RADD Chat Frequently Asked Questions

What is RADD Chat?

RADD Chat is a secure communication platform for research teams to send and receive text messages and calls from study participants. It allows researchers to use a single study phone number, rather than personal numbers. 

How do I add myself or others to a study in RADD Chat?

We create coordinator accounts for your team when you first sign up. Once added to a project, coordinators can view existing coordinators, create new ones, and manage access to projects at: https://messaging.isgmh.northwestern.edu/admins/coordinators

How do I edit a project’s name or add another phone number?

Only the RADD team can edit projects. To change a project name or purchase another phone number, email raddchat@northwestern.edu.

How do I sign in?

Connect to Northwestern’s or Lurie’s VPN, then enter your netID and password here: https://messaging.isgmh.northwestern.edu/users/sign_in

How do I change my password?

To change your NetID password, follow the instructions here: https://services.northwestern.edu/TDClient/30/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=1399

Having trouble with signing in?

• Ensure you are connected to the VPN if you see this message: “Forbidden You don’t have permission to access /users/sign_in on this server.” You can find instructions for setting up GlobalProtect VPN here.
• Verify you’re on the correct sign-in page. You should see “User Log In” above the NetID field. Use this link: https://messaging.isgmh.northwestern.edu/users/sign_in.
• Make sure you’re added as a coordinator to the project. Existing coordinators can manage access at: https://messaging.isgmh.northwestern.edu/admins/coordinators

If none of these work, contact raddchat@northwestern.edu.

Connected to the VPN, but not able to see the site?

If VPN issues persist, contact raddchat@northwestern.edu or access NU Workspace.

To access NU Workspace, click here. Click on the red “NUworkspace Login” button on the right side of the screen. After logging on, scroll down and launch “Duo Desktop Compliant”.

Note: Loading the desktop may take a few minutes, the screen will look like this once loaded:

Once you see the desktop, you can select any browser and go to RADD Chat’s sign in page: https://messaging.isgmh.northwestern.edu/users/sign_in.

How can I access RADD Chat through my phone?

First, you will need to download the GlobalProtect VPN application to your phone. 

iPhone and iPad (Note that your device must be running iOS 10 or later)

1. 1. From the App Store, find and download GlobalProtect
   2. When you open the app, you will be prompted for a portal address. Enter vpn-connect.northwestern.edu.
   3. When prompted to allow GlobalProtect to set up a VPN configuration, tap Allow.

Android devices (Note that your device must be running Android v5.0 or later) 

1. 1. From Google Play, find and download GlobalProtect 
   2. When you open the app, you will be prompted for a portal address. Enter vpn-connect.northwestern.edu. 
   3. When prompted to allow GlobalProtect to set up a VPN connection, tap OK

3. Next, you’ll need to start your VPN session.

1. 1. Open GlobalProtect and tap Connect. 
   2. When prompted, enter your NetID and NetID password, then confirm your identity with Duo multi-factor authentication. You will then be connected to GlobalProtect. 
   3. To disconnect, open GlobalProtect again, then tap Disconnect.
2. Note: If you are able to connect to Northwestern WiFi (eduroam) you will be able to access RADDChat without using the VPN on your mobile device. 

What are labels? How can they be used?

Labels help organize participants and team communication. Each project can have up to 10 labels.

Edit labels by selecting “Manage” on a participant’s conversation page. To delete a label, ensure no participant is assigned the label (you cannot delete any labels currently assigned to a participant’s conversation), then click “Manage Labels” for your project on this page: https://messaging.isgmh.northwestern.edu/admins/projects. 

What are circles? How do I use them?

Circles are RADD Chat’s group chats. Email raddchat@northwestern.edu for more information about enabling this feature for your project.

How do I schedule a text message?

Schedule texts individually or via bulk upload.

For individual messages, use the “Message Scheduler” tab in the participant’s conversation page. Input the message, set the time, and click “Schedule”. The scheduled message will appear in the window where it can be edited and deleted.

For bulk uploads, follow instructions on the Schedule Text Messages page: https://messaging.isgmh.northwestern.edu/admins/scheduled_text_messages/new. If you scheduled a batch of messages using the bulk upload feature and need to cancel or avoid sending them, you can delete the scheduled messages depending on how they were scheduled:

Batch scheduled messaged can be edited or deleted here: https://messaging.isgmh.northwestern.edu/admins/batch_scheduled_text_messages

EXPLAIN TEXT MESSAGE COLLECTIONS HERE – HOW DO THEY GET CREATED

Scheduled message collections can be deleted here: https://messaging.isgmh.northwestern.edu/admins/scheduled_text_message_collections

You can also delete scheduled messages created through a bulk upload or text message collections in the participant’s conversation page under “Message Scheduler”. VERIFY THIS IS TRUE

What is the first thing our project needs to do to make sure we receive phone calls?

It is necessary to add research staff phone numbers to each group in your project. If no research staff phone numbers are added to a group, participants will hear “An application error has occurred” when they call.

How do I add a research staff phone number to a group?

Go to Manage Research Staff Phone Numbers (https://messaging.isgmh.northwestern.edu/admins/phone_lines), click “Add New,” name the phone number, set the ring priority, and assign it to a group.

What is ring priority and how do I change it?

Ring priority is the order in which research staff phone numbers receive incoming calls for a group. To change the ring priority for a research staff phone number in a group, go to Manage Research Staff Phone Numbers (https://messaging.isgmh.northwestern.edu/admins/phone_lines), click “Edit”, then adjust the Ring Priority.

How do I set available/away times for research staff phone numbers?

If you only want a research staff phone numbers to ring/receive calls during certain times of the day, set available times at Manage Research Staff Phone Numbers (https://messaging.isgmh.northwestern.edu/admins/phone_lines) by clicking “Manage Away/Available Settings”. Click “Add New,” select the day, and enter available times.

Making Phone Calls

How do I make a phone call?

Your number must be added as a research staff phone number in the project. To make a call, in the participant’s conversation log, select your number from the “Call from” menu and the participant’s primary or alternate number from the “Call/Text to” menu, and click the “Call” button.

What is an unrecognized message?

These are messages or calls from phone numbers that do not belong to any participants currently in the project. You can create a new participant or merge to an existing participant.

How do I create a participant from an unrecognized number?

To create a participant from an unrecognized number, go to to the “Unrecognized messages” tab, select “Add to Group” for the desired number, choose a group, and fill in the participant’s details.

How do I add an unrecognized phone number to an existing participant profile?

In the “Unrecognized messages” tab, click “View Merge Options” for the number. Search for the participant to merge with, select the participant, and update the phone number details. 

Can a participant be in more than one group?

No, participants can only be in one group at a time.

How do I update a participant’s phone number(s)?

Go to https://messaging.isgmh.northwestern.edu/admins/participants, find the participant, click “Edit,” update the number(s), and click “Save.”

How do I set up a custom voicemail message?

To set up a customized voicemail message, go to https://messaging.isgmh.northwestern.edu/admins/groups and click “Manage Voicemail Message” for the appropriate group. Allow your browser to access your microphone (in the pop-up window). Use the buttons to start/stop, save, or delete the recording.

How do I set up an automated away message?

To set up a customized away text message, click “Edit” for the appropriate group here: https://messaging.isgmh.northwestern.edu/admins/groups. Enter your away message in the “Away text message” field. This message will be sent to participants who text outside the group’s available times.

How do I set available/away times for a group?

Click “Manage Away/Available Settings” for the appropriate group here: https://messaging.isgmh.northwestern.edu/admins/groups. Select “Add New” to add days/times that your team is available. Calls received outside of these times will go straight to voicemail, and away messages will be sent for texts received outside these times.

How do I close my RADD Chat account for a study?

Your study will continue to incur charges until you cancel and we remove the phone numbers from your account.

Please email raddchat@northwestern.edu to cancel your RADD chat account. The study PI will need to provide explicit consent for us to cancel the RADD Chat account. Once cancelled, you will lose any phone numbers assigned to the study and we cannot guarantee we will be able to re-purchase them.

Your study team should download and save all data exports before we close your RADD Chat account. You will no longer be able to access the data exports once your RADD Chat account is closed. Data exports are available here: https://messaging.isgmh.northwestern.edu/admins/data_exports.