Little Known Parameters of the SMTP API

The SMTP API provides versatile SMS messaging capabilities – simple enough to be used by your grandmother, detailed enough to be integrated in complex software environment, especially if you use the right parameters…

The SMTP API, in my opinion, is one of those underestimated APIs; call it the unsung hero of the SMS API world. True, it can’t do two-way messaging, but when it comes down to it you can always just use a web-based application like Communicator II or the HTTP/S API to check for incoming messages. The key to good SMTP API usage lies in its features.

It’s All in the Manual

The information below isn’t new as such, or even hidden. It’s all contained in the SMTP API Specification, which can be downloaded from the Developer’s page. So let’s look at a couple of parameters that could be of great use when using this API to send your SMS messages:

SMTP API: Delivery Time

Using the delivery time (deliv_time) parameter will delay the delivery of SMS messages to the destination number. This is especially if you want to send messages to destination numbers in different time zones, and means that you won’t have to get up at 3AM to send your messages. Note that this parameter has a lower limit of 10 minutes and an upper limit of 7 days.

SMTP API: Gateway Escalation

Have any messages that can’t wait? The gateway escalation (escalate) parameter will ensure that messages get sent as soon as possible by diverting them to an alternative gateway should the default least cost route gateway be suffering any form of congestion. The gateway escalation is off by default, but can be enabled using escalate:1. Easy.

SMTP API: Delivery Queue

The delivery queue (queue) parameter is almost like the gateway escalation parameter, with a bit of added flexibility. Essentially this parameter allows you to specify message priority – from 1 to 3. Messages marked with a priority of ‘3′ are deemed low priority, whereas messages marked ‘1′ will be delivered before all other messages sent by the same sender.

SMTP API: Required Features

This parameter (req_feat) is used to indicate other parameters that have to be kept for successful message delivery to occur. Quite naturally this means that, somewhere along the road, parameters can be dropped, especially by gateways that do not support them. One such a parameter is the Source Address parameter.

As you can see, all the above can be used to make life infinitely easier, and is available in the SMTP API Specification document (just follow the link above). That being said, here’s an example message that we want to delay for 24 hours, escalate and queue in the highest priority queue with flash messaging as the required feature:

api_id:12345

user:your_user_id

password:secret

deliv_time:1440

escalate:1

queue:1

req_feat:16

to:1234567890,1234567890,1234567890,1234567890

data: Is anybody out there?

The above message can then be sent in a plain text mail using the mail client of your choice. Easy!

For more examples or to learn more (or to get a free account), simply browse on over to the SMTP API page…

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