PulseText — User Guide

A walkthrough for everyday users (Agents, Admins, and Owners). If this is your first time signing in, read it end to end. If you're already comfortable with the inbox, skim to the section you need.

For setup tasks owners and admins handle, see Admin Guide. If something isn't working, see Help Guide. For a complete list of what the product can do, see Feature Guide.

Contents

1. Signing in
2. The inbox at a glance
3. Conversations and threads
4. Sending a message
5. Attachments — files, links, and cloud sources
6. Templates
7. Scheduling a message for later
8. Pinning, favourites, and notifications
9. Tags — labelling and filtering conversations
10. Assigning conversations to teammates
11. Internal notes about a contact
12. Zoho Sign — sending documents for signature
13. Settings, theme, and your account
14. Searching and browsing
15. Quick reference — keyboard and gestures

1. Signing in

1. Open the app URL your administrator gave you.
2. Enter your email and password and click Sign in.
3. If your administrator just created your account, they may have given you a temporary password. Sign in with it and change your password from your account menu (top-right) right after.

If you don't have an account yet and you're starting a brand-new workspace yourself, click Sign up instead — that creates a fresh workspace with you as the Owner. Otherwise, ask an admin to invite you.

2. The inbox at a glance

After signing in you land in the Inbox. The screen has two panes:

• Sidebar (left) — workspace name, sync button, your phone numbers, theme toggle, and your account menu.
• Main pane (right) — the conversation list, an open thread, the new-message form, or the settings page.

On phones and very narrow screens only one pane is visible at a time; the back arrow returns you to the list.

Sidebar — phone numbers

The sidebar lists every phone number in the workspace that you can see. Each row shows:

• A circular avatar with the number's initials.
• The friendly name (or the formatted phone number if there's no friendly name).
• A small dot when the number is assigned to you.
• An unread count pill on the right when there are unread messages.
• A star when the number is pinned to top (favourite).
• Reduced opacity and an "Archived" divider when a number is no longer active.

Agents see only the numbers they have been assigned to. Admins and Owners see every active number.

What you can do from the sidebar

• Click a number to open its conversation list.
• Right-click on desktop or long-press on mobile to open the context menu:
  • Pin to top / Unpin from top — favourites bubble up to the top of the list.
  • Manage assignees (admins/owners only) — toggle which agents can see this number.
• Click the circular sync icon at the top of the sidebar to pull the latest numbers from your provider.

Tab title unread count

When you have unread messages anywhere in your workspace, the browser tab title shows a count: (3) PulseText. Switch tabs and you'll still see the badge in your tab strip — no need to return to check.

Sound on inbound

You can opt into a soft notification beep when a new message arrives. Open your account menu (top-right) and use the Sound on inbound toggle. The preference is per-browser and remembers across reloads. Default is off.

3. Conversations and threads

After clicking a phone number in the sidebar, the main pane shows the Conversation list — one row per contact you've exchanged messages with on that number. Newest first.

Each row shows:

• The contact's display name (or formatted phone number).
• A timestamp for the last message.
• A short preview of the most recent message body.
• A blue unread badge with the number of unread inbound messages.
• A star when the contact is pinned.
• Tag chips (if the contact has any tags applied).
• An assignee chip (if the conversation is assigned to a teammate).
• A small note icon when the contact has internal notes.

Click a row to open the thread (the message history). The first 50 messages load instantly; scroll up to fetch older history.

Filter the conversation list

The control bar above the list has:

• A search box that matches contact names, phone numbers, message bodies, tag names, and assignee names.
• An assignment filter with three pills — All, Mine, Unassigned. "Mine" only shows conversations currently assigned to you.
• A tag filter showing every tag that's currently applied to any conversation in this view. Click a tag to filter; click again or pick All to clear.

Both filter rows AND together, so "Mine + tag X" works as expected.

Inside a thread

The thread view shows messages chronologically — outbound on the right, inbound on the left. Each bubble carries:

• The body text (formatted with line breaks preserved).
• Any media attachments (images preview inline; PDFs and other files get an icon you can click to download).
• A timestamp on hover/tap.
• A status indicator on outbound messages (Sending, Sent, Delivered, or Failed in red).
• A pinned-to-top icon when an admin or the original sender pinned the message.

Right-click (or long-press on mobile) any message for actions — copy text, pin/unpin, etc.

Pinned banner

Pinned messages appear in a banner at the top of the thread so they're always visible — useful for important context like an order number or address.

4. Sending a message

The composer sits at the bottom of every thread. To send:

1. Type your message in the textarea.
2. Press Enter to send (Shift+Enter for a new line).
3. Or click the paper-plane button on the right.

Your message appears immediately as a "Sending" bubble. As soon as the provider accepts it, the bubble flips to "Sent" / "Delivered" or to "Failed" (red) with the reason underneath.

