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Using Numeric Response Codes in Mass Notifications

This guide explains how operators can choose whether SMS and email recipients reply to a mass notification with letters (A, B, C) or numbers (1, 2, 3).

Numbers are quicker to type on some phone keypads, and they match the voice channel, which already asks recipients to “press 1 for…”. Letters remain the default, so existing messages and templates behave exactly as before. Letter codes are unchanged: they still skip I, L and O, so they can't be mistaken for 1 and 0.

Before you start
  • In the Vismo Portal, the Response codes choice only appears while Use Options is on.
  • In the Monitor app, you need version 3.0.1 or later, on Android or iOS. Earlier versions don't show the choice and always send letters. Update from Google Play or the App Store.
  • Only SMS and email replies use codes. Voice, Microsoft Teams, Slack and in-app responses are based on the position of the option, so they are not affected.
  • SMS: each option is listed as “Reply 1:”, “Reply 2:” and so on, and the recipient replies with the digit.
  • Email: the message asks the recipient to reply with one of the single-digit codes, and the Options table lists the digits.
  • Both are available in English and Spanish. Messages using letter codes are worded exactly as before.
  • A reply is matched on its first character, ignoring any spaces before it. For example, “1” and “1 I'm safe” are both recorded as option 1.
  • Letters is the default. Existing messages and templates, including any saved before this change, are treated as Letters.
  • Numbers allow a maximum of 9 options (codes 1 to 9), because replies are matched on a single character.
  • If you add more than 9 options with Letters and then switch to Numbers, the portal shows “When using numbers, a maximum of 9 options is permitted.” when you save or send. The Monitor app shows an alert and does not send. The error clears once you remove options.
  • Avoid option collisions still works, but only 9 unique digits are available for each phone number across its unexpired messages, compared with 23 letters. If they run out, codes start again from 1 and the overlap is accepted, exactly as happens with letters.
  • A template remembers its choice. The choice is pre-selected when you send from that template, and you can still change it before sending.
  • If a recipient has unexpired messages using both styles, each reply is matched against each message's own codes. “A” only matches the letter-code message, and “1” only matches the numeric one.
Choosing response codes in the Vismo Portal

The choice is available when you compose a mass notification, add or edit a mass notification template, create an incident, or compose an incident message.

Step

What to do

1

Start composing your mass notification, template, incident or incident message.

2

Turn on Use Options and add your response options.

3

In the Message Options section, below the list of options, find Response codes and choose Letters or Numbers. It sits above Avoid option collisions and Allow answer to be changed.

4

If you choose Numbers, use no more than 9 options. New is disabled once you reach 9.

5

Send the message or save the template. After a message is sent, its Details tab shows which response codes it used.


Choosing response codes in the Monitor app

Step

What to do

1

Open Create Message and go to the Options tab.

2

In the Response Codes row, below Avoid Option Collisions and Allow Answer Change, select Letters or Numbers. Letters is selected by default.

3

Add your options. With Numbers selected, Add Option becomes unavailable once the message has 9 options. It becomes available again if you remove an option or switch back to Letters.
Good to know Troubleshooting / FAQs

Question

Answer

I can't see the Response codes choice.

In the portal, Use Options must be on. In the Monitor app, check the version is 3.0.1 or later.

I can't add a tenth option.

Numbers is selected, which allows up to 9 options. Switch to Letters, or reduce the number of options.

A recipient's reply wasn't recorded.

Check the message's Details tab to see which codes it used. The reply must start with one of that message's codes, so a letter reply to a numeric message (or a digit reply to a letter message) is not matched. Also check that the message had not expired.

Two messages used the same digit.

Either Avoid option collisions was off, or the recipient's unexpired messages needed more than 9 unique codes. Where recipients regularly have several live messages at once, Letters gives more room.

Our SMS or email still tells people to reply with a letter.

Your account may use a custom SMS or email template with its own wording. Contact Vismo Support so the template can be reviewed.

If you contact Vismo Support about a reply, please include the message (or the time it was sent), the channel, and the exact reply the recipient sent.

Need more help? Contact Vismo Support at techsupport@vismo.com.