How to contact Drupal site users by SMS with Ozeki SMS module
On this page you can learn how to contact users
by SMS with the help of Ozeki SMS Module. It is assumed that you have already
downloaded and installed Ozekisms.zip. This file contains Contact users by SMS
module that provides a mobile phone form to users on which they can specify their
phone numbers. After they provided their phone numbers you can send them SMS
messages from your Drupal site to their cellphones. Read out the configuration
guide
and watch the video tutorials to learn how you can implement this solution
effectively.
Prerequisites
In order to setup this solution you need to find a way
to connect your system to the mobile network. You can do this
by using an Internet connection or you can
setup a wireless connection by attaching a GSM phone/GSM modem to your
computer. To help you make a
decision, we have prepared a webpage for you:
Internet based SMS connections vs. GSM modem based (wireless) SMS
connections.
Depending
on what you select, you need the following prerequisites.
Prerequisites for Internet based connection to the
Mobile network
If you wish to connect your system to an SMS service
provider over the Internet you need the following components:
Figure 1/a - Prerequisites for Ozeki NG SMS
Gateway IP SMS connection
In this case you need to find an SMS service
provider who can reach the mobile phones in your area. This SMS
service provider should be able to provide SMS service through
the Internet. To find such a provider, you can check our
website where we list some of them:
SMPP SMS Service providers.
Once you have found such a provider, you need to sign up for
their service to get the connection parameters. You can use these
parameters
to configure your Ozeki NG SMS Gateway software.
Prerequisites for wireless (GSM modem) connection
to the Mobile network
If you wish to connect your system to the mobile
network wirelessly, you need a GSM modem or GSM phone, that you
can attach to your computer with a data cable. In this case your Ozeki
NG SMS Gateway software will operate this phone and will send and receive
SMS messages wirelessly. To setup this connection method, you need the
following components:
Figure 1/b - Prerequisites for Ozeki NG SMS
Gateway GSM modem connection
Your checklist (for GSM modem connection):
*The SIM card will come with a plan, that will
determine how much money you will spend on each SMS.
System architecture
If you make sure that you have all the prerequisites listed
above you can start to configure your system. It will work as follows:
Users can enter their phone numbers on a form provided by Ozeki SMS module.
On one page you can see all the users who specified their phone numbers. If you
check the check boxes next to users names your SMS message will be sent out to
these selected users by Ozeki NG SMS Gateway.
Ozeki NG SMS Gateway will forward messages to the mobile
network either with GSM modem connection or
IP SMS connection.
Figure 2 - How to connect Drupal site users with SMS based on Ozeki NG SMS
Gateway
Configuration guide
It is supposed that you have already downloaded and installed
Ozeki SMS module. If you haven't, please check a
previous site to learn its steps.
Start your browser and open your Drupal site. Click on "Administer" (Figure 3).
Figure 3 - Administer menu item
Select "Site building" sub menu and click on "Modules" menu
item (Figure 4).
Figure 4 - Click on "Modules"
Enable "Contact users by SMS" module and click on "Save
configuration" (Figure 5).
Figure 5 - Enable Contact users by SMS option
Please note that you need to enable Profile module to install
"Contact users by SMS" module. To enable profile module just click on "Continue"
on the window that appears (Figure 6).
Figure 6 - Enable Profile module
This module will provide a mobile phone number field for users
where they can provide their phone numbers. In our example there are three users
on the page who specified their phone numbers (Figure 7).
Figure 7 - Users who specified their mobile phone numbers
Click on "Ozeki SMS Module settings" in "Site configuration"
menu (Figure 8).
Figure 8 - Ozeki SMS module settings
Those users who provided their phone numbers appear on the
page with a check box next to their names (Figure 9).
Figure 9 - Users are listed
If you check the check boxes next to their names SMS messages
will be sent out to the selected users. Compose your message and click on "Send
message" (Figure 10).
Figure 10 - Send message to selected users
In Ozeki NG SMS Gateway you can see that all messages have
been sent out to the recipients (Figure 11).
Figure 11 - Sent messages in Ozeki NG SMS Gateway
Thank you for reading this guide. If you still have further
questions please contact us at
info @ ozekisms.com
Related pages:
Further readings:
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