Messaging - Send file attachment with WhatsApp

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NOTE:

To add this product to your account, contact a Telesign expert. This product is available for full-service accounts only.

This page walks you step-by-step through how to use Telesign Messaging to send a WhatsApp message to an end-user that includes an attached file for them to open or download. This file is hosted by you.

Before you begin

Make sure you have the following before you start:

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CAUTION:

If an end user does not have WhatsApp, the WhatsApp send will fail. We recommend either ensuring your end users have WhatsApp on their devices or including a fallback channel for users without WhatsApp.

Steps

  1. Send a POST /v1/omnichannel request. Include the following param values:
ParameterValueDescriptionRequired?
channelsarray of channel objectsAdd channel objects to the array in the order you want the service to try the channels.yes
channels[0]{"channel":"whatsapp"}Include whatsapp as the first channel.yes
channels[0].fallback_timeA time in seconds.Specify the time to wait before cascading to the next channel.no
channels[1]{"channel":"sms"}Include sms as the backup channel.yes (if SMS is used for backup)
message.whatsapp.templatefileSpecify the predefined template that includes an attached file in the message.yes
message.whatsapp.parameters.urlA fully-qualified URL.The URL where you are hosting your file.yes
message.whatsapp.parameters.file_nameA filename.The display name of the file on end-user device (if not provided, the default file name is: "file").no
message.sms.templatetextSpecify SMS as your preferred backup channel, using the text template. You can use a different backup channel and template if you prefer.no
message.sms.parameters.textSome text.Text to display in the message.yes (if text template is used for backup)

Request example

POST /v1/omnichannel HTTP/1.1
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Basic 12345678-9ABC-DEF0-1234-56789ABCDEF0:vjE/ZDfPvDkuGNsuqCFFO4neYIs=
Host: rest-ww.telesign.com
{
  "channels": [
    {
      "channel": "whatsapp",
      "fallback_time": 600
    },
    {
      "channel": "sms"
    }
  ],
  "phone_number": "15558675309",
  "message": {
    "whatsapp": {
      "template": "file",
      "parameters": {
        "url":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/346542/viatu/customer47325-order-history.xlsx",
        "file_name": "order history.pdf"
      }
    },
    "sms": {
      "template": "text",
      "parameters": {
        "text": "Your viatu.com order history is ready for download at https://s3.amazonaws.com/346542/viatu/customer47325-order-history.xlsx."
      }
    }
  },
  "message_type": "MKT"
}
  1. If the request is processed successfully, you should see a response with a 3001 status code.

Response example

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Server: nginx/1.17.7
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 2020 21:25:54 GMT
Content-Type: application/json
Content-Length: 137
Connection: keep-alive
Allow: GET,POST,HEAD
{
  "status": {
    "code": 3001,
    "description": "Message in progress"
  },
  "reference_id": "35C8B5D509BC10689196FED2AD551B8A",
  "external_id": null
}
  1. If the send in WhatsApp format is successful, your end-user receives a message on their device that looks like this.
A screenshot of a message received by an end user if the send in WhatsApp format is successful.

WhatsApp Message

  1. If the send in WhatsApp format fails, the service tries to send the next specified backup channel (if any).
A screenshot of a message sent using the next specified backup channel if the send in WhatsApp format is unsuccessful.

SMS Backup

  1. Updates on the status of this message are sent to the callback URL for your Transaction Callback Service. The general callback schema common to both this and other products is described on Transaction Callback Service. Modifications to the callback schema for this product are described on Messaging - Callback service. Search for these callbacks based on the reference ID in the response to your original Messaging request. Each callback payload includes an object with the status of the send for each channel that is tried.

Callback example

GET /callback_endpoint HTTP/1.1
Host: your-callback-url.com
{
  "reference_id": "35C8B5D509BC10689196FED2AD551B8A",
  "external_id": "null",
  "status": {
    "code": 3000,
    "description": "Delivered",
    "last_channel": "sms",
    "updated_on": "2020-05-04 22:07:01:226"
  },
  "channel_status": [
    {"whatsapp": {
      "code": 3056,
      "description": "Message failed to deliver in specified fallback time",
      "reference_id": "65C77D4A6C5C09085694EFB6C554D2BF",
      "updated_on": "2020-05-04 22:05:00.325"
    }},
    {"sms": {
      "code": 3000,
      "description": "Delivered",
      "reference_id": "65C77D4A6C5C09085694EFB6C558B4C7",
      "updated_on": "2020-05-04 22:07:01:226"
    }}
  ]
}

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NOTE:

In addition to the reference ID for the Messaging transaction itself, the delivery status payload also includes a reference ID for the message-send on each channel. These can be useful for troubleshooting purposes.