Starting a brand-new conversation

If the contact isn't in your list yet:

1. Click the + New button on the conversations list.
2. Enter the recipient's phone number in E.164 format (e.g. +14155551212). The validator will warn you if it doesn't look like a valid E.164 number.
3. Type your message and send.

A new contact row is created automatically and appears in your conversation list.

5. Attachments — files, links, and cloud sources

Click the paperclip icon in the composer to open the attachment menu. Five sources:

Picked files appear as chips below the textarea showing filename, size, and a small "uploading" spinner. Once uploaded the chip is ready to send. Remove a chip with the × button.

Limits:

• Up to 10 attachments per message.
• Each attachment up to a per-server cap (typically 25 MB; your admin sets this).
• Allowed types include common images, audio, video, PDF, vCard, and plain text.

Connecting a cloud account

If a cloud picker shows "Connect Google Drive" / "Connect Zoho Drive" / "Connect Zoho Sign" instead of files, you don't have an account connected yet. Click the connect button — a small popup walks you through signing in to that service. After it closes, your account is linked and you can pick files. Connections are per-user but can be shared with teammates from Settings → Cloud accounts.

If something goes wrong (you weren't signed into PulseText in that browser, the popup hit a host-level block, etc.) the popup stays open with a red reason: line and a Close button — you'll have time to read what happened. Successful connects still auto-dismiss after a second. See the help guide's "Cloud accounts" section if you see a specific reason and need to recover.

6. Templates

Templates are reusable message bodies (with optional pinned attachments) you author once and re-use any time.

Using a template

1. In the composer, click the template picker icon (next to the paperclip).
2. Pick a template — the template body fills the textarea and any pinned attachments appear as ready chips below.
3. Edit if needed, then send.

{{link}} placeholder

Template bodies can include the special token {{link}}. Insert any URL into your composer (or paste it from elsewhere) and the template substitutes the placeholder at send time.

Creating templates

Open Settings → Templates:

• + New template to author a new one.
• Template body, name, optional attachments, and visibility:
  • Private — only you can use it.
  • Workspace — visible to every member of the workspace.
• Edit and delete your own templates from the same page. Admins can edit/delete any workspace template.

7. Scheduling a message for later

In the composer, click the clock icon next to the paperclip. A small popover lets you pick a date and time. Pick a time, then hit the schedule button — your message goes into the Scheduled queue and is sent at the chosen time.

To view, edit, or cancel scheduled messages, open Settings → Scheduled:

• The list shows every pending message in your workspace, sorted by scheduled time.
• Cancel removes a pending message. Once a message is sent it appears in the regular thread alongside other history.
• Failed sends show with the failure reason and can be re-sent with a fresh schedule.

8. Pinning, favourites, and notifications

Pinning a message

Right-click a message bubble → Pin to top. Pinned messages appear in a banner at the top of the thread for everyone in the workspace. Up to 5 pinned messages per conversation. Right-click again to unpin.

Pinning a contact (favourites)

In the conversation list, right-click a row → Pin to top. Favourites bubble up to the top of the list with a star icon.

Pinning a phone number

Right-click a number in the sidebar → Pin to top. Same idea — the number stays at the top of your sidebar.

Notifications

• Tab title — unread count appears in the browser tab.
• Sound — opt-in beep when a message arrives. Toggle from the account menu.
• Real-time — new messages appear in your open thread without refreshing.

9. Tags — labelling and filtering conversations

Tags are simple coloured labels (like "Hot lead", "Renewal needed", "Spam") you apply to contacts to organise the inbox.

Applying a tag

In the conversation list, right-click a row → Add tag / Edit tags. Pick one or more tags from the dropdown. Apply or remove them with the checkboxes. Changes are saved automatically.

The contact's tag chips appear under the row in the conversation list. The chips also appear at the top of the thread.

Filtering by tag

Above the conversation list there's a row of tag pills for every tag currently applied somewhere in this view. Click one to filter to just those conversations; click again or pick All to clear.

The search box also matches tag names — typing a tag name shows every conversation tagged with it.

Creating and managing tags

Open Settings → Tags:

• + New tag opens a small builder. Pick a name and a colour from the palette. Live preview shows the chip.
• The list shows every tag in your workspace and how many contacts have it applied.
• Edit to rename or recolour. Delete to remove the tag everywhere (you'll see a count of affected contacts before confirming).

Tags are workspace-wide — every member sees the same set.

10. Assigning conversations to teammates

Conversations can be assigned to a single teammate so it's clear who's handling which thread. Assignment lives at the (number, contact) pair, so the same contact texting two of your numbers can have different agents on each.

Assigning a conversation

Two ways:

• From the conversation list — right-click a row → Assign… / Reassign…. A picker shows every team member; pick one or pick Unassign to clear.
• From inside the thread — the assignment badge in the conversation header shows the current assignee (or "Assign"). Click it to open the same picker.

