The SMS module allows staff members to exchange SMS with students or other staff directly from within the platform.

🔹 Students cannot send SMS from the platform.
🔹 Only staff can reply to SMS.
🔹 Staff can initiate a SMS from Bulk SMS functionality or using Individual SMS in Student Detail View.
🔹 Students receive SMS on their registered mobile devices and must respond from there.

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🧭 Accessing the SMS Section

• Located on the Global Sidebar

• Badge count shows the number of unread SMS

• Clicking the  icon opens the SMS list view

Each SMS item displays:

• Sender/receiver name

• Message preview (latest message)

• Timestamp

SMS threads are one-to-one and do not have subject lines.

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🧾 Reading & Replying to SMS

• Clicking a thread opens the full conversation view

• Displays user name, profile image, and time-stamped messages

• Staff users can reply using:

• ✏️ Text

• 😊 Emojis

• 📎 Attachments

• Note: There is a 1000 character limit for a Single SMS.
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👤 What Students Can Do

• Students can view their SMS list

• They can open and read any thread

• 🛑 They cannot reply from the platform

• 🔁 Students must respond via their mobile device that received the SMS

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🔁 Infinite Scroll & Visual Cues

• SMS lists support infinite scroll

• Read and unread threads are visually distinguishable with subtle styling

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🔧 SMS Number Setup (Staff Only)

If you're a staff member and see:

"To send or receive SMS, please contact your system administrator to assign you an SMS number."

It means you do not yet have a Twilio/SMS number. Please raise a request to your system administrator to get one assigned.

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🚫 Disabled SMS Sending Scenarios

If any of the following conditions apply, the "Send" 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."