> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://cometchat-22654f5b-docs-rn-guide-message-privately.mintlify.site/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Send A Message > Send A Message — CometChat documentation. Using CometChat, you can send three types of messages: 1. A [Text Message](/sdk/android/2.0/send-message#text-message), the most common and standard message type. 2. A [Media Message](/sdk/android/2.0/send-message#media-message), for sending photos, videos and files. 3. A [Custom Message](/sdk/android/2.0/send-message#custom-message), for sending completely custom data using JSON structures. You can also send metadata along with a text or media message. Think, for example, if you'd want to share the user's location with every message, you can use the metadata field. ## Text Message *In other words, as a sender, how do I send a text message?* To send a text message to a single user or group, you need to use the `sendMessage()` method and pass a `TextMessage` object to it. ```java theme={null} private String receiverID = "UID"; private String messageText = "Hello world!"; private String receiverType = CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_USER; TextMessage textMessage = new TextMessage(receiverID, messageText, receiverType); CometChat.sendMessage(textMessage, new CometChat.CallbackListener () { @Override public void onSuccess(TextMessage textMessage) { Log.d(TAG, "Message sent successfully: " + textMessage.toString()); } @Override public void onError(CometChatException e) { Log.d(TAG, "Message sending failed with exception: " + e.getMessage()); } }); ``` ```kotlin theme={null} val receiverID:String="UID" val messageText:String="Hello world!" val receiverType:String=CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_USER val textMessage = TextMessage(receiverID, messageText,receiverType) CometChat.sendMessage(textMessage, object : CometChat.CallbackListener() { override fun onSuccess(p0: TextMessage?) { Log.d(TAG, "Message sent successfully: " + p0?.toString()) } override fun onError(p0: CometChatException?) { Log.d(TAG, "Message sending failed with exception: " + p0?.message) } }) ``` ```java theme={null} private String receiverID = "GUID"; private String messageText = "Hello world!"; private String receiverType = CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_GROUP; TextMessage textMessage = new TextMessage(receiverID, messageText,receiverType); CometChat.sendMessage(textMessage, new CometChat.CallbackListener() { @Override public void onSuccess(TextMessage textMessage) { Log.d(TAG, "Message sent successfully: " + textMessage.toString()); } @Override public void onError(CometChatException e) { Log.d(TAG, "Message sending failed with exception: " + e.getMessage()); } }); ``` ```kotlin theme={null} val receiverID:String="GUID" val messageText:String="Hello world!" val receiverType:String=CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_GROUP val textMessage = TextMessage(receiverID, messageText,receiverType) CometChat.sendMessage(textMessage, object : CometChat.CallbackListener() { override fun onSuccess(p0: TextMessage?) { Log.d(TAG, "Message sent successfully: " + p0?.toString()) } override fun onError(p0: CometChatException?) { Log.d(TAG, "Message sending failed with exception: " + p0?.message) } }) ``` The `TextMessage` class constructor takes the following parameters: | Parameter | Description | | | -------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------- | | `receiverID` | `UID` of the user or `GUID` of the group receiving the message | Required | | `messageText` | The text message | Required | | `receiverType` | The type of the receiver- `CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_USER` (user) or `CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_GROUP` (group) | Required | When a text message is sent successfully, the response will include a `TextMessage` object which includes all information related to the sent message. ### Add Metadata To send custom data along with a text message, you can use the `setMetadata` method and pass a `JSONObject` to it. ```java theme={null} JSONObject metadata = new JSONObject(); metadata.put("lattitude", "50.6192171633316"); metadata.put("longitude", "-72.68182268750002"); textMessage.setMetadata(metadata); ``` ```kotlin theme={null} val metadataObject:JSONObject=JSONObject("{\"latitude\":\"50.6192171633316\",\"longitude\":\"-72.68182268750002\"}") textMessage.metadata=metadataObject ``` ## Media Message *In other words, as a sender, how do I send a media message like photos, videos & files?* To send a media message to any user or group, you need to use the `sendMediaMessage()` method and pass a `MediaMessage` object to it. ```java theme={null} private String receiverID = "UID"; private String messageType = CometChatConstants.MESSAGE_TYPE_IMAGE; private String receiverType = CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_USER; private String filePath = "/storage/emulated/0/Download/46.jpg"; MediaMessage mediaMessage = new MediaMessage(receiverID,new File(filePath),messageType,receiverType); CometChat.sendMediaMessage(mediaMessage, new CometChat.CallbackListener() { @Override public void onSuccess(MediaMessage mediaMessage) { Log.d(TAG, "Media message sent successfully: " + mediaMessage.toString()); } @Override public void onError(CometChatException e) { Log.d(TAG, "Media message sending failed with exception: " + e.getMessage()); } }); ``` ```kotlin theme={null} val recreceiverID:String = "UID" val messageType:String = CometChatConstants.MESSAGE_TYPE_IMAGE val receiverType:String = CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_USER val filePath:String = "/storage/emulated/0/Download/46.jpg" val mediaMessage = MediaMessage(recreceiverID, File(filePath), messageType, receiverType) CometChat.sendMediaMessage(mediaMessage, object : CometChat.CallbackListener() { override fun onSuccess(p0: MediaMessage?) { Log.d(TAG, "Media message sent successfully: " + p0?.toString()) } override