Text Back

1. What is (aq)textback?
2. What are keywords?
3. How can I see what I have received for my keyword?
4. What number do I use to send these messages to?
5. Can another user have the same keyword?
6. Is there a limit to the number of keywords I can have?
7. What are Infowords / Info Responders, and why are they different to Keywords?
8. What is the Default Response?
9. How do you send a message to the Responder?
10. Is there a limit to the number of Responses on a Keyword?
11. If someone sends a message to an Infoword, and it sends them a message back - Does it cost me?
12. What does the Reply link do?
13. When Adding keywords, it comes up with "Not Applicable" for some fields, why?
14. What is an Access Control List (ACL)?
15. What does the Limiting button do?
16. Why can I not press some of the buttons when editing a keyword?
17. What is email to sms?
18. Case Study: Use of (aq)textback by a Hotel
19. When using the textback server, there is a HTTP Post option - What does it do?

What is (aq)textback?
It is a method of receiving messages from mobiles phones, then being able to process the responses in a variety of ways, e.g. send via email, store in a database or reply back to the sender with information. If you had 1000's of customers and you decided to announce a new product via an SMS marketing campaign - what if they all replied with "yes"? If the message went to your mobile phone, you wouldn't cope. (aq)textback is an automated way of storing responses directly into a database.

What are keywords?
We have a central mobile phone number that all messages are received on, and the keyword is the first word in the text message, and that allows us to determine who the message is for. For example, a text message like "PETER Hi, i will be home later" would have the keyword PETER, and then the appropriate action would be taken when it is received. Keywords must contain only numbers or alphabet characters. Non alphanumeric characters cannot be used anywhere in a keyword.

How can I see what I have received for my keyword?
You can choose to just store the messages in our database or choose to email the results to a specified email address, OR you can set up an automated reply/response. If you are a web developer, you may also want to use the custom HTTP POST facility, allowing received messages to trigger an HTTP POST event, allowing our server to convey the received text message straight to your own server.

What number do I use to send these messages to?
Use the number +44 7766 40 41 42. (international format) - or if you are in the UK, just 07766 40 41 42 OR for MMS use 07740 40 41 42

Can another user have the same keyword?
No, it is on a first come first served basis.

Is there a limit to the number of keywords I can have?
Yes, you can have up to 10 keywords, available on a first-come-first-served basis. More can be added for a fee. In addition, some keywords have been reserved by (aq) and are also available for sale..

What are Infowords / Info Responders, and why are they different to Keywords?
An Info Responder is the same as a Keyword, however it allows our system to respond to the messages it receives with a preset reply. An Infoword is effectively a second keyword within the main keyword that allows the user to select different pieces of information. For example if a user sends the message "AQ HELP" to our gateway, the system will look under the Responder "AQ", then find the Infoword "HELP" then reply with the information associated with it.

What is the Default Response?
If you just want users to text the keyword without an Infoword after it, or if you want the system to reply if no Infoword matches, you can set a Default Response. This is an optional field.

How do you send a message to the Responder?
All you have to do is send either the keyword, or the keyword followed by a space then the Infoword to our gateway on the number +44 77 66 40 41 42.

Is there a limit to the number of Responses on a Keyword?
There is no limit at all.

If someone sends a message to an Infoword, and it sends them a message back - Does it cost me?
Yes, it costs you one credit for each message sent back to the user, however it does not cost you to receive a message on the system - it is FREE. Have a look at our competitors and see what they charge - usually this service is surprisingly expensive.

What does the Reply link do?
As the system records all messages received for a Keyword / Keyword + Infoword, you can easily send a message to all those that are in the log. Clicking on the reply button opens the Send SMS window with a list of all the numbers which have sent a text with your keyword, ready for you to send them a reply at the click of a button.

When Adding keywords, it comes up with "Not Applicable" for some fields, why?
If you add a Keyword with the action "Store", there is no need to record any further details, so they are blanked out (providing javascript is enabled on your browser. The same does apply for the Responder and E-Mail actions.

