SMS Gateway - RingCentral

The RingCentral SMS Gateway delivers SMS messages internationally. 

fmSMS supports both the RingCentral Sandbox (testing environment) as well as the live Production environment. We recommend testing initially using the Sandbox if you are new to RingCentral and creating separate records in the fmSMS Accounts table for the Sandbox and Production environments.

To use fmSMS with RingCentral you will need the following:

• your RingCentral Sandbox or Production username
• your RingCentral Sandbox or Production password
• your RingCentral Virtual Number

You will also need to create a RingCentral app on the RingCentral website to use with fmSMS. When you create the RingCentral app select the Web server option and ‘Only members of my organisation/company’ for access (private app option). Detailed instructions can be found on the RingCentral website here. When creating the RingCentral app make sure you select the following permissions:

• Read Messages
• SMS
• Webhook Subscriptions

Once you have created your RingCentral app you will also need:

• your RingCentral app Client ID
• your RingCentral app Client Secret

You can then create an Account record in the fmSMS file and select RingCentral as the Gateway to use from the drop down menu and complete the following details:

• enter your RingCentral Phone number linked to account or extension in the Username field in the Accounts Screen
• enter your RingCentral Password in the Password field in the Accounts Screen
• enter your RingCentral Virtual Number in the Custom Text 1 field in the Accounts screen

The Accounts screen should look like this:

RingCentral uses OAuth for authenticating with the RingCentral API, so you will also need to enter your OAuth credentials that were generated as part of creating the RingCentral app. You can view your OAuth Credentials on the RingCentral website (go to Console/Apps and click on your app and then Credentials):

In the fmSMS Accounts screen click the OAuth Settings button:

which opens a FileMaker popover where you can enter your OAuth credentials:

• enter your RingCentral app Client ID into the Client ID field
• enter your RingCentral app Client Secret into the Client Secret field
• select the Environment to use (Sandbox or Production)

You can ignore the other fields as they will be populated automatically as you authenticate or when the access token is refreshed. We are not using the Redirect URL as we are using the Password Auth Mode.

When you have finished testing in the RingCentral Sandbox you can graduate your app for use in the Production environment – see the RingCentral website for more details on this process.

Incoming Messages/Replies

You can get incoming messages/replies to your RingCentral number into the fmSMS file in 2 ways:

• Manually Download Incoming Messages
• Use Webhooks to have RingCentral push these automatically to fmSMS
• Use Claris Connect Webhooks
• 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 fmSMS automatically by RingCentral as they are received.

Manual Download Incoming Messages

You can download incoming SMS 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 RingCentral number that have not been previously downloaded will then be downloaded. 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 - your script would just need to handle the incrementing of the timestamps.

RingCentral Webhooks Setup

The RingCentral API supports using Webhooks to receive incoming SMS messages, however you have to use the RingCentral API to create the Webhook. We have added support for creating and deleting Webhooks using the RingCentral API in the fmSMS file. You can get more information on the requirements for Webhooks with RingCentral here (e.g. it must be hosted on an SSL secured site and start with https).

To receive incoming SMS messages to your RingCentral number, including replies to previously sent messages, you will need to use the supplied dedicatedNumberReply.php webhook file to act as the webhook receiver. See our Webhooks guide for what you need to do host the dedicatedNumberReply.php file on your chosen web server. Once you have the publicly accessible URL for this file click on the Webhooks tab in the fmSMS Account Details screen and click the Create Webhook button:

Enter the https URL to your dedicatedNumberReply.php file in the Address field and select Incoming Messages for the Type field. The Webhook details should look something like this:

Click the Create Webhook button to create a Webhook using the RingCentral API. If this request was successful the RingCentral Webhook ID will be populated in the Gateway ID field, otherwise you will get an error message in the Last API Result field. Once you have successfully created the Webhook any new incoming messages will be forwarded by RingCentral to that URL. N.B. RingCentral Webhooks do expire – we set the expiration time to 157680000 seconds (5 Years) when creating the Webhook using the fmSMS file.

RingCentral Claris Connect Webhooks Setup

Please visit the Webhooks using Claris Connect guide for instructions on setting up Claris Connect Webhooks for your RingCentral number.

RingCentral Otto Webhooks Setup

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