fun onError(p0: CometChatException?) { Log.d(TAG, "Message sending failed with exception: " + p0?.message) } }) ``` ```java theme={null} private String receiverID = "GUID"; private String messageType = CometChatConstants.MESSAGE_TYPE_IMAGE; private String receiverType = CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_GROUP; private String filePath = "/storage/emulated/0/Download/46.jpg"; MediaMessage mediaMessage = new MediaMessage(receiverID,new File(filePath),messageType,receiverType); CometChat.sendMediaMessage(mediaMessage, new CometChat.CallbackListener() { @Override public void onSuccess(MediaMessage mediaMessage) { Log.d(TAG, "Media message sent successfully: " + mediaMessage.toString()); } @Override public void onError(CometChatException e) { Log.d(TAG, "Media message sending failed with exception: " + e.getMessage()); } }); ``` ```kotlin theme={null} val recreceiverID:String = "GUID" val messageType:String = CometChatConstants.MESSAGE_TYPE_IMAGE val receiverType:String = CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_GROUP val filePath:String = "/storage/emulated/0/Download/46.jpg" val mediaMessage = MediaMessage(recreceiverID, File(filePath), messageType, receiverType) CometChat.sendMediaMessage(mediaMessage, object : CometChat.CallbackListener() { override fun onSuccess(p0: MediaMessage?) { Log.d(TAG, "Media message sent successfully: " + p0?.toString()) } override fun onError(p0: CometChatException?) { Log.d(TAG, "Message sending failed with exception: " + p0?.message) } }) ``` The `MediaMessage` class constructor takes the following parameters: | Parameter | Description | | -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | `receiverId` | The `UID` or `GUID` of the recipient | | `file` | The file object to be sent | | `messageType` | The type of the message that needs to be sent which in this case can be:
1.`CometChatConstants.MESSAGE_TYPE_IMAGE` (image)
2.`CometChatConstants.MESSAGE_TYPE_VIDEO` (video)
3.`CometChatConstants.MESSAGE_TYPE_AUDIO` (audio)
4.`CometChatConstants.MESSAGE_TYPE_FILE` (file) | | `receiverType` | The type of the receiver to whom the message is to be sent i.e `CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_USER` (user) or `CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_GROUP` (group) | When a media message is sent successfully, the response will include a `MediaMessage` object which includes all information related to the sent message. If you wish to send a caption or some text along with the Media Message, you can use the `caption field` provided by the MediaMessage class. To set the caption you can use the `setCaption()` method and at the receiver end, you can obtain the caption using the `getCaption()` method. As with text messages, the metadata field can be used with media messages as well. Any additional information can be passed along with the media message as a `JSONObject`. ### Add Metadata To send custom data along with a media message, you can use the `setMetadata` method and pass a `JSONObject` to it. ```java theme={null} JSONObject metadata = new JSONObject(); metadata.put("lattitude", "50.6192171633316"); metadata.put("longitude", "-72.68182268750002"); textMessage.setMetadata(metadata); ``` ```kotlin theme={null} val metadataObject:JSONObject=JSONObject("{\"caption\":\"My visit to Disneyland!\"}") textMessage.metadata=metadataObject ``` ## Custom Message *In other words, as a sender, how do I send a custom message like location co-ordinates?* CometChat allows you to send custom messages which are neither text nor media messages. In order to send a custom message, you need to use the `sendCustomMessage()` method. The `sendCustomMessage()` methods takes an object of the `CustomMessage` which can be obtained using the below constructor. ```java theme={null} CustomMessage customMessage = new CustomMessage(receiverId, receiverType,customType, customData) ``` The above constructor, helps you create a custom message with the message type set to whatever is passed to the constructor and the category set to `custom`. The parameters involved are: 1. `receiverId` - Unique id of the user or group to which the message is to be sent. 2. `receiverType` - Type of the receiver i.e user or group 3. `customType` - custom message type that you need to set 4. `customData` - The data to be passed as the message in the form of a JSONObject. You can also use the subType field of the `CustomMessage` class to set a specific type for the custom message. This can be achieved using the `setSubtype()` method. Once the object of `CustomMessage` class is ready you can send the custom message using the `sendCustomMessage()` method. ```java theme={null} private String UID = "UID"; private String customType = "LOCATION"; JSONObject customData = new JSONObject(); customData.put("lattitue","19.0760"); customData.put("longitude","72.8777"); CustomMessage customMessage = new CustomMessage(UID,CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_USER,customType, customData); CometChat.sendCustomMessage(customMessage, new CometChat.CallbackListener() { @Override public void onSuccess(CustomMessage customMessage) { Log.d(TAG, customMessage.toString()); } @Override public void onError(CometChatException e) { Log.d(TAG, e.getMessage()); } }); ``` ```kotlin theme={null} val UID="UID" val customType="Location" val customData=JSONObject() customData.put("lattitue","19.0760") customData.put("longitude","72.8777") val customMessage = CustomMessage(UID, CometChatConstants.RECEIVER_TYPE_USER,customType, customData) CometChat.sendCustomMessage(customMessage, object :CometChat.CallbackListener() { override fun onSuccess(customMessage: CustomMessage) { Log.d(TAG, customMessage.toString()) } override fun onError(e: CometChatException) { Log.d(TAG, e.message) } }) ``` The above sample explains how custom messages can be used to share the location with a user. Similarly, you can send custom messages to groups. On success, you will receive an object of `CustomMessage` class.