Replying to an SMS

When a customer texts one of your Cradle SMS numbers, the message lands in the desktop app's thread list. Here's how to find it and reply.

Before you start

You're signed in to the Cradle desktop app on Windows or macOS.
The Cradle SMS number the customer messaged is one your account has access to. If you don't see the messaging icon, see I can't see the messaging icon.

Click the messaging icon in the Cradle desktop app to open the messaging area.
Find the conversation in the thread list. Threads with new messages are highlighted at the top of the list.
Click the thread to open it. You'll see the full back-and-forth between your Cradle number and the customer.
Type your reply in the text box at the bottom.
Click the send button (or press enter).

Your reply appears in the thread, marked as sent.
The thread's unread indicator clears.
The thread stays in your inbox so you and your teammates can pick up where the conversation left off.

Replying joins you to the conversation. Once you've sent a reply on a thread, you'll see every message on it going forward (and you can see the full history). See The shared SMS inbox for how this works across a team.
You can paste from anywhere. Use Ctrl + V on Windows or Cmd + V on macOS to paste copied text into the reply box.
Replies always send from the Cradle number the customer messaged. You can't switch to a different sender mid-thread.

The reply fails to send. See Why did my message fail to send?.
You can't find the thread. A teammate may have already replied first and joined the conversation. See The shared SMS inbox for how thread visibility works.