Using Group MMS

The Group MMS feature in PublicEye allows you to communicate with pre-defined groups instantly through text and photos. By having this feature, you are now able to give updates about situations such as a BOLO or fire to an entire department instantly. You choose who the recipients of the message will be and simply hit "send." 

Accessing the Group MMS Function

From the main menu of PublicEye, simply touch the "MMS" speech bubble next to the Camera Lens in the top left. From here, Group MMS will automatically open up. 

Layout

You will see the "Broadcasts" panel on the left side. This shows every thread of messages you have. To the right, you will see "To:" on the top. This will display who exactly the MMS is going to be sent to. Underneath that is the conversation window. It is here all messages/photos will be displayed for that particular conversation you have clicked on. Underneath the conversation window is where you enter a message. You will see the word "Subject," a line, and another blank text field. To the right of this box is "Send," which you push to send a message. To the right of the box is a camera icon. You touch this to add photos to your message. 

Writing A New Group MMS

A new Group MMS message will allow you to start a new "thread" of messages that you will send to your pre-determined groups. To start, click the paper and pencil icon to the right of "Broadcasts." From here, you will see the blank message field. To add your groups, click the "+" symbol at the top right of the screen under the map icon. From here, you will check as many groups as you want to send the message to. When you have checked all the groups you would like to send this message to, tap "done." 

Sending A Message

To send a message, simply write in one of the two fields on the bottom. You do not need to fill out both text fields to send the message. The "subject" line will simply appear above your message. 

For example, if you were to write "BOLO" in the subject line and then "John Smith" in the box underneath, your message would send as:

BOLO

John Smith

Hit "send" when you are finished with the MMS to send it out to your selected groups. 

Adding a Photo

To add a photo to your MMS, simply tap the camera icon to the left of the "Subject" text. Pushing this will give you the option to take a photo or video right now, choose an existing photo saved to the iPad, or photos/videos specifically saved using PublicEye. Choose one and tap it. This will automatically add it to your message. You may add more than one per message. After adding your photos, hit "Send."

Returning to PublicEye and Displaying the Map

The Group MMS feature is not only integrated into PublicEye, but also allows you to see your PublicEye map as you send messages. To view your map, tap the button in the top right corner that has a pin over a map. This will split up the screen to reveal your PublicEye map. To go back to the main map, simply tap "Back" in the top left corner.