How to Send Images, Documents and Other Media

A campaign can only send a template Meta has approved, so if you want an image, video or document on a campaign message, it has to be part of the template. You add it as the header when you create the template.

In the composer, find the Header field and choose Image, Video or Document. Each option states its rules before you pick a file:

• Image: JPG or PNG, up to 5 MB. Landscape images display best, because WhatsApp crops tall ones.
• Video: MP4 or 3GP, up to 16 MB. Use H.264 video with AAC audio, as other codecs may not play.
• Document: PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint or plain text (PDF, DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, PPT, PPTX or TXT), up to 100 MB. Only the first page previews in the chat.

Select "Choose an Image", "Choose a Video" or "Choose a Document" and pick your file. While it uploads you will see "Uploading to Meta…", and once it is done the file name appears with its size and "sample sent to Meta". The Customer Preview then shows your image or video in place.

Meta will not review a media header without a sample file, so you cannot submit the template until the upload has finished.

This is the part that surprises people. The file you upload as the sample is the file Meta approves, and it is the file every campaign using that template sends. You do not choose a new image each time you send.

So upload the real image or document you want customers to receive, not a placeholder. If you later want a different picture, create a new template with it. On an approved template, "Duplicate as New" copies the wording so you only need to swap the file and submit it for review.

When a campaign sends, SmartEngage attaches the approved file to each message for you. There is nothing extra to upload at send time.

When you are talking to a customer in the inbox, you can send a file directly with your reply.

• Open the conversation and select the paperclip, "Attach a file", beside the reply box.
• Choose your file. A preview appears above the reply box with the file name and size. Images show a thumbnail.
• Type a caption if you want one. With a file attached, the reply box reads "Add a caption…", and whatever you type is sent as the file's caption, up to 1,024 characters.
• Select Send. To change your mind before sending, remove the file with the cross beside it.

You can send these kinds of file from the inbox:

• Photos: JPG and PNG
• Videos: MP4 and 3GP
• Documents: PDF, Word (DOC, DOCX), Excel (XLS, XLSX) and plain text (TXT)

PowerPoint files and audio files cannot be sent from the inbox. Voice notes that customers send you still arrive and play normally.

Every file you send from the inbox can be up to 5 MB, whatever its type. WhatsApp itself would carry more, but a file sent from SmartEngage travels from your browser to SmartEngage and on to Meta while you wait, and a smaller ceiling keeps that quick.

If your file is larger, SmartEngage tells you before uploading anything: "Files here can be up to 5 MB. To send a larger file, use the WhatsApp Business app on your phone — it sends straight from the device." That route is only open if you use the WhatsApp Business app on the same number alongside SmartEngage.

Template headers work differently. There the limits are Meta's: 5 MB for an image, 16 MB for a video and 100 MB for a document. So 5 MB is the limit for every inbox attachment and for header images, but not for header videos or documents.

WhatsApp lets you send free-form messages, including files, for 24 hours after the customer's last message. Once that window has closed, you cannot attach a file to a reply. SmartEngage explains this in the conversation and offers "Send a Template" instead, so you can reopen the conversation with an approved template. Once the customer replies, you can send files again.

For the full explanation, read The 24-Hour Reply Window Explained.

SmartEngage looks at what a file really contains, not just its name. A file will be refused if:

• Its contents do not match its type, for example a file renamed to end in .jpg that is not a JPG.
• It is a program or script.
• It is an Office document with macros or ActiveX controls. Save it as a normal .docx or .xlsx and try again.
• It is a PDF that runs scripts or opens programs. Print it to a new PDF and try again.
• It is empty.

These checks protect your customers, because every file arrives on their phones under your business name.

SmartEngage does not keep its own copy of your WhatsApp media:

• A template header sample goes straight to Meta. SmartEngage keeps only Meta's reference to it, with the template.
• A file you send from the inbox is uploaded to Meta's WhatsApp media storage for your number and sent from there. SmartEngage records the message, its file name and its type.
• A file a customer sends you stays with Meta. SmartEngage fetches it when you open it, which is why a video shows "Load Video" and a document shows "Tap to download".

To add a media header to a new template, follow How to Create a Message Template.

If a file will not upload or attach, see Template and Media Upload Problems.

For more on replying to customers, read How the SmartEngage Inbox Works.