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asp_databases thread: Sending email
Message #1 by "Nick Middleweek" <nickm@t...> on Fri, 25 Aug 2000 10:31:57 +0000
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Hello,
Does anyone know of a way to send email from an ASP page.
I'll be using it to send out confirmations when the users place orders. I
want to have feature that allows other users send our pages to their friends
via email, i.e. "Email this article to a friend." - the article will be
created on the fly from the db.
I'm also going to use this email so to inform me if backups fail of the SQL
Server or the UPS software has decided that it's time to shut down the
server.
Another one is to have HTML newsletters.
Does anyone know of how I can achieve this? Has anyone heard of BLAT?
Are they extensions already built into W2K that allow this to happen?
TIA
Nick Middleweek
Message #2 by "Ray Murphy" <raymondmurphy@c...> on Sat, 26 Aug 2000 13:51:46
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Nick,
There are probably a number of ways to send mail, so I think you'll be
getting a variety of replies to this one.
Here is one method that I have been using with no problems so far :
<%
Dim strHTML
strHTML = "<HTML>"
strHTML = strHTML & "<HEAD>"
strHTML = strHTML & "<TITLE>Order Completion</TITLE>"
strHTML = strHTML & "</HEAD>"
strHTML = strHTML & "<BODY>"
strHTML = strHTML & "<P>Order Placed at <STRONG>" & Time & "</STRONG>"
strHTML = strHTML & "</BODY>"
strHTML = strHTML & "</HTML>"
set NewMail = Server.CreateObject("CDONTS.NewMail")
NewMail.From = "customer@c..."
NewMail.To = "billy@b..."
NewMail.CC = "bobby@b..."
NewMail.BCC = "benny@b..."
NewMail.BodyFormat = CdoBodyFormatHTML
NewMail.Body = strHTML
NewMail.Subject = "Customer Placed An Order"
NewMail.Send
Set NewMail = Nothing
%>
Hope this is of some use.
Ray
Message #3 by "Nick Middleweek" <nickm@t...> on Wed, 30 Aug 2000 09:44:45 +0000
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Thanks for the replies on this.
I think I'll probably write a generic function that accepts a number of
parameters to build and send the message.
So I assume that CDONTS is already installed when IIS gets installed. Are
there any other configurations and tweaks that need to be done to the
machine in order for this to work?
Is there any documentation on this useful object?
I'd like to find out more about the advanced functionality it has to offer -
if any? What if I send an email in HTML but the client who receives it only
supports plain text? Will the email automatically display a plain text
version?
Are there any other things like this that may help with my development
plans?
Thanks
Nick
----------
> Nick,
>
> There are probably a number of ways to send mail, so I think you'll be
> getting a variety of replies to this one.
>
> Here is one method that I have been using with no problems so far :
>
> <%
> Dim strHTML
> strHTML = "<HTML>"
> strHTML = strHTML & "<HEAD>"
> strHTML = strHTML & "<TITLE>Order Completion</TITLE>"
> strHTML = strHTML & "</HEAD>"
> strHTML = strHTML & "<BODY>"
> strHTML = strHTML & "<P>Order Placed at <STRONG>" & Time & "</STRONG>"
> strHTML = strHTML & "</BODY>"
> strHTML = strHTML & "</HTML>"
>
> set NewMail = Server.CreateObject("CDONTS.NewMail")
> NewMail.From = "customer@c..."
> NewMail.To = "billy@b..."
> NewMail.CC = "bobby@b..."
> NewMail.BCC = "benny@b..."
> NewMail.BodyFormat = CdoBodyFormatHTML
> NewMail.Body = strHTML
>
> NewMail.Subject = "Customer Placed An Order"
>
> NewMail.Send
> Set NewMail = Nothing
> %>
>
> Hope this is of some use.
>
>
> Ray
Message #4 by "Nick Middleweek" <nickm@t...> on Wed, 30 Aug 2000 09:58:46 +0000
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I've just tried it.
How does it know what mail server to use to send the mail?
And what about the login and user ID?
TIA!
Nick
----------
> Nick,
>
> There are probably a number of ways to send mail, so I think you'll be
> getting a variety of replies to this one.
