Sending texts to your patients is easy and fast with ALOHA Convos. This guide will show you how to manage all your patient messages in one place, whether you're looking at the full page or just using the quick sidebar while you work.
✨ When You Need This Guide
You want to send a text message or schedule one to send at a later date and time.
You need to filter your inbox by unread, saved, or archived patient messages.
You want to find messages within a specific date range or pick exact dates on a calendar.
You need to send an image or a templated message to a patient.
What This Covers (And What It Doesn't):
✅ Sending, scheduling, and organizing text-based conversations with patients.
❌ Setting up your initial office phone number.
⚙️ Choosing Your View Layout
Choose Your View Layout: Navigate to Settings > General > Layout to choose how patient conversations are displayed:
Drawer (Default): Opens as a slide-in panel on the right side of your screen so you can message patients without leaving your current page.
To Open: Click the chat icon in the top-right header (the badge shows your unread count).
To Close: Click the X icon at the top right of the panel.
To Expand: Click the expand icon (diagonal arrows) at the top of the panel to switch to the full Conversations page. (Note: On smaller screens, the drawer automatically opens as a full-screen overlay).
Page: Opens as a dedicated, full-screen view for managing your inbox.
To Open: Click Convos in the left navigation bar.
Note: You can only use one view layout at a time. Choosing the full-page view hides the sidebar option, and vice versa.
🔘 Quick Action Icons & Conversation Controls
Hover over or open any conversation thread to use the quick action bar:
✉️ Mark as Unread: Click the envelope icon to mark a message as unread so you or a teammate can review it later.
📥 Archive Conversation: Click the archive icon (box with line) to move a conversation out of your active inbox.
🤍 Save Message: Click the heart icon to bookmark important messages for fast filtering later.
📞 Place a Call: Click the phone icon to call the patient directly (available for ALOHA Voice users).
📌 Pin Messages: Hover over any message and click the pin icon to pin it to the top of the thread.
If more than 2 items are pinned, click Show All to view the full list, jump to a specific message, or unpin items.
📝 Leave Internal Notes: Click the note icon below the text box to add a staff note in the thread (marked with a document icon, not visible to patients).
💬 Filtering Your Inbox & Sending Messages
Filter your inbox view: Click the All drop-down menu near the top of the message list to filter your view by All, Unread, Saved (heart-icon items), or Archived conversations.
Filter by date range: Select Any, Today, 7 days, or 30 days or click Custom Range to pick specific calendar dates.
Send an immediate text: Type your message into the text box and click Send.
Schedule a text for later: Type your message, then click the clock icon (Send later) right next to the Send button to pick your delivery date and time.
Attach images or GIFs: Click the + icon below the text box to attach visual media.
Library Tab (Default): Displays all images and GIFs previously uploaded to your account. Click any item to attach it immediately.
Upload Tab: Click this tab to upload and attach a new image or GIF directly from your device.
Note: Images must be under 1MB, and GIFs should be under 600KB to prevent compression or delivery failures
💡 Common Questions
What You Might Notice | Why It's Happening | What to Do |
I can't see the sidebar chat icon on my screen. | You have the full Page view active, which hides the drawer icon. | Go to Settings > General > Layout and switch your preference back to Drawer. |
Some of my expected patient messages are missing from the list. | An active filter for Unread, Saved, Archived, or a specific date range is hiding them. | Click the drop-down menu, select All, and set the Date Range to Any to reset your view. |
I selected the Saved filter, but no messages appear. | You haven't clicked the heart icon on any conversations yet. | Return to All view and click the heart icon on any conversation you want to bookmark. |
My attached GIF or image failed to send or looks distorted. | The file exceeds the 1MB total upload limit for images or the 600KB size limit for GIFs. | Resize or compress your image (under 1MB) or GIF file (under 600KB) before uploading and sending it again. |
🎉 You'll Know It's Working When:
Your preferred view layout (Drawer or Page) displays correctly when you open patient conversations.
Your inbox list updates instantly based on your selected status or date range filters.
Internal notes display with a document icon in the thread.
Pinned messages remain securely locked at the top of the thread, with a numerical count appearing when more than 2 items are pinned.
Scheduled messages appear in your queue set to deliver at your chosen time.
Selected images or GIFs preview in your draft and send smoothly within the patient's thread.
💬 Need Help? We're Here!
If you run into any trouble or have more questions about how to use ALOHA, our support team is happy to help!
Phone: 800-563-0469
Email: support@getaloha.com