What is an Access Control List (ACL)?
An ACL is a means of controlling who you want to receive messages from. This could be used in conjuction with the Responder and Infowords to allow information to be sent back on a membership basis, as well as many other applications. If you are editing a previous keyword, you must tick the box to enable the ACL, then save changes. This will update the system and allow you to edit the list via the "setup ACL" button. It is important to put mobile numbers in the form shown, ie. 447740123123, and only one number per line. When saving the numbers, the system will show them back to you to approve what you are putting in before the changes are saved. Messages that do not match the list will not be saved in the system and autoresponses / textbacks will not be sent out. This way, if you wish to charge for an information service, only persons from agreed/allowed mobile numbers will get a response when they text your keyword (eg "weather").

What does the limiting button do?
The limiting function is used to stop certain keywords accepting more messages than you want in a certain time. For instance if you run a subscription service where you use infowords to give back information, you could set the limiting per number, then allow only 5 messages per week. This would stop one user texting your service and using all your credit. You can also set a global limit for the keyword to allow the keyword to only use a certain amount of credit in a time frame. Note, the time limit is a rolling limit so when a message is received, the system will count how many messages were received in the specified timeframe.

Why can I not press some of the buttons when editing a keyword?
When editing keywords, the "Edit Responses" button will be blanked out unless the action for responses is selected and saved beforehand. The same will apply for the access control list. However the "Limiting" button will always be available, as it can apply to all types of actions.

sms-to-email - FREE for everyone

if your mobile number is 07766 123456 and you send a text message to our gateway, 07766 40 41 42, in the form <email address> message - eg support@uk.aql.com help me please - This will send an email to support@uk.aql.com with the message "help me please". The "from" address of the email will be yourmobilenumber@sms.aql.com, eg in this case 447766123456@sms.aql.com. If you want to be able to receive replies to these emails via sms using your phone, you need the opposite service - email to SMS:

What is email to sms?
It is a service provided to (aq)sms account holders to allow emails to be routed via text message to mobile phones. You can setup as many aliases as you require to point to different mobile numbers (however one credit will be deducted per text message sent). To use the facility, setup an alias then send an email to youralias@sms.aql.com. The subject will be sent, as well as the beginning of the message (upto 160 characters in total). For example. if you go to email to SMS and create an alias name of your mobile number (in international format) - eg 447766123456 and a destination of the same, any emails sent to 447766123456@sms.aql.com (as would happen if someone replied to one of your messages) then the message will be sent to you via sms.

Case Study: Use of (aq)textback by a Hotel
Hotels receive many enquiries regarding vacancies and directions. An ideal use of the textback service in this situation would be for an Info responder to be setup under the name of the Hotel, with a default response giving basic information such as "Welcome to the Fawlty Towers. Please text again with "Fawlty directions" for directions to get here, or "Fawlty vacancies" for rooms free". Then Infowords could be setup for the Responder with appropriate details, for example the Infoword "prices" would reply with basic costs for rooms, "phone" would give contact numbers for booking.

When using the textback server, there is a HTTP Post option - What does it do?
If you need to collect and store data from clients who sms you and are capable of creating your own scripts, HTTP Post is for you. Basically, you have to have a script on your server that can handle information being sent to it. When setting up the HTTP POST option, you are invited to fill in a URL in the Detail field. This URL is the location of the script (with http:// inc.) which you have written to handle the outgoing data from (aq). We will check that the script exists before is it saved, then whenever a keyword is received the data will be sent to your script by opening a connection to your URL:

http://www.yourdomain.com/script.php

Then sending the data as an HTTP POST request. The variables to be picked up are:

sender: The originating number
time: The time it was received
message: The message that was received
keyword: The keyword that was used

This means that you can use the (aq) textback service and log the clients data via your own server and database rather than the data being stored on our system. We can also offer support and consultancy on this subject. In addition we can accept your SIM cards for incorporation into our modem banks. This will allow us to accept text messages on your own private number. Contact us for prices.