>
> Here is one method that I have been using with no problems so far :
>
> <%
> Dim strHTML
> strHTML = "<HTML>"
> strHTML = strHTML & "<HEAD>"
> strHTML = strHTML & "<TITLE>Order Completion</TITLE>"
> strHTML = strHTML & "</HEAD>"
> strHTML = strHTML & "<BODY>"
> strHTML = strHTML & "<P>Order Placed at <STRONG>" & Time & "</STRONG>"
> strHTML = strHTML & "</BODY>"
> strHTML = strHTML & "</HTML>"
>
> set NewMail = Server.CreateObject("CDONTS.NewMail")
> NewMail.From = "customer@c..."
> NewMail.To = "billy@b..."
> NewMail.CC = "bobby@b..."
> NewMail.BCC = "benny@b..."
> NewMail.BodyFormat = CdoBodyFormatHTML
> NewMail.Body = strHTML
>
> NewMail.Subject = "Customer Placed An Order"
>
> NewMail.Send
> Set NewMail = Nothing
> %>
>
> Hope this is of some use.
>
>
> Ray
>
> ---
> You are currently subscribed to asp_databases
>
Message #5 by "Ray Murphy" <raymondmurphy@c...> on Wed, 30 Aug 2000 15:49:28 +0100
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Nick,
Take a look at http://www.cdolive.com/asp.htm - lots of useful info there.
Ray
Message #6 by "Nick Middleweek" <nickm@t...> on Wed, 30 Aug 2000 17:51:58 +0000
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I've discovered that I need to have the SMTP service installed and
configured correctly on the web server.
Doenyone know how I can set this up properly - I've read the Help but no
joy!
I've got an email server on our Proxy/Firewall machine. When I send email
from VBS or ASP I assume that somehow I need to tell SMTP service to connect
to the other email server?
Is this right?
How do I do this?
I'm completely lost with this - Is SMTP services like exchange (not that I
know about exchange!)?
Hope someone can help!
Regards
Nick
----------
> Nick,
>
> Take a look at http://www.cdolive.com/asp.htm - lots of useful info there.
>
>
> Ray
>
> ---
> You are currently subscribed to asp_databases
>
Message #7 by Chris Neale <Chris.Neale@s...> on Thu, 31 Aug 2000 08:18:25 +0100
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Theres a groovy little command line program called Blat that does SMTP on NT
and 9*.. its pretty much identical to Sendmail on *nix systems.. I believe
it comes with a couple of ASP examples too. www.blat.com
<http://www.blat.com> probably.. else do a search..
Chris
Chaos! Panic! Disaster! (My work here is done)
Chris Neale. Web/Wap Developer
Chris.neale@s... <mailto:Chris.neale@s...>
www.sparkresponse.co.uk
-----Original Message-----
From: Nick Middleweek
Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2000 6:52 PM
To: ASP Databases
Subject: [asp_databases] Re: Sending email
I've discovered that I need to have the SMTP service installed and
configured correctly on the web server.
Doenyone know how I can set this up properly - I've read the Help
but no
joy!
I've got an email server on our Proxy/Firewall machine. When I send
email
from VBS or ASP I assume that somehow I need to tell SMTP service to
connect
to the other email server?
Is this right?
How do I do this?
I'm completely lost with this - Is SMTP services like exchange (not
that I
know about exchange!)?
Hope someone can help!
Regards
Nick
----------
> Nick,
>
> Take a look at http://www.cdolive.com/asp.htm - lots of useful
info there.
>
>
> Ray
>
Message #8 by "Ken Schaefer" <ken@a...> on Thu, 31 Aug 2000 11:31:46 +1000
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Nick,
To install the SMTP service run the NT Option Pack setup again. It is an
optional component.
The SMTP service runs as a SMTP server. CDONTS just creates a validly
formatted email message and drops it into the "incoming" directory of the
SMTP service. The SMTP service then attempts to resolve the MX DNS record
for the domain the message is being sent to, and delivers the mail.
There is no need, in this case, for you to interact with the SMTP server
running on your firewall/proxy.
Otherwise, if you want to make use of your existing SMTP server (running on
the firewall), go to http://tech.dimac.net and download their JMail
component (free). This lets you specify which SMTP server you want to use to
deliver the mail.
I think, if you really want to understand this more, you'll need to do a bit
of reading on SMTP (and the difference between SMTP and POP) and DNS.
Looking up the relevant RFCs is probably a good place to start eg
http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/
Cheers
Ken
----- Original Message -----
From: "Nick Middleweek"
To: "ASP Databases" <asp_databases@p...>
Sent: Thursday, August 31, 2000 3:51 AM
Subject: [asp_databases] Re: Sending email
> I've discovered that I need to have the SMTP service installed and
> configured correctly on the web server.
