Question
Why do some of the special characters work when I send them through but others do not?
Applies To
- Short Codes
- Special Characters
Answer
Our short code product operates in the same manner as our SMS API in that they both send through a RESTful HTTP request. For a RESTful HTTP request the HTTP GET request must be URL encoded, therefore some special characters will need to be URL encoded so that they're translated properly by a web server.
The special characters ! @ $ * ( ) _ - + = ? < > can be sent without modifications via short codes however, # % and & need to be URL encoded.
There are multiple sites such as this URL encode/Decode Tool which can help you to properly encode or decode special characters. The special characters which need to be URL encoded are:
# which is %23 when URL encoded, %25 for %, %26 for &, and %2B +.
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- How-To Complete the US Short Code Program Brief
- Can I add a template to my active Alerts shared short code campaign?
- Why did my PIN code get sent from a phone number?
- Can you receive inbound SMS on dedicated US short codes?
- How are STOP requests handled on the Alerts pre-approved short code?
- US Dedicated Short Code
- Do we always use short codes for US 2FA and USSC?
- How many campaigns I can have on my account?
- Should I use Short Codes to send messages to the US?