The SMS Tab allows real-time messaging 📲 between staff and students, ensuring seamless communication. It is available only if the community has "SMS functionality" enabled.

Key Features:

• 🚀 Real-Time Messaging – SMS messages are sent instantly to students' physical devices, and their replies appear in the SMS tab for staff.

• 🔑 Access Requirements:

  • If a staff member does not have an active SMS number, they will see:
    "Tip: To send or receive SMS, please contact your system administrator to assign you an SMS number."

  • If they lack the necessary role permissions, they will see:
    "Tip: To send or receive SMS, please contact your system administrator to assign you SMS-allowed roles."

• 📁 Single SMS Thread per Student – Since SMS messages do not have subjects, each student-staff conversation is in a single continuous thread.

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• 👀 Staff Message View & Reply Restrictions:

  • Staff can view all SMS conversations between the student and other staff members but cannot reply to those messages.

  • Staff can reply only in their own conversation thread with the student.

• 📝 Rich Text & Attachments – SMS replies support images, emojis, and rich text formatting ✨.

• ✉️ Creating a New SMS – Staff can send a new message by clicking on the "Create" button if they have an active SMS number.

• 🚫 Disabled SMS Sending Scenarios – If any of the following conditions apply, the "Create" button will be disabled, and an appropriate message will be displayed:

  • "This user does not have a valid SMS number configured. Please send a message to your recipient."

  • "SMS number format is invalid for this user. Current SMS number is (111)111-1111, Accepted format is (123)456-7890."

  • "SMS number not configured for this user."

  • "SMS has been disabled by this user."

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This tab ensures that SMS-based communication is accessible only to authorized staff, making it an essential tool for student engagement.