How to send SMS messages from Excel

The following guide is about to demonstrate how you can send multiple SMS messages by just one click from an Excel document using the SMS Gateway. The guide provides a step-by-step guide which shows what components you need to set up this solution. It presents how you can establish an HTTP API connection in Ozeki SMS Gateway that can forward the messages received from the Excel document. The guide takes about ten minutes to be successfully completed and does not require any specific knowledge. So, let's get started.

How to send SMS from Excel (Quick Steps)

To send SMS from Excel:

1. Check prerequisites
2. Launch Ozeki SMS Gateway
3. Select the Apps toolbar icon
4. Install HTTP User app
5. Configure the HTTP User
6. Modify the HTTP API Service
7. Create SMS messages in Excel
8. Open the Ozeki Excel SMS spreadsheet
9. Send SMS messages from Excel
10. Inspect the Delivery report

Learn to send bulk SMS from Excel with Ozeki SMS Gateway (video tutorial)

In this quick video, you can learn how to send SMS messages from Excel with ease in Ozeki SMS Gateway. By following the instructions, you can send SMS messages from an Excel document with just one click. We'll walk you through the entire process from setting up the HTTP User connection to making your Excel message list to send SMS. With this step-by-step guide you will be able to send SMS messages easily.

Prerequisites

• Ozeki Excel Client: Download Ozeki Excel client
• Template Excel file for messages: Download template messages

Step 1 - Create an HTTP user connection

The first step of this guide is to create an HTTP user connection that will be able to handle the SMS messages from the Excel file. So, to create this connection, first open SMS Gateway from your Ozeki desktop. Here, click on the Apps icon on the toolbar and select the HTTP User option as you can see it in Figure 1.

Step 2 - Configure the HTTP User connection

In the configuration menu, you need to specify some identifiers for the HTTP User connection to be able to handle messages from the Excel file. So, just type a username and a password for the connection (Figure 2), but remember, you need to provide these details for the Ozeki Excel Client as well. If you filled all the required fields, just click on Ok to create the HTTP User connection.

Step 3 - Check the HTTP API service

By creating the HTTP User connection, the SMS Gateway also created an HTTP API service. This service can be viewed in the Advanced menu (Figure 3). If you click on the HTTP API service, you can modify the port for the HTTP and the HTTPS as well. To follow the guide, change the port of the HTTP to 9509 and click on OK.

Step 4 - Create a list of messages in Excel

After setting up all connections and services that needed to handle SMS messages from Excel, now you can set up the messages itself. For testing, you can use the provided Excel file above, but you can easily create a new file for the messages. In this file, each row represents the details of a message. The first column in each row is dedicated to the phone number of the recipient and the second column is for the message itself (Figure 4). If you have done writing the messages, just save the modifications.

Step 5 - Open the Ozeki Excel SMS spreadsheet

Next, you need to open the downloaded Ozeki Excel Client. Here, you have to provide the details of the HTTP API service and the HTTP User connection, that you created in the SMS Gateway. So, for the Ozeki HTTP API IP field, enter the IP of the localhost (127.0.0.1) and the port number of the HTTP API service separated by a ':' sign. Next, type the username and the password of the HTTP User connection as Figure 5 demonstrates it.

Step 6 - Send the SMS messages

After you set up all details that needed, you can just click on Send all button to send all the messages from the Excel file. If the Excel file of the SMS messages opened as well, Ozeki Excel Client automatically detects it, and you can select it from the pop-up window (Figure 6). All you need to do here, is to click on OK.

When Ozeki Excel Client finished with sending all the message from the selected Excel file, a delivery report shows up in the browser (Figure 7). Here, you can check if the messages sent successfully, or a problem occurred during the sending process.