markwilson.it

Sending SMS messages from within Outlook

Written by

Mark Wilson

in

A couple of months back, my colleague James Simmonds wrote about a free Microsoft Office SMS Add-in (MOSA) which allows the sending (but not receipt) of text messages from within the Outlook 2003 client (in this context, SMS is Short Message Service – not Systems Management Server). I finally downloaded MOSA this afternoon and it looks good.

MOSA can only send messages using a GSM mobile handset that supports the Protocol Description Unit (PDU) standard. Initially, I attempted to send a message using a standard modem (without success – generating a “the modem does not support messages in PDU format” message) but once I paired my notebook PC with a Nokia 6310i via Bluetooth, everything jumped into life.

For anyone wondering (as I was), what exactly the PDU format is, I found some further information about SMS and the PDU format as well as a PDU string analyser and converter.

Comments

9 responses to “Sending SMS messages from within Outlook”

  1. Anonymous avatar
    Anonymous

    Me neither I didn’t know anything about PDU, and still wonder whether my SPV C500 phone is PDU or not…..because I can’t get the SMS add-in to work with it…

  2. Jim Peters avatar
    Jim Peters

    Would it not be easier to use a web service rather than PDU, since then you dont need to leave the phone attached, have a look at the developers section of for details

  3. Mark Wilson avatar
    Mark Wilson

    Jim,
    I could use a web service, but then I’d have to give phone numbers for myself and my contacts to a site about which I know nothing (potentially leaving them open to being spammed).

    Another advantage of sending SMS messages from within Outlook is that I keep my history (i.e. Sent Items)

    Mark

  4. Thomas Sheahan avatar
    Thomas Sheahan

    Check out http://www.redoxygen.com. Good reliable product, global delivery, free trial. Works with all versions of Outlook

  5. Mark Wilson avatar
    Mark Wilson

    Thomas,
    My earlier response to Jim’s comment still stands…

    Mark

  6. Colin avatar
    Colin

    My Nokia 6600 is installed as a modem. It shows up under the MOSA add-in Options and passes its diagnostics.

    However, I get an error when I try to send a text (SMS) from Outlook. Immediately I click Send I get the error message “A required property is missing from the SMS form. Please reinstall Microsoft Office Outlook SMS Add-in.” Reinstalling the add-in makes no difference!

    Microsoft website states the add-in is compatible with with Outlook 2007 and Vista. I’m baffled.

    Any suggestions gratefully received!

  7. Saurabh avatar
    Saurabh

    Hi

    My issue is the same as that of Colin.

    My bluetooth phone is installed as a modem. It shows up under the MOSA add-in Options.

    However, I get an error when I try to send a text (SMS) from Outlook. Immediately I click Send I get the error message “A required property is missing from the SMS form. Please reinstall Microsoft Office Outlook SMS Add-in.” Reinstalling the add-in makes no difference!

    Microsoft website states the add-in is compatible with with Outlook 2007 and Vista.

    Thanks in advance for your help.

  8. Ric avatar
    Ric

    Did anybody find a solution for the “a required propperty is missing…”??

  9. Colin avatar
    Colin

    I never found a solution. I also had the same problem using my Windows Mobile Professional HTC phone and there’s no resolution to be found in the Microsoft Knowledgebase or anywhere else that I’ve discovered.
    Not very satisfactory that this MS product does not work, but I now use Jeyo Mobile Companion instead. See http://www.jeyo.com/companion.asp . They also do a similar product that works with Outlook, see http://www.jeyo.com/extender.asp .

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

More posts