Send automatic reply to SMS

Ozeki NG Autoreply is a software which delivers a highly customizable autoreply functionality. The software is free to use.

Download OzekiNgAutoReply_v1.0.1.0 (445 KB)

What is automatic SMS reply

Automatic SMS reply is an SMS Autoresponder software that enables the sending of instant, automated text message responses to incoming SMS.

send automatic reply to sms through ozeki ng sms gateway
Figure 1 - Sending automatic reply to SMS using Ozeki NG SMS Gateway

Ozeki NG Autoreply connects to Ozeki NG SMS Gateway using the C# SMS API. You need to specify the connection parameters on the 'General' tab after the startup. Specify the public IP Address of the computer running Ozeki NG in the 'IP address' field. The 'Port' value is 9500 by default and should not be changed if it is not modified in Ozeki NG SMS Gateway.

You need to specify the 'Username' and 'Password' fields according to which user you would like to connecto to (a user configured in Ozeki NG SMS Gateway). After you specified these connection parameters, click 'Connect' to connect to Ozeki NG SMS Gateway. (Figure 2)

specify the connection parameters for sms autoreply
Figure 2 - Specify the connection parameters

You can see the result of the connection (Figure 3) initation in the 'Logs' tab of Ozeki NG Autoreply.If you have specified the correct connection properties, the program will connect to Ozeki NG SMS Gateway.

check the result of connecting to the sms gateway
Figure 3 - Check the result of the connection

To customize the behaivour of the program, navigate to the 'Auto reply' tab. The options specified here determine what reply message will the program send as response to an incoming message.

Reply content

  • Get reply from content file: The program will read the contents of the specified file every time there is an incoming message. This content can be addressed with the $content parameter in the reply message script.
  • Send back only the reply message: The program will only send back the reply message specified in the 'reply message' section of this configuration window (this is a basic autoreply functionality).
    To make the reply message more customizable, you can address the content of the original message (or the content of the specified file) as parameters like '$1, $2, ..'.
    The reply pattern specifies how you can address these parameters from the content. (Figure 4)

set the content of the auto reply sms
Figure 4 - Set the reply content

Reply Pattern

  • Every word is a parameter: You can address each word of the content by the parameters.
  • Split by the specified characters: The program will use the specified characters as delimiters to split the content.
  • Apply a regex: the program will apply a regural expression on the content. If you have groups in the regex, you can address the groups by the parameters.

Additional Parameters:

  • $content: The content of the file, or the content of the original
    message (depending on the chosen reply content behaviour).
  • $message: The content of the original message.
  • $sender, $originator: The originator phone number of the message.
  • $recipient: The original recipient phone number of the message.

The reply message is the message which will be send back to the originator of the incoming message. You can use the parameters specified above to make your reply message more personalized.

After the successful connection to Ozeki NG SMS Gateway, every incoming message for the connected user will be forwarded to Ozeki NG Autoreply, as shown in Figure 5. The program then composes the reply message according to the specified settings, and sends out the reply message. Ozeki NG Autoreply features automatic reconnection in case of connection loss.

check the work of your auto reply sms software
Figure 5 - Set the solution sending

FAQs

Are there any threats with autoresponding systems?

The biggest threat in autoresponding systems is a message loop. When two autoresponding systems start communicating with each other, a loop can occur. This loop leads to endless exchanges of messages and can result in huge telephone bills for both parties involved. Fortunately, Ozeki NG SMS Gateway has built-in message loop prevention. It restricts message submissions to the same telephone number with the same text to no more than 10 times per hour.

Can I query a database and return data in a response SMS?

Yes, you can achieve this by setting up an autoreply database user in Ozeki NG SMS Gateway. This user interacts with your database to retrieve relevant information for auto-replies. More details about setting up an autoreply database user can be found here.

Can I return a webpage if I receive a certain keyword in SMS?

While you cannot directly return a full webpage, you can send a link to a webpage. To achieve this, you need to use the WAP Push message type. When a cellphone receives a WAP Push message, it can automatically read the link and open the corresponding webpage.

Can I send automatic reply messages to an incoming SMS message?

Yes, you can send automatic reply messages using Ozeki NG SMS Gateway. You can set up an Autoreply user or an autoreply database user. These users allow you to automatically reply to and forward incoming messages based on sender addresses and message content.

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