MMS Gateway - Twilio

The Twilio MMS Gateway currently delivers MMS messages to USA and Canadian phone numbers. You can use the following methods for attaching media files to your outgoing messages:

• Public URL: simply enter the publicly accessible URL for each media file that you wish to send. You would typically upload the file (jpeg, png etc) to a server and determine the URL to that file and enter this into the URL field when sending an MMS message.
• Get Media Record URL: using the supplied getMediaURL.php file (versions for both the FileMaker Data API and the FileMaker PHP API are included) you can generate a dynamic URL on the fly that Twilio can use to download a media file from the container field in the Media table record. This requires the fmMMS file to be hosted on FileMaker Server. N.B. the getMediaURL.php file currently doesn't work with FileMaker Cloud 2.x deployments due to the differences in how authentication is handled for FileMaker Cloud 2.x users with the Data API. We hope to have a version of the getMediaURL.php file that supports FileMaker Cloud 2.x soon.

You can get further information on supported media files and limitations here:

https://www.twilio.com/docs/sms/send-messages#include-media-in-your-messages

https://www.twilio.com/docs/sms/api/media-resource

Message Scheduling

Twilio first introduced Message Scheduling on August 24, 2022. Support for Message Scheduling was added in v1.18 of fmMMS. You will first need to create a Messaging Service and copy the Twilio MessagingServiceSid into the  Custom Text 3 field in the Accounts Screen. For more information on using Messaging Services visit:

Incoming Messages/Replies

You can get incoming messages/replies to your Twilio number into the fmMMS file in a number ways:

• Manually Download Incoming Messages
• Use Webhooks to have Twilio push these automatically to fmMMS
• Use Otto Webhooks

Using Webhooks is the preferred method as it saves you from having to poll/check for any new messages - with Webhooks new messages are forwarded to fmMMS automatically by Twilio as they are received.

Manual Download Incoming Messages

You can download incoming messages manually via the Account Details screen. Simply enter the date range you wish to download messages between and click the Get Incoming Messages button:

Any incoming messages to your Twilio number that have not been previously downloaded will then be downloaded, including any media attachments. You could also setup a FileMaker Server script schedule to have this run on a scheduled basis (e.g.every hour) to save you from having to manually download/check for new messages.

Twilio Webhooks Setup

To receive incoming MMS messages to your Twilio number, including replies to previously sent messages, you will need to use the supplied WebhooksIncomingMessages.php webhook file to act as the webhook receiver. See our Webhooks guide for what you need to do host the WebhooksIncomingMessages.php file on your chosen web server. Once you have the publicly accessible URL for this file you can enter this into your Twilio account settings as follows:

1. login to your Twilio account via their website
2. click on Phone Numbers in the side navigation (or go to https://www.twilio.com/console/phone-numbers/incoming)
3. Click on your Twilio Number to edit it, then under Messaging selected Configure with Webhooks/TwiML
4. select A Message Comes in “Webhook” and enter the URL in the adjacent field
5. set the HTTP method to POST.
6. click Save

It should look similar to this screenshot:

Twilio Otto Webhooks Setup

Please visit the Webhooks using Otto guide for instructions on setting up Otto Webhooks for your Twilio number.