SMS Configuration: Generic Email Gateway

This screen is used to configure the generic SMS gateway. See also Concepts|SMS and Reference|Setup|SMS. The screen is in two parts - the top contains the parameters, the bottom allows you to test the setup. Note that this is a generic gateway configuration screen - the screen shot below shows parameters suitable for Exetel.

The fields in the top half are as follows:
Name - the name of the connection
Description - a description which serves to clarify the name
Website - the provider's website
Active - uncheck this box to deactivate this configuration
Country Prefix - the country code, eg 61 for Australia, 44 for the UK, etc
Area Prefix - the digit used to prefix the area code, ie 0 for Australia - see also below

From & From Expression - these define the email's From address. If only From is entered, this is used. If the From Expression is provided, it is evaluated and the result used. The expression may refer to the From value as "$from".

To & To Expression -these define the email's To address. If only To is entered, this is used. If the To Expression is provided, it is evaluated and the result used. The expression may refer to the To value as "$to".

Reply To & Reply To Expression - these define the email's Reply To address. If only Reply To is entered, this is used. If the Reply To Expression is provided, it is evaluated and the result used. The expression may refer to the Reply To value as "$replyTo".

Subject & Subject Expression - these define the email's Subject. If only Subject is entered, this is used. If the Subject Expression is provided, it is evaluated and the result used. The expression may refer to the Subject value as "$subject".

Text & Text Expression - these define the email's Text. If only Text is entered, this is used. If the Text Expression is provided, it is evaluated and the result used. The expression may refer to the Text value as "$text"."

Maximum Parts - the maximum number of parts that may be sent in a single message. These are sent as multiple SMS by the gateway provider, but are concatenated together so that the recipient sees a single message.
Each part will be charged separately by the provider.
The specified number must not exceed that supported by the provider.

The bottom half of the screen contains:
Number - the phone number to which the test message is to be sent
Message - the text for the SMS message
SMS Button - press to send the email
Email - this panel shows the email that will be sent
Status - this shows 'OK' if all is OK else an error message indicating what is wrong

To get the Email and Status to update you must press the Enter key when the cursor is positioned in either of the Number or Message fields.

Note: The Country and Area Prefixes are used to format phone numbers so that they have the required format. That is, the customer's number will be something like 0413 123 456, but the gateway needs the full international number, ie 61413123456.  However, if the customer lives in another country then their number will be something like (for Hong Kong) 852 1234 5678. You need to indicate that this is an international number by prefixing it with a +, ie +85212345678.

So the logic is:
If the number starts with a +, strip it and use that number.
Else does the customer's number start with the Area Prefix? If yes, then strip the prefix and add the Country Prefix.