Hey all, what is the best way to send SMS with CF?...
# cfml-generalf
fmdano
03/15/2022, 1:44 PMHey all, what is the best way to send SMS with CF? if it is Twilio, is that simple to setup? is there already CF components created to use Twilio if that is the best....how easy it is to se up twilio? IF Twilio not the best, what might be best.....THANKS
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aliaspooryorik
03/15/2022, 2:02 PM
There are several packages https://www.forgebox.io/?search=twilio
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Michael Schmidt
03/15/2022, 2:02 PMBest is a relative term I have used AWS - SNS and Twilio.
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fmdano
03/15/2022, 2:03 PM@aliaspooryorik Yeah I have seen those...Is Twilio the best way to send SMS, or is there something better?
fmdano
03/15/2022, 2:04 PM@Michael Schmidt maybe best was a bad choice...easiest, or most common would be better
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aliaspooryorik
03/15/2022, 2:05 PM
Depends what you mean by "better". AWS has SNS if you're already using AWS or there are services like clickatell which I've used before. It depends on a lot of factors like volume / tiers, which countries you are sending to, do you need to handle replies, do you need your own sendcode etc?
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Michael Schmidt
03/15/2022, 2:07 PMAnd just a warning that the world of Automatic System Messaging gets more difficult all the time. (And not normally caused on the technical side) So be prepared for a ride that won't always stay the same.
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aliaspooryorik
03/15/2022, 2:10 PM
yeah - different countries have different laws, so for example you may find when you can send the SMS is restricted etc (depending on what the SMS is about)
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fmdano
03/15/2022, 2:10 PMAll client wants to send out SMS messages....uses SendGrid for emails, so he thought Twilio would be best...never done this so checking in....need to figure out how much Twilio is to send messages....and set up...is it easy
fmdano
03/15/2022, 2:10 PMIf I read the client info right I think it is a US company only....
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aliaspooryorik
03/15/2022, 2:11 PM
it's where the person getting the SMS is a citizen of.
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tonyjunkes
03/15/2022, 2:16 PMWe use Twilio at work for SMS. Does the job just fine for us. They have a Java helper lib that interfaces their API. CF should be able to make use of that. In our case we actually have an internal Java lib that wraps it and ends up being the middleman between CF and the Twilio lib, so I can't speak to the efforts for having CF use it directly.
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fmdano
03/15/2022, 2:17 PM@tonyjunkes Hey, I see a few items in Forgebox like cftwilio....looks simple either way....Clients uses SendGrid to send emails which is a twilio company...not sure how to set up twilio, maybe with sendgrid account...not sure how many SMS messages need send out so do you have a rough cost per month?
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sknowlton
03/15/2022, 2:20 PMWe've used Twilio for years and it hasn't changed too much. You have to have an outgoing phone number, which is a small fixed cost, and then you pay per message. More complicated (though not a ton) if you want to accept and process replies.
sknowlton
03/15/2022, 2:21 PMsknowlton
03/15/2022, 2:21 PM3/4 of a cent per message outgoing
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tonyjunkes
03/15/2022, 2:22 PMI'm not sure about if you can use the sendgrid account. We also use them for email, but when we set up email and sms, they were still separate companies so 2 accounts. No idea if that's changed for us.
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fmdano
03/15/2022, 2:23 PM@sknowlton Hey, thought that was it from what i read...simple one time cost for the twilio phone number and the about 3/4 cent per message....
fmdano
03/15/2022, 2:23 PM@tonyjunkes thanks...can't find anything on sendgrid yet that tells me the accounts can be used together....
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foundeo
03/15/2022, 3:19 PM
I’ve used twilio as well, their API is simple enough that you can just do a
cfhttpfoundeo
03/15/2022, 3:21 PM
Pretty much as simple as this:
Copy code
<cfset accountID = "x">
<cfset authToken = "y">
<cfset to = "+15555555555">
<cfset from = "+15555555555">
<cfset body = "My text message">
<cfhttp result="result"
method="POST"
charset="utf-8"
timeout="5"
username="#accountID#"
password="#authToken#"
url="<https://api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/#accountID#/Messages>">
<cfhttpparam name="to" type="formfield" value="#to#">
<cfhttpparam name="from" type="formfield" value="#from#">
<cfhttpparam name="body" type="formfield" value="#body#">
</cfhttp>
<cfdump var="#result#">✅ 1
foundeo
03/15/2022, 3:23 PM
There are probably 100+ services out there like twilio, so it comes down to pricing, country support, api, etc as others have mentioned - Twilio is certainly one of the most popular choices.
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fmdano
03/15/2022, 7:40 PM@foundeo thanks for this information...seems like I just need to get the client to understand they need a twilio phone number and pay 3/4 cent per SMS....and the code you posted should not take too long to add to a component....
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Daniel Mejia
03/16/2022, 2:39 AMI use twilio-sdk. It's on forgebox.io
Easy to setup.
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fmdano
03/21/2022, 2:36 PM@foundeo hey, your twilio code has been a great help for me so far....I am wondering if you have ever set up a scheduledType for twilio to send info to it and have twilio store the info and send it out at a later date? that is what I am checking on now...
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foundeo
03/21/2022, 3:08 PM
No, sorry I haven’t used that feature
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fmdano
03/21/2022, 3:08 PMno problem....just thought I'd check....
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