The assignee's avatar chip appears on the conversation row.

Mine vs Unassigned

Above the conversation list, the assignment filter has three pills:

• All — every conversation.
• Mine — only conversations currently assigned to you.
• Unassigned — conversations no one's claimed yet.

When you're triaging the queue at the start of your shift, **Mine

• unread** is the typical view.

Who can assign

• Owners and Admins can assign any conversation to any team member (including reassigning between teammates).
• Agents can only assign a conversation to themselves (claim it) or release one currently assigned to themselves. They cannot redirect another agent's conversation.

11. Internal notes about a contact

Notes are agent-only annotations attached to a contact — never sent over SMS, never visible to the contact. Use them for context your team needs to remember: "Prefers texts after 6 PM", "Mentioned chronic back pain", "Husband's name is Carlos", etc.

Opening notes

In the thread header (top right), click the Notes button. A small badge shows the current note count.

A modal opens with all notes for this contact, newest first.

Adding a note

Type into the compose box at the top of the modal. Ctrl+Enter (or Cmd+Enter on Mac) saves; or click Add note.

Editing and deleting

You can edit or delete your own notes — pencil and trash icons appear on rows you authored. Owners and Admins can edit or delete any note in the workspace.

Real-time

If a teammate adds, edits, or deletes a note while you have the modal open, the change appears live without a refresh.

12. Zoho Sign — sending documents for signature

If your workspace has connected a Zoho Sign account, you can send existing Zoho Sign documents or build a new sign request directly from a conversation.

Open the composer's paperclip → Zoho Sign. The picker has two tabs at the top.

Tab A — Existing documents

Browse documents you've authored in Zoho Sign:

• Status pills filter by All / Draft / In progress / Completed.
• A search box matches the document name.

Click a document and choose:

• Attach as PDF (MMS) — downloads the document and attaches the PDF to the SMS. Works for any document state.
• Insert signing link — asks Zoho for a real one-time signing URL for the recipient. Only works for documents authored with embedded signing enabled. The URL expires in 2 minutes — a toast reminds you to send the SMS right away.

You can pick both, just one, or neither (you can also attach the PDF on its own without inserting a link).

If "Insert signing link" returns an "unavailable" message, the document wasn't set up for embedded signing — use the PDF attachment instead, or use the Builder tab.

Tab B — Send for signature (Builder)

Create a brand-new sign request from a Zoho Sign template:

1. Pick a template from the list (search or scroll).
2. The recipient form is pre-filled from the contact's name and phone. Type the recipient's email (Zoho requires it).
3. Optional: edit the document name (defaults to "Template name — Recipient name").
4. Click Create & insert link.

The system creates a new sign request in Zoho with embedded signing enabled, then mints the one-time signing URL and inserts it into the SMS body. The URL expires in 2 minutes — send the SMS straight after the picker closes.

The recipient taps the link → lands directly on the signing page → signs without logging in or hunting through email.

Note: v1 of the builder only supports templates with a single signing recipient. Multi-recipient templates show a "use the Zoho Sign UI" message because Zoho requires every recipient slot to be filled.

13. Settings, theme, and your account

The gear icon in the bottom-left of the sidebar opens Settings. What you see depends on your role:

Theme

The theme toggle in the bottom-left switches between Light, Dark, and System (matches your OS). Your choice persists across reloads.

Account menu

Top-right of the screen, click your avatar:

• Switch workspace — when you belong to multiple workspaces, pick one. The data refreshes automatically.
• Sound on inbound — toggle the inbound message beep.
• Sign out — clears your session in this browser.

14. Searching and browsing

Inside a conversation list

The search box matches name / phone / body / tag name / assignee in real time as you type.

Cross-number contact view

Click a contact's name from any conversation list to open their cross-number contact page. It shows every message the contact has exchanged with any of your numbers, in one timeline. Useful when a customer texts in to multiple lines.

You can also reply from the contact page — pick which of your numbers to send from.

Audit log (admins/owners)

Settings → Audit log lists every workspace event: invites, role changes, provider connect/disconnect, embed launches, etc. Filter by event type and search by date. Useful for compliance and "who did what" investigations.

15. Quick reference — keyboard and gestures

Composer

• Enter — send.
• Shift+Enter — new line.
• Ctrl/Cmd+Enter (in the notes modal) — save the note.

Modals

• Esc — close.
• Click outside the modal body — close.

Conversation list

• Click row — open thread.
• Right-click (desktop) / long-press (mobile) — context menu (pin, assign, tag, etc.).

Account menu / pickers

• Esc — close.
• Click outside — close.

That's the whole product from a user's seat. For setup tasks see Admin Guide; for fixes when something doesn't work see Help Guide.