CommSyncdocs
Open app
The inbox

Sending messages

How to start a conversation, pick who you are writing to, and control which of your workspace's lines a message goes out from.

New

Every message you send answers two questions: who receives this, and which of our lines sends it. CommSync tries to answer both for you, and makes both easy to correct before you hit send.

Start a conversation

Click Compose to open a new conversation. Pick the channel — SMS or Email — then search in the To field.

The field searches your contacts and your saved addresses and numbers at the same time, and groups the results:

  • Contacts — matched by name. Type Priya to find Priya Sharma; you do not need her address.
  • Channels — addresses and numbers not yet attached to a contact.

CommSync shows only the channels that fit the current mode: an email compose shows addresses, and an SMS compose shows numbers. If you change the channel tab, the search clears and starts fresh.

Contacts with more than one address or number

A contact can hold several channels — a work mailbox and a personal one, an office line and a mobile. CommSync never guesses between them.

One matching channel

CommSync shows the address or number right on the contact's row (Priya Sharma — priya@northwind.example). If you select the contact, it selects that channel too. CommSync hides nothing from you.

Several matching channels

The row shows a count instead (2 addresses). If you select the contact, a second step opens that lists each channel, and you pick one explicitly. Press Esc to back out to the full results.

Once chosen, the recipient sits in the field as a chip that carries both the contact's name and the literal address or number. CommSync never hides the real destination behind a friendly name.

Writing to someone new

If you type a complete address or number that does not match anything, it still works — the list offers a Use as typed row. CommSync creates the contact record for you when the message sends.

Which line your message sends from

Mailboxes and phone numbers belong to the workspace, not to you personally (see roles & permissions). Owners and admins can use every line in the workspace, so "which line is mine" is not something CommSync can work out on its own.

By default it uses the line the conversation already used — reply to a thread that arrived on support@northwind.example and the reply goes out from support@northwind.example. That is almost always right for a one-to-one conversation, because it is the address the other person expects to hear back from.

It is less reliable on a group thread, where the line that happened to receive the message is often a teammate's rather than yours. That is what default sending lines are for.

Choose your default sending lines

Go to Settings → Account → Default sending lines and pick one mailbox and one phone number. Both are optional, and No default is a valid choice — leave them unset and CommSync keeps the behaviour described above.

Once set, CommSync uses your default:

SituationLine CommSync picks
You start a new conversationYour default
You reply to a one-to-one threadThe line the conversation already used
You reply to a group threadYour default, when it is available

Your default only ever applies to lines you can actually use. If an admin revokes your access to a mailbox, or the mailbox loses its connection, CommSync quietly resets the default to No default. The default never points at a line you cannot send from. CommSync restores your choice if access comes back.

This is a personal preference. If you set it, nothing changes for your teammates, and you gain no access to a line you did not already have.

Change the line before you send

The Sending from control below the composer always shows the line a message will go out from. You can change it at any point before you send. The dropdown marks each option so you can tell them apart at a glance:

  • In thread — this line has already sent or received on this conversation.
  • New here — this line has not appeared in this conversation before.

If the selected line has never been part of the conversation, CommSync adds one quiet note under the picker:

This line hasn't been part of this conversation.

It is a nudge, not a wall. You can send from a fresh line, and that is perfectly legitimate. You introduce a new address to the thread, and the note makes sure you do it on purpose rather than by accident.

Send it later

The Send button has a chevron beside it. Click the chevron to pick a time instead of sending now. Choose one of the presets, or open Pick date and time for an exact moment.

Both channels schedule. SMS and Email work the same way, because the delay sits on the job queue rather than on the mail server or the carrier.

A scheduled message shows a clock icon instead of the usual check mark, and it stays in the conversation where you left it. CommSync sends it at the chosen time, then the icon changes to the normal delivery state.

A time in the past sends now

If you pick a moment that has already passed, CommSync treats the message as an ordinary send and it goes out immediately.

Send pictures by text (MMS)

Click the paperclip on an SMS conversation to attach images. Drag a file onto the composer, or paste one from the clipboard — both work the same way. The message goes out as a picture message (MMS) on the line's own carrier. Every provider can send them: Twilio, JustCall, and Skyetel.

A text message accepts JPEG, PNG, and GIF images. One message holds up to 10 images and 5 MB in total. Skyetel lines carry a tighter cap: 1.5 MB combined across all images on the message. A caption is optional — a picture with no text is a valid message, and it renders as just the image in the conversation.

Other file types stay on email

Carriers only deliver a small set of media formats reliably, so CommSync keeps text-message attachments to images. To share a document with a contact who texts you, send it to their email address in the same conversation instead.

Forward a message

Right-click any message, then choose Forward. You can also forward a whole conversation's most recent message. That option sits in the thread header menu, and in the conversation's right-click menu in the inbox list.

Every conversation can forward: one-to-one, group, and contacts that hold any number of addresses and numbers.

The dialog opens on the channel the original message arrived on. Search the To field by contact name, or type an address or number that is new to you. Add an optional comment, and CommSync puts it above the forwarded text.

When you forward an email to another email address, CommSync copies the original attachments by default. The dialog lists them with their sizes. Clear the checkbox to send the message text alone.

Images that sit inside the message body travel too. CommSync rebuilds the reference each embedded image needs, so a logo, a chart, or a screenshot arrives in place rather than as a broken picture. The dialog does not list those, because you did not choose them — they are part of the message you are forwarding.

Forwarding to SMS drops the files

When you forward an email to a phone number, CommSync sends a shortened text copy and leaves the files behind. To send a picture by text, attach it in the composer instead — see the section above.