Getting Started - Accounts
In order to send MMS messages using fmMMS you will first need to setup at least one account with one of the supported MMS Gateways (fmMMS allows you to have as many accounts with different MMS Gateways as you like, but you need at least one). You can consult our list of MMS Gateways – remember that most MMS Gateways will send messages internationally, but some are restricted to specific geographic regions. If you are in North America and are not sure which MMS Gateway to use we recommend starting with Twilio and ClickSend or MessageMedia for the rest of the world.
You will need to enter some credentials from your chosen MMS Gateway account into fmMMS - these are typically your username and password or API keys that you generate. fmMMS will have instructions on what you need to enter when creating an Account record in the fmMMS file.
You can also view the list of supported MMS Gateways from within fmMMS – click on the GATEWAYS button at the top of the screen and select a provider from the list:
Once you have created an Account with an MMS Gateway you then need to create a corresponding account within fmMMS so it knows which MMS Gateway to send the messages to and what username/password to use when sending.
Click on the ACCOUNTS button at the top of the screen to view any existing fmMMS accounts (this will be empty for new users). Click the New Account button on the toolbar and enter the details for your account with the MMS Gateway as follows:
Account ID: fmMMS automatically generates a unique Account ID value for each Account record – you can ignore this
Name: enter a name to describe this account (e.g. “Twilio Trial Account”)
Gateway: select the MMS Gateway from the list
Username: review the Gateway Notes field for details on what to enter here. This is typically your MMS Gateway username or API key etc, but this is Gateway specific so follow the instructions in the Gateway Notes field
Password: review the Gateway Notes field for details on what to enter here. This is typically your MMS Gateway password or API secret etc, but this is Gateway specific so follow the instructions in the Gateway Notes field
Gateway Notes: this contains the instructions on what to enter for the Username, Password and the Custom Text 1, Custom Text 2 and Custom Text 3 fields. Follow the instructions here for your selected MMS Gateway.
Custom Text 1: if instructed in the Gateway Notes field enter the required information
Custom Text 2: if instructed in the Gateway Notes field enter the required information
Custom Text 2: if instructed in the Gateway Notes field enter the required information
Default Account: this indicates whether this Account is the default Account to be used for any new messages (click the Set as Default button at the top of the screen to make this the default Account).
Media Upload Method: this contains a drop down menu of the supported options for how media files can be sent to the Gateway when sending messages from fmMMS. Select the preferred method if you have multiple options here. See the Media Upload Methods page for more information on the different upload methods and how they work.
Proxy Settings: if your network connection requires you to use a proxy server enter the Proxy Server details here.
Your Account Details screen should look like this when completed:
Depending on your selected Gateway you can also see the following buttons at the top of the screen:
Check Balance: if your selected MMS Gateways supports checking your Account balance you can click this button to check the current balance of your account (this is also a good way to ensure you have entered the correct Account credentials before trying to send an MMS). When you click this button you should see a dialog box displaying your current account balance for the selected Gateway:
Get Incoming Messages: if your selected MMS Gateways supports polling/downloading of incoming messages you can click this button to request any incoming messages to your Gateway number. If your selected Gateway supports downloading incoming messages by date range you will also see 2 date filter fields - Date From and Date To - that you can use to restrict the query to only incoming messages between 2 dates. Any incoming messages to your Gateway 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 or you could use Webhooks to have incoming messages pushed automatically to your FileMaker Server.