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Send your first message

Why this matters

Sending a small test to yourself and a colleague is the quickest way to see the whole cycle (compose, preview, send, refresh) before you send to a real list.

Before you start

Steps

  1. Make a new sheet with these headers in row 1: firstName, mobile. Add two rows below with your name and mobile number and a colleague’s.
  2. Click a single cell in the sheet, then click Send SMS on the Home tab.
  3. On the Send New tab, check Mobile number field: shows mobile. ExcelSend picks a column headed mobile or phone automatically.
  4. Under Replies:, choose Allow replies if it’s offered. Otherwise choose Use a Sender Id.
  5. Leave Send When: on Now.
  6. Tick Add report fields to spreadsheet.
  7. In Text Message, type Hi , then choose firstName from the merge field list, then type , this is a test from ExcelSend. Please reply OK.
  8. Click Create Preview. Check both messages have the right name and number and show “Ok”.
  9. Tick “I accept some or all messages are large and will cost extra” if it’s shown, then click Send messages.
  10. When “Job #N has been queued” appears, click Ok. ExcelSend adds the report columns to your sheet.
  11. Reply to the message from your phone. After a minute or two, open the Reports tab and click Refresh.

The exs_ columns now show that each message was sent, its status and, in exs_reply, your reply.

Common problems

Create Preview stays greyed out It needs a mobile number field, a message, a valid date and a replies option. See Preview and send.

“No Send Rows” Every row already has a job reference in exs_jobReference, so there’s nothing new to send. Add new rows, or clear that column for rows you want to send again.

Refresh does nothing Refresh doesn’t run while several cells are selected. Click a single cell and try again.

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