How to Send an iPhone Text Blast with Dextr

What is a Text Blast?

A Text Blast sends a personalized message to multiple contacts as separate, one-on-one texts. Each person replies in their own conversation. Use it for invitations, event follow-ups, or checking in with a group.

You'll need Dextr Pro, contacts with phone numbers, and the Dextr Text Blast 3.0 Shortcut. Start in Dextr to choose your recipients and write your message.

How to Send a Text Blast

1. Open an event, Favorites, a tag or tag group, or a relation type or relation group. Tap Text Blast or the megaphone button. For an event, you'll text its attendees.
2. If prompted, tap Install Text Blast 3.0 Shortcut to add Dextr Text Blast 3.0 in Shortcuts. Return to Dextr and tap Continue. Install this version even if you used an older Shortcut, and keep its name unchanged. You only need to do this setup once.
3. Check the list name and recipient count. Choose an Example Template, a saved message from Your Templates, or Start New Message. Tap Continue.
4. On Build Message, write or edit your text. Use Insert Variable to add {{First Name}} or {{Last Name}}. When starting from an event, you can also add {{Event Title}}. Tap Continue.
5. On Review Text Blast, check the names, phone numbers, and personalized messages in Preview Samples. Dextr previews up to five recipients and shows the number of additional recipients. Go back to edit your message if needed.
6. Tap Confirm, check the total in the Send Text Blast? alert, then tap Send Text Blast. Dextr opens the Shortcut to send each contact an individual text through Messages.
7. Follow any prompts from Shortcuts or iOS. If a contact-count prompt appears, tap Done. After the Shortcut finishes and returns to Text Blast Sent!, tap Finish.

Personalization and Saved Templates

• Use the variable buttons to keep the formatting correct. For example, Hi {{First Name}}, thanks for coming to {{Event Title}}! adds each attendee's first name and the event name.
• To reuse your message, tap Save As Template in the builder, enter a name, and tap Done on the keyboard. Tap Update to save edits to an existing template.
• Templates with {{Event Title}} are available when you start from an event.

Additional Info

• Dextr uses one messaging phone number per contact and excludes archived contacts, your own contact, and the Dextr support contact. If someone is missing, check their phone number and list membership.
• To change recipients, close the blast, update the list or event, and start again. If a name is blank in a preview, update the contact or adjust the message.
• If Shortcuts cannot find the Shortcut, reinstall the linked version and check its name. If a send stops partway through, check Messages before retrying to avoid duplicates.