SMS Conversations — the text-message inbox that works through iCampaign — now shows the photos and files your contacts send, lets you send emoji (and photos and files; see the companion guide Sending Files in Text Conversations), and tells you clearly when text conversations are not available for your account.
Contents
1. Before You Start
2. Open SMS Conversations
3. Send Emoji
4. Photos and Files in a Conversation
5. When Text Conversations Are Not Available
6. On a Phone or a Small Screen
7. Frequently Asked Questions
1. Before You Start
You will need:
iCampaign text messaging enabled for your CRM instance (your administrator sets this up under Settings).
A role that includes the Access SMS Conversations permission. Your administrator grants it in Settings → Roles; without it, the inbox does not appear in the left menu.
To send or receive photos and files, your administrator must have saved the iCampaign API token (see the companion guide Sending Files in Text Conversations). Until then, you can still text — only the paperclip button is missing.
Access requirements: the inbox is per instance and per role. Which conversations you can see follows the records they are linked to — if you cannot open a Contact, you will not see its conversation either.
If you do not see Conversations → SMS Conversations in the left menu, ask your administrator to check the two points above, or contact Dazos support to enable text conversations for your instance.
2. Open SMS Conversations
From the left menu, choose Conversations → SMS Conversations. The page has three parts:
Area | What it shows |
Conversation list (left) | One row per phone number, newest activity first, with the Open / Unread / Closed tabs and a search box that also accepts a new number. |
Thread (middle) | The messages exchanged with that number, oldest at the top. Scroll up to load older messages. |
Record panel (right) | The linked Contact, Lead, or Account, with Close and Link actions. |
The list row shows a short preview of the newest message. When that message is a photo or a file, the preview says Photo or File so you can tell at a glance.
Tip: The thread refreshes by itself every few seconds — you do not need to reload the page to see a reply.
3. Send Emoji
1. Open a conversation and click the smiley button to the left of the message box.
2. Browse by category (Smileys, Gestures, People, Hearts and more) or type in the search box — for example, thumbs.
3. Click an emoji to insert it where your cursor is. Emojis you use often appear first under Recently used.
4. Press Esc or click outside the picker to close it, then click Send.
Emoji typed from your own keyboard (phone or desktop) work too. They show correctly in the message bubble and in the conversation list preview.
Tip: emojis the other person sends from their phone are shown exactly as they were sent — including newer emojis that are not in the CRM's own picker. If one looks like an empty box, your computer's fonts do not have that emoji yet; the message itself is intact.
4. Photos and Files in a Conversation
Photos appear as a thumbnail inside the message. While a photo is still loading, you see a blurred placeholder with a spinning ring in the middle. Click the thumbnail to view the photo full size; press Esc, click the ×, or click outside the photo to close the viewer. Open original opens the photo in a new browser tab.
PDF and CSV files appear as a file card with the file type on the badge:
On the card | Meaning |
PDF document · PDF · Open | Your browser can show the file in a new tab. Click the card to open it; you can download it from there. |
CSV file · CSV · Download | The file is downloaded when you click the card (a CSV cannot be shown in a tab). |
PDF document · PDF · Download | Your browser is set to download PDFs instead of showing them, so the card downloads the file. |
Attachment unavailable | The file could not be loaded — it was removed on iCampaign's side, or the link expired. Ask the contact to send it again. |
While a file you clicked is being fetched, the action icon on the right of the card turns into a spinning ring for a moment.
Important: photos and files are kept by iCampaign, not inside the CRM. The CRM shows them from iCampaign each time you open the conversation. The original file name is not shown — the card shows the file type instead.
5. When Text Conversations Are Not Available
The CRM checks with iCampaign whether your account can hold text conversations (for example, that text messaging is switched on and the account has credit). There are two situations you may notice:
What you see | What it means | What to do |
An amber banner at the top of the inbox: Could not confirm with iCampaign whether text conversations are available. Messages may not be delivered until this clears. | The CRM could not reach iCampaign to ask. The inbox keeps working; the banner disappears on its own once iCampaign answers (it is re-checked about every five minutes while someone has the inbox open). | Nothing, unless it stays for a long time — then ask your administrator to check the iCampaign connection. |
The SMS Conversations entry disappears from the left menu, and the page shows that text conversations are not available, with the reason iCampaign gave. | iCampaign has reported that your account cannot hold conversations right now (for example, text messaging is disabled, or there is no credit). | Resolve the reason in iCampaign. The entry comes back automatically within a few minutes of someone opening the inbox page, or immediately after an administrator saves the iCampaign URL or token again. |
6. On a Phone or a Small Screen
The inbox adapts to narrow screens: the list and the thread take turns filling the screen (use the back arrow in the header to return to the list), the emoji picker opens as a sheet from the bottom, and photos and file cards fit the width of the screen.
7. Frequently Asked Questions
Q: I do not see Conversations in the left menu. Why? Either text conversations are not enabled for your instance, your role does not have the Access SMS Conversations permission, or iCampaign has reported that conversations are not available for your account (see section 5). Your administrator can check all three.
Q: Can I send a photo or a file myself? Yes — click the paperclip left of the message box. The rules and the one-time setup are in the companion guide Sending Files in Text Conversations.
Q: Why does a file card say "Download" instead of "Open"? "Open" is shown only when your browser can display the file in a tab. CSV files always download; a PDF downloads when your browser is set to download PDFs rather than show them.
Q: Are the photos and files stored in the CRM? No. iCampaign keeps them; the CRM shows them from iCampaign. If a file disappears on iCampaign's side, the card says Attachment unavailable.
Q: The other person sent an emoji I cannot see — just a box. The emoji arrived intact; your computer simply does not have a font with that emoji yet. Newer phones add new emoji every year.
Q: Does a conversation close on its own? No. Conversations stay open until someone clicks Close in the record panel; a new reply from the contact reopens it.
Q: The amber banner has been there all day. It means the CRM has not been able to confirm availability with iCampaign for a while. Messages are still sent; ask your administrator to check the iCampaign URL and token under Settings and the iCampaign account itself.
Need Help?
If you run into issues:
1. Check the banner at the top of the inbox (section 5) and the status shown under your message (Queued, Sent, Delivered, Rejected).
2. Ask your administrator to confirm the iCampaign URL and API token under Settings → Crm iCampaign Mapping, and your role's Access SMS Conversations permission.
3. Contact Dazos support with the conversation's phone number, the time of the message, and a screenshot, and reference CRM-3518.