SMS messages from Joomla 1.5 with Ozeki SMS module
On the
Overview page you have read the
major benefits of adding SMS functionality to Joomla.
On this page you will get detailed information on how to implement
SMS services to Joomla web sites with the help of Ozeki NG SMS
Gateway in practice. The Ozeki SMS module (available below on
this page) needs to be installed on your computer and you can
immediately start to operate your SMS system. Learn more about
this solution, its requirements and functions in this article.
A video tutorial and helpful screenshots will also help you
configure this solution.
Send SMS from Joomla (part 1/2, configure your modem)
Send SMS from Joomla (part 2/2, configure your system)
Prerequisites
For this solution it is necessary to connect
your system to the mobile network. One possibility is to use an Internet connection
and another is to setup a wireless connection. A wireless connection can be made
by attaching a GSM phone/GSM modem to your computer. It will be easier to make the
decision if you take a look at our website specialized on this subject:
Internet based SMS connections vs. GSM modem based (wireless) SMS connections.
According to the selected connection type, you need the following prerequisites.
Checklist for Internet based connection to the Mobile network
In order to connect your system to an SMS service
provider over the Internet you need the following components:
Figure 1/a - Checklist for IP SMS connection
First, you need to find a mobile service provider who is able to reach the mobile phones in your area.
The selected SMS service provider should be able to provide SMS services via
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.
Checklist for wireless (GSM modem) connection to the Mobile network
You can also easily 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 - Checklist for GSM modem connection
How this solution works
To be able to send SMS messages from Joomla first you need to
download and install Ozeki NG SMS Gateway
software. You also need to download
Ozeki SMS module,
as well. After the installation processes you need to follow the steps of our
configuration guide below on this page to configure your SMS system.
After a few steps of configuration a form will appear on your web site
that can be used to send SMS messages. Visitors just need to enter the
phone number of the recipient or recipients, compose a message and click
on "Send message" button to send out the message.
As you can see on Figure 2 Ozeki NG SMS Gateway forwards SMS messages
from Joomla web sites to mobile phones. It connects to the mobile network
either with a GSM modem attached to the
PC with a datacable; or it connects directly to the SMS center of mobile
service provider over the Internet (IP SMS
connection).
Figure 2 - How to send SMS message from Joomla with Ozeki SMS module
Configuration of Joomla SMS solution
Installation steps:
First of all, Joomla and Ozeki NG SMS Gateway software
need to be installed on your local computer. (Please find the
installation guide of
Ozeki NG SMS Gateway on this page.) If you have installed them,
log into the administrator side in Joomla (Figure 3).
Figure 3 - Log into administrator side
Select "Install/Uninstall" menu item in "Extensions"
menu (Figure 4).
Figure 4 - Install an extension
Then browse for the downloaded
mod_ozeki_sms_module.zip
file by clicking on "Browse..." (Figure 5).
Figure 5 - Browse the zipped module
If you have found mod_ozeki_sms_module.zip file, select
it and click on "Upload file & Install" button (Figure 6).
Figure 6 - Upload and install the module
After the installation, select "Module Manager" menu item
from "Extensions" menu (Figure 7).
Figure 7 - Module manager
Click on "Ozeki SMS Module" in the list (Figure 8).
Figure 8 - Installed module
Now, specify the parameters of the module on the right
side of the interface:
IP address - the IP address of the computer to which Ozeki NG SMS
Gateway has been installed.
As I installed Ozeki NG SMS Gateway to my local computer it will be
"127.0.0.1" in our example. HTTP Server Port - It is the HTTP Server Port of Ozeki NG SMS
Gateway. As I do not change it, it will be the default port: "9501" Username - I use the default "admin" user of Ozeki NG SMS Gateway. Password � I use the default password of the admin user ("abc123")
(Figure 9).
Figure 9 - Module parameters
Enable the module by checking "Yes" option next to "Enabled"
and then click on "Save" at the top right corner of the interface.
Figure 10 - Enable the module
Now on the front page of the web site a form appears. Define
the recipient in the form, compose a message and click on "Send message"
button to send the message (Figure 11).
Figure 11 - Send a message from Joomla site
If you take a look at "Sent" message folder in Ozeki NG SMS
Gateway you can see the sent message (Figure 12).
