Introduction
This guide will teach you how to quickly set up Telnyx Flow to automate forwarding actions to inbound messages.
We'll cover the following scenario of Telnyx Flow implementation:
Set up a Message Forwarding logic that redirects all the inbound messages destined to a Telnyx number and sends them to your mobile number.
For this tutorial, you will need to have these settings and resources in your Telnyx Account:
Telnyx Phone Number(s) must be enabled for messaging;
The said Phone Number must be assigned to an approved 10DLC Campaign. (Article: Register for 10DLC)
Create a dedicated Messaging Profile and assign the Telnyx numbers to the profile ( Article: Messaging First Steps at Telnyx)
We also suggest you read the Getting Started with Telnyx Flow article for a deeper understanding of how Telnyx Flow can improve your workflows, including powerful AI tools.
Creation and Set up of the Workflow
1. Log In: Visit flow.telnyx.com, where you’ll be redirected to log into your Telnyx Mission Control account. If you don’t have an account, you can sign up here.
Note: You may be logged out after a period of inactivity. Simply log back into Mission Control and refresh Telnyx Flow to continue.
2. Create a New Workspace:
Image 1 - Workspace
3. Create a new Workflow with a Blank Canvas
Image 2 - Blank Canvas
4. Right-click anywhere in the canvas to add the following nodes:
"Inbound Message": the Trigger that upon receiving an inbound message will start the automation;
"Switch": the logic node that will select if the inbound message is SMS or MMS;
Connect these 2 nodes as shown in Image 3.
"Send Message": Node that will be responsible for the outbound action
Note: Add two "Send Message" nodes, one for SMS and one for MMS
Click "Save" on the top left corner menu.
Image 3 - Nodes added to Canvas
5. Creating the Conditions on the Switch node:
Add a descriptive Label: "SMS or MMS?"
Add a condition group:
Name it "SMS"
On "input" type in the variable
{{message.received.type}}The comparison logic is "Equals"
On "Value" type in "SMS (without quotes)
Click on the Blue Disk icon to save the Condition Group.
Image 4 - SMS Condition Group
Add another condition group, repeating the same steps but now for the "MMS" condition:
Image 5 - All Condition Groups on Switch Node
Connect each "SMS", "MMS" and "Data" Switch node output to a Send Message node:
Image 6 - Send Message Node Set-up
The settings for each Send Message node are similar:
Type: SMS or MMS selection (select according to the Switch output connected to the node)
Messaging Profile ID: You can choose from a drop-down menu. (Since we are originating the forwarded message from the recipient Telnyx number, the Messaging Profile ID will be the same as the Inbound Message node.)
From and To: the variables contained in the input Data that inverts the From and To of the inbound message. (The From field can also be a fixed originating number, depending on the user's choice)
Text: You can customize the message body that composes the forwarded message. In Image 6, there's an example of how to use the variables within the text field.
For this Tutorial, the other sections of the Send Message Node will remain default; further details are covered in the dedicated article.
The only distinction between the respective Send Message nodes for SMS and MMS is the dedicated field related to the MMS media: Subject and Media URLs, however with a similar logic for customization and variable usage as shown in Image 7:
Image 7 - MMS Send Message Set-up
And you're done!
Click the Save button to deploy your workflow settings.
Testing your Workflow
To facilitate iterations, you can also test the workflow right from the Telnyx Flow:
Go and click on the first nodeInbound Message and click on the "Run Workflow" green button at the top right corner, there you can type a test inbound message to execute your workflow:
Image 8 - Testing the Workflow inside Telnyx Flow
We hope this article is useful in your journey as a Telnyx Customer and if you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to contact us at support@telnyx.com.
Thank you for reading!