>
> Doenyone know how I can set this up properly - I've read the Help but no
> joy!
>
> I've got an email server on our Proxy/Firewall machine. When I send email
> from VBS or ASP I assume that somehow I need to tell SMTP service to
connect
> to the other email server?
> Is this right?
> How do I do this?
> I'm completely lost with this - Is SMTP services like exchange (not that I
> know about exchange!)?
>
>
> Hope someone can help!
>
> Regards
> Nick
Message #9 by "Nick Middleweek" <nickm@t...> on Thu, 31 Aug 2000 10:12:06 +0000
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Thanks Ken,
I'm using W2K so do you know of any differences between it and NT4?
So what it seems, is that the SMTP service makes the server machine act as a
'sort of' mail server?
This JMail component? Is that a globally recognised add-on to Windows
Servers - just like Blat, I'm not too keen on installing third party add-ons
to reduce crashes, etc.
Which is the preferred component? Which is easier?
If I want to use CDONTS, then I have to setup the SMTP service on my server
which I lack understanding of. Do I have to install/configure any additional
things if I want to use JMail that you know of?
Have you ever used the Queue option in JMail for sending lots of emails? It
appears to dump them in a folder similar to SMTP and wait for 'mailservice'
to pick them up and then send them. - Have you any clues on what the mail
service is? Am I write in saying that I'll need to setup SMTP to use the
email Queing?
Even without queues, this component looks great - it's got a lot of
additional features that will make life easier. Are there a list of sites
that have more of these cool components?
Regards
Nick
----------
> Nick,
>
> To install the SMTP service run the NT Option Pack setup again. It is an
> optional component.
>
> The SMTP service runs as a SMTP server. CDONTS just creates a validly
> formatted email message and drops it into the "incoming" directory of the
> SMTP service. The SMTP service then attempts to resolve the MX DNS record
> for the domain the message is being sent to, and delivers the mail.
>
> There is no need, in this case, for you to interact with the SMTP server
> running on your firewall/proxy.
>
> Otherwise, if you want to make use of your existing SMTP server (running on
> the firewall), go to http://tech.dimac.net and download their JMail
> component (free). This lets you specify which SMTP server you want to use to
> deliver the mail.
>
> I think, if you really want to understand this more, you'll need to do a bit
> of reading on SMTP (and the difference between SMTP and POP) and DNS.
> Looking up the relevant RFCs is probably a good place to start eg
> http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/
>
> Cheers
> Ken
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Nick Middleweek"
> To: "ASP Databases" <asp_databases@p...>
> Sent: Thursday, August 31, 2000 3:51 AM
> Subject: [asp_databases] Re: Sending email
>
>
>> I've discovered that I need to have the SMTP service installed and
>> configured correctly on the web server.
>>
>> Doenyone know how I can set this up properly - I've read the Help but no
>> joy!
>>
>> I've got an email server on our Proxy/Firewall machine. When I send email
>> from VBS or ASP I assume that somehow I need to tell SMTP service to
> connect
>> to the other email server?
>> Is this right?
>> How do I do this?
>> I'm completely lost with this - Is SMTP services like exchange (not that I
>> know about exchange!)?
>>
>>
>> Hope someone can help!
>>
>> Regards
>> Nick
>
>
>
> ---
> You are currently subscribed to asp_databases
>
Message #10 by "Nick Middleweek" <nickm@t...> on Thu, 31 Aug 2000 09:19:54 +0000
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I was considering using Blat but after searching for it and viewing the
site, the developers say there's no support, they haven't tested it on all
platforms and it's up to us to decide whether it's Y2k compliant.
I don't really like using untested, no-backup applications on the web server
- to reduce problems if any. It's good to hear that someone else is using it
though!
Regards
Nick
----------
> Theres a groovy little command line program called Blat that does SMTP on NT
> and 9*.. its pretty much identical to Sendmail on *nix systems.. I believe
> it comes with a couple of ASP examples too. www.blat.com
> <http://www.blat.com> probably.. else do a search..
>
> Chris
>
> Chaos! Panic! Disaster! (My work here is done)
> Chris Neale. Web/Wap Developer
> Chris.neale@s... <mailto:Chris.neale@s...>
> www.sparkresponse.co.uk
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Nick Middleweek
> Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2000 6:52 PM
> To: ASP Databases
> Subject: [asp_databases] Re: Sending email
>
> I've discovered that I need to have the