Read Mode

Overview

Read mode defines how a contact receives group messages in a group: which channels the contact accepts or prefers, and which email format the contact prefers. Mapp Engage stores the read mode for each group membership, so a contact can have a different read mode in each group.

When you send a group message, Mapp Engage uses the read mode to decide whether a contact receives the message and in which format. Read mode applies to group messages only. For the difference between group messages and single messages, see Group Messages and Single Messages in Mapp Engage.

Channel Settings

For each channel, Email, SMS, and Mobile Push, the read mode contains one of the following settings:

Setting	Effect
Allow	The contact can receive group messages in this channel.
Prefer	The contact can receive group messages in this channel, and it is the preferred channel. The preference matters when a message can be sent in more than one channel.
Deny	The contact never receives group messages in this channel.

In import files, you can also use the following values:

none: The contact receives no messages by email, SMS, or Mobile Push. Use this value to pause a contact temporarily.
any: The contact has no channel preference.

Email Format

For the email channel, the read mode also contains the preferred format:

Setting	Format
any	No preference. Mapp Engage selects the format, see How Mapp Engage Decides.
email-html	HTML email.
email-html-multipart	Multipart email: one email with an HTML version and a text version. The email program of the contact displays the version it supports.
email-text	Plain-text email.

SMS and Mobile Push have only one format each.

How Mapp Engage Decides

For each contact, Mapp Engage checks the read mode in two steps:

Channel: If the contact denies the channel of the message, the contact does not receive the message. The message statistics list the contact under Skipped Messages with the reason Read mode denied. See Skipped Messages (tab).
Format: For email messages, Mapp Engage sends the preferred format if the message contains it. If the message does not contain it, or if there is no preference, Mapp Engage sends the first available format in this order: multipart, HTML, text.

A multipart email requires an HTML version and a text version of the message. Unless the contact denies the channel, Mapp Engage always tries to send the message.

Examples

Read mode of the contact	Message contains	Result
Email: Allow, format any	HTML and text	Multipart email
Email: Allow, format email-text	HTML and text	Text email
Email: Allow, format email-text	HTML only	HTML email
Email: Deny	HTML and text	No email. The contact is skipped with the reason Read mode denied.

Note
The sendout options of a group contain the older setting Preferred Sendout Channel. It applies only to contacts without a read mode and only to multichannel messages. The setting is being removed from Mapp Engage. See Group Creation: Sendout Options.

Where to Set Read Mode

Manually for one contact: Go to Audience > Contact Management > Group Members, select the group, and in the Actions column, select Read Mode. Mapp Engage shows only the channels for which the contact profile contains an identifier: email address, mobile number, or mobile app alias. See Group Members: Read Mode.
Import: Set the read mode in the CSV or XML file when you import contacts into a group. To apply the read mode to all groups the contact is a member of, select Set Read Mode System-Wide in the Advanced Options of the import. See CSV Format for Contact Imports.
Automation: The job Change Member Read Mode changes the read mode of all group members in a selection at a scheduled time. The job Change Member Read Mode (C) changes the read mode of one contact when an event occurs. For example, you can pause contacts who asked for a break in your preference center.

To change the read mode of other contacts, you need the group permission Members: Edit any user's read mode. See Group Permissions List.

Warning
If you import mobile numbers and email addresses in the same file, Mapp Engage sets the SMS channel to deny. To send SMS to these contacts, set member.MobileChannel to allow or prefer in the file. See Importing Mobile Numbers for SMS.