

Note

Emoji reactions can't be used in group messages containing an external contact or deleted user.

Tip

Save time and find emojis faster by typing ":" followed by a keyword or the name of the emoji you want to use.

Emoji skin tone

Bring out your individuality and diversity by choosing a specific skin tone for your hand and people emojis.

If you don't set a custom skin tone, your skin tone will display as yellow.

To change your emoji's skin tone:

1. Select the emoji icon
   

   

2. Select the hand emoji

   

3. Choose the desired skin tone

   

Tip

To change emoji skin tone on our mobile apps, long-press the hand or people emoji and choose your preferred skin tone.

Remove emoji reactions

Oops, did you get a little over-the-top with emoji reactions? To remove an emoji reaction, simply click on the emoji and it will disappear.

Note

Emoji reactions are only available for messages sent within your company.

If you are in a group conversation and have included an external contact, you will not be able to react to any messages in the group conversation.

SMS delivery receipt

Delivery receipts let you know if your message was successfully sent, or if there was a hiccup and you need to try again.

Delivery receipts are available for direct SMS messages on Dialpad’s desktop, browser, and mobile apps.  

Note

A delivery receipt is not a read receipt, it does not mean the recipient has read or viewed your message.

You’ll only see delivery receipts for external SMS messages (not internal Dialpad chats or MMS messages) sent from your individual Dialpad number or your mainline number.

Dialpad provides 4 types of delivery receipts.

• Sent:  The recipient's operator received our message and it is ready to be sent to the recipient’s carrier.

• Delivered: The message was accepted by the recipient's carrier.

• Message Failed: The message could not be sent.

  • This could happen because the destination is switched off, the device is unavailable, the number is blocked or unknown etc.
    

• Undelivered: The message was not delivered. When a message is rejected, it means Dialpad delivered it, but there was a problem on the Carrier's side.

  • This can happen for many reasons, such as content filtering by the Carrier or the recipient’s phone availability (e.g. the mobile was switched off or in roaming mode). Delivery receipts are not supported in all countries or by all Carriers.

Note

Dialpad charges for each message delivery attempt, regardless of its success. Messages with statuses such as sent, delivered, and undelivered will impact your balance. Failed messages typically signify that the provider did not accept the message and are, therefore, exempt from charges.

Understanding undelivered messages

When a message does not reach the intended destination, you’ll see a red notification stating it was undelivered, and why.

There are several reasons why a message might not go through, check the table below for details.

Note

Detailed Undelivered messages are only available for our browser, desktop, Android and iOS apps.

In your Office Analytics, you'll see find a breakdown of how many messages were successfully sent, delivered, failed, or undelivered.

Frequently asked questions

Does it cost money to send an external SMS/MMS?

Dialpad to Dialpad messages are free and unlimited, all outbound SMS/MMS is pay-per-message.

*For our UK users, SMS messaging is an add-on feature. Please reach out to our Sales team, or your Customer Success Manager for more information.

Can I send a message from a secondary number (group or personal)?

Yes and no. Only a primary number can be used to send or reply to a message when using the Desktop or Native app — even when replying to a message that was received on a secondary number.

Sending a message using the secondary number is ONLY available on the mobile app and we're working on making this feature available on the native app soon.

That said, when the primary number is not SMS-capable, Dialpad will then send the message from the first SMS-capable number on the list.

Why can't I edit a message in a group conversation?

You can, as long as all the group participants are using Dialpad. If you are in a group conversation and there is an external contact (even just one!), you cannot edit any messages in the group conversation.

Can I disable SMS for a Dialpad line?

Definitely! One of the joys of Dialpad is how completely customizable it is. We can turn off SMS capabilities for individuals, or even for the whole company. To do this, you'll need to reach out to Customer Support. However, be aware that this disables all internal messaging not done via Dialpad Channels.

Can I send international text messages?

Yes and no. Dialpad will try to deliver your international texting, but due to international carrier restrictions, we cannot guarantee a successful delivery of international messages.

However, you can still message your team members in Dialpad if they are in another country.

Can I tag someone in a message?

Yes, absolutely! Type "@" before their name and select their name from the pop-up menu.

This is particularly useful in group or channel messages.

Can I reference a channel in a message?

Yes! Type "#" before the channel name and select from the pop-up menu.

Can I send a bit.ly link?

No. We do not support outbound SMS with bit.ly links.

Why did I receive an error that says 'insufficient credit'?

Outbound messages are billed on a per-message rate and paid via credits. If you receive a notification stating 'insufficient credits' it means your message was not sent due to a lack of credits. Choose to automatically add credits to your account to prevent this from happening again.