Send the contact a message

4 minutes read

Level: Beginner

Last Updated: January 2026

Send the contact a message

As the name suggests, Send Message node allows the user to send a simple message to the end user. This node is particularly useful in the following scenarios:

1. Sending a plain text message that does not include any interactive elements such as buttons or lists.

2. Sending media files as attachments to the end user.

3. Sending HSM templates to reinitiate engagement and bring the end user back into an active session window.

This document provides detailed guidance on:

• Steps to use the Send Messsage node
• Working with Media Files (Sending & Receiving)

Steps to use the Send Messsage node

Step 1: Log in to Glific.

Step 2: From the left panel, navigate to Flows and click on the Flows tab.

Step 3: Click on the +Create button at the top right to start creating a new flow from scratch.

Step 4: Enter the required details to set up the new flow and click Configure to proceed.

Step 5: Create a Send Message node.

Step 6: The following node opens up:

a. Home Tab: This tab allows the user to add the message content for a simple message. The content can include plain text, plain text with emojis, special characters, or external URL links (e.g., YouTube or website links).

Basic text formatting can be applied as follows:

1. Bold: Place two asterisks before and after the text. Example: text → text
2. Italic: Place one underscore before and after the text. Example: text → text
3. Strikethrough: Place one tilde (~) before and after the text. Example: text → text
4. Monospace: Place backticks () before and after the text. Example: text` → text

For emojis, you can use browser extensions or type the text with emojis directly in WhatsApp and copy-paste it into the Send Message node.

Stored values in result or contact variables can also be referenced within the Send Message node. Read more about variables here

b. Attachments Tab: This tab allows the user to attach media files to be sent to the end user.

Important Notes:

• Stickers and audio files can only be sent as standalone messages. A sticker or audio file cannot be combined with a message body.
• WhatsApp business API doesn't support .gif files to be sent as attachments.
• Size limits for attachments are as follows.To read more about this, please refer to this link
• Image: 5.12 MB
• Video: 16.384 MB
• Audio: 16.384 MB
• Document: 102.4 MB
• Sticker: 0.09 MB. Additionally, WhatsApp supports only 512 × 512 px images in .webp format.

c. HSM Templates: This tab allows the user to send an HSM template message to the end user. More information on HSM templates and their usage can be found here

d. Character Count: The counter at the bottom left displays the total number of characters in the message. Note that text messages can contain up to 4096 characters. For further details on character limits, please refer to this link.

Step 7: After filling in the message contents, click OK.

Step 8: Publish the flow and test its functionality by clicking Preview on the simulator.

Working with Media Files (Sending & Receiving)

For any business, there are two operations that are primarily possible, that involve media files:

1. The chatbot sends the media to the end user.
2. The end user sends the media to the chatbot.

For both operations to happen, the GCS (Google Cloud Storage) needs to be set up and made active. Refer to this section to understand how this can be done.

Chatbot sending the media to the end user.

There are two ways in which this can be achieved.

1. Upload the media files directly from the computer.

Step 1: Open the flow from which you want to send a file as an attachment.

Step 2: Create a Send Message node.

Step 3: Click on the Attachments tab.

Step 4: Select the ‘Upload Attachment’ option from the dropdown menu.

Step 5: A file explorer window will open. Select the file you want to upload.

Step 6: Once the upload is successful, options to download or remove the attachment will be available.

Step 7: Click OK to save the attachment in the node.

Step 8: Test the flow to confirm that the attachment is successfully sent to the end user.

2. Upload files on the GCS and use the public URL generated in the Glific.

As shown in the dropdown options under the Attachments tab, you can also add public URLs of media files (images, audio, video, stickers, PDFs) to send them. For details on file size and dimension restrictions, refer to this section.

Please note - Google Drive links of media files cannot be used as public URLs.

To generate a public URL, first upload the media file to GCS. Once uploaded, copy the generated public URL and use it in this field.

Steps to configure:

Step 1: Navigate to your GCS bucket using the steps mentioned here

Step 2: Upload the media files, following the steps mentioned here

Step 3: In the flow editor, go to the ‘Attachments’ tab and select the applicable URL dropdown, depending on the media type uploaded on GCS. For example, if the media file is an image, select the ‘Image URL’ option from the dropdown.

Step 4: Paste the URL copied in Step 2.

Step 5: Click on Ok

Step 6: Test the flow to confirm that the attachment is successfully sent to the end user.

Sending Media files using Expressions

Common Use Case: This approach is useful when multiple media files need to be sent and Google Sheets is used to streamline the process. All media files are first uploaded to GCS, and their public URLs are added to a column in a Google Sheet. Each link is then fetched from the appropriate row and sent to the end user using the Expressions option.

• Refer to this documentation to learn how Google Sheets can be linked and configured within flows.

• The syntax for expressions is: @results.sheet.image, where "image" is the column header in the sheet containing the public URL links to be sent to the end user.

Please find the other applications of this option here