---
title: "Single vs. Group Sendouts of Prepared Messages"
slug: "single-vs-group-sendouts-of-prepared-messages"
updated: 2025-09-04T11:47:51Z
published: 2025-09-04T11:47:51Z
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mapp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Single vs. Group Sendouts of Prepared Messages

## Overview

Mapp Engage processes single and group sendouts of prepared messages differently. Understanding these differences is important for handling message IDs, statistics, outbox records, and limitations.

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## Single vs. Group Sendouts in Whiteboards

| Sendout Method | Single Message | Group Message |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Sendout in the Message area** | N/A | You can manually send a group message in the *Prepared Message Overview* window using **Copy & Send**. |
| **Time-based Whiteboard** | Send the prepared message to all contacts in a segment. Contacts are selected from the system-wide database with a mandatory segment. Example: birthday emails | Send the prepared message to all contacts in the group on a defined schedule. Example: newsletter emails |
| **Event-based Whiteboard** | Send the prepared message to a contact after they complete a defined event. Example: transactional messages | Send the prepared message to all contacts in the group after a defined event takes place. |
| **System Messages** | Always single messages. Templates can be created for system messages. | Not applicable. |

Please visit our [Whiteboards documentation](/v1/docs/whiteboards) for more details.

---

## Differences in Handling

Mapp Engage has a different way of sending and tracking a single message versus a group message.

| Aspect | Single Message | Group Message |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Message ID** | All single sendouts of a prepared message share one `MID`. Mapp Engage retains the original prepared message `MID` for recognition. | A new, unique `MID` is assigned to each group sendout. The original `MID` is still recorded for reference. |
| **Statistics** | All single sendouts are evaluated together. One combined set of statistics is generated. | Each group sendout has its own statistics set. |
| **Outbox** | Only one sendout appears. Updating content replaces previous versions, which are not stored in Mapp Engage. Older versions can only be stored outside the system. | Each sendout is stored separately and is visible. No content is deleted, ensuring a record of every sendout. |
| **Message Limitation** | Not considered in message limitation. | Considered in message limitation. |

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## Example

| Example | Single Sendout (Birthday Email) | Group Sendout (Holiday Series) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Message ID Handling** | All birthday emails share one `MID`, e.g., `1234`. | Each holiday message gets a unique `MID`. |
| **Statistics** | One combined set of statistics for all birthday emails. No separate statistics per message. | Each holiday message has its own statistics. |
| **Outbox** | Only one birthday message appears. Updates overwrite older versions, which are not retained. | Each holiday sendout is listed separately, and no message is deleted. |