Groups provide a pre-selected set of recipients for faster messaging, such as a team, a club, or the parents of a specific class. This article covers how to create, edit, and delete groups in Messages XR Enterprise.
💡Quick answers
- What is the difference between a Private and Public group? Private groups are only available to the staff member who created them. Public groups are available to all users with permission to send messages.
- What is the difference between a Fixed and Dynamic group? A Fixed group is a static list of the accounts you select. A Dynamic group automatically includes any accounts that meet your criteria at the time of sending.
- Creating a new group? Go to Messages > Groups, click Create Group, enter a name, choose Private or Public, choose Fixed or Dynamic, add members, and click Create.
- Will I lose my selected members if I switch between Fixed and Dynamic? Yes. Switching clears your selected members. Switching between the List and File tabs in a Fixed group keeps them.
- How is a group removed? Check the box next to the group in the groups table, click Delete, and confirm in the popup window.
- Can I see groups from child schools or district level separately? Yes, use the Child Schools and Districts buttons at the top of the Groups tab.
View groups
Navigate to Messages > Groups to view and manage user groups.
Select Child Schools to include groups from child schools, or Districts to show only district-level groups.
Create a group
Step 1: Click Create Group.
Step 2: Enter the Group name and select a school from the dropdown if prompted.
Step 3: Choose the group type:
- Private: Available only for messages you send. All staff members can create private groups.
- Public: Available to all users with permission to send messages. A group ID is assigned automatically, and parents and students cannot be granted access.
Step 4: In the Group members area, choose Fixed or Dynamic. Select the information icon to see a description of each.
⚠️ Important Note
Switching between Fixed and Dynamic clears any members you have already selected.
Step 5: Add members. See Add members to a Fixed group or Add members to a Dynamic group.
Step 6 (public groups only): To give other roles, such as teachers, access to the group, expand Open Access Settings. See Set Open Access for a public group.
Step 7: Click Create to finish.
Add members to a Fixed group
A Fixed group is a static list. It does not update when accounts change. To keep a group up to date automatically, use a Dynamic group instead.
List tab
Select members from the lists in the folders that populate below. Selected members appear in the right-side panel.
File tab
Upload a file of users to add to the group.
- List of members: Select the radio button: Fixed or Dynamic.
- Upload the file into the dotted box.
📎 File upload specifications
-
Accepted file types:
.csv,.txt,.tsv - Max file size: 4 MB
- Upload: Drag the file into the upload area, or click Browse to select a file.
- Format: The file should contain one ID per line.
1258754
6873548
5487345
5648973
9873324
1567898
9876324Add members to a Dynamic group
A Dynamic group automatically includes any new accounts that meet your criteria at the time of sending.
- Use the School and Accounts dropdowns to limit the search. For example, selecting School 1 and the Student role returns only students from School 1.
- Under Find accounts that, select Match all to include only users meeting every criterion, or Match any to include users meeting at least one.
- Use the Field, Operation, and Value columns to add filter criteria. Click Add for more filters.
- Select Search to review matching users in the right-side panel before saving.
Select an operation from the following:
| Operator | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| = | Exact match | Grade Level = 02 returns grade 2 only |
| != | Exclusion; returns everyone except those with the given value | Grade Level != 12 returns all non-grade-12 students |
| in | Matches any of several comma-separated values | Grade Level in 06,07,08 returns grades 6, 7, and 8 |
| not in | Excludes several comma-separated values at once | Grade Level not in 06,07,08 returns everyone outside grades 6, 7, and 8 |
| < | Less than; for numeric or date fields, matches values lower or earlier than the given value | Birthdate < 2018-01-01 returns students born before January 1, 2018 |
| > | Greater than; for numeric or date fields, matches values higher or later than the given value | Grade Level > 05 returns all students above grade 5 |
| exists | Checks whether the field has any value | Bus ID exists = True returns accounts with a bus route; False returns accounts without one |
Set Open Access for a public group
Expand the Open Access Settings area at the bottom of the form to assign additional access to roles such as teachers.
Here you can grant roles access to view account information and send messages to members of the group. Click Hide access settings if you change your mind.
Manage an existing group
Only group admins or organization admins can edit group structure or permissions.
Step 1: Navigate to Messages > Groups and click the group to update.
Step 2: Edit the group name, type, or description as needed.
Step 3: Add or remove members in the Group members area. The group opens in its saved mode (Fixed or Dynamic). Switching modes clears the current members after you confirm.
Step 4: For public groups, update which roles can access the group in Open Access Settings. Parents and students cannot be granted access.
Step 5: Click Save when finished.
Delete a group
Step 1: Check the box next to any group you'd like to remove.
Step 2: Click Delete.
Step 3: In the window that appears, select Delete again to confirm that the groups listed will be permanently deleted.