Rich Messages & Formatted Posts

Beyond Plain Text

Telegram supports rich formatting that goes far beyond plain text. Bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, code blocks, links, and inline buttons are all available, but most bots only use plain text in their messages. This makes bot responses look generic and unengaging, especially in communities that value visual presentation. BotWave's rich message system takes full advantage of Telegram's formatting capabilities, producing messages that are visually structured, interactive, and professional in appearance.

The difference between a plain text message and a rich formatted message is significant. A plain text announcement is a wall of text that members skim and forget. A rich formatted announcement with headers, bullet points, inline buttons for quick actions, and an attached image is a visually structured piece of content that members actually read and engage with. In communities where presentation matters, the quality of your messages reflects the quality of your community, and rich formatting elevates that quality.

Formatted Announcements

The /echo command sends a formatted message to the group. You can include bold, italic, links, and other formatting using Markdown or HTML syntax. The message is rendered with full formatting, making it visually distinct from regular chat messages. This is ideal for announcements that need to stand out from the flow of conversation.

The /say command is an alias that provides the same functionality. Both commands support media attachments, so you can send a formatted message with a photo, video, or document. This is particularly useful for announcements that include visual content, such as event flyers, infographics, or screenshots.

Inline Buttons

Inline buttons are one of the most powerful features of Telegram's messaging system. These are buttons that appear directly beneath a message, and when a member taps one, the bot performs an action. BotWave supports creating messages with inline buttons for navigation, actions, and information display. You can create menus with multiple buttons, link buttons that open URLs, and action buttons that trigger bot commands.

Inline buttons transform static messages into interactive experiences. Instead of posting an announcement that says to type a command to join a channel, you can include a button that does it with one tap. Instead of posting a list of links as text, you can create a menu of buttons that members can tap to navigate to each one. This dramatically reduces friction and increases engagement, because members are far more likely to tap a button than to type a command.

Custom Welcome and Goodbye Messages

Rich formatting is particularly valuable for welcome and goodbye messages. A plain text welcome message is forgettable, but a rich formatted welcome with the member's name, a brief introduction to the group, inline buttons for rules and help, and a welcoming image creates a strong first impression that sets the tone for the member's experience in your community.

The /welcome command sets a custom welcome message with full formatting support. You can include the member's name using a placeholder, add formatting to highlight important information, and attach media that represents your community's brand. The /goodbye command does the same for goodbye messages, letting you acknowledge departing members with a formatted message that maintains the community's tone even when someone leaves.

Saved Messages with Media

The notes system supports rich formatting and media attachments. When you save a note with /save, you can include formatted text, images, videos, and inline buttons. This makes notes far more useful than plain text snippets. A note for your community rules can include formatted sections, a header image, and buttons for quick navigation. A note for a frequently asked question can include a formatted answer with code blocks, links, and visual examples.

The combination of saved notes with rich formatting creates a content library that is both informative and visually appealing. Members who retrieve a note get a polished, structured response rather than a wall of text, which makes the information more accessible and more likely to be read and understood.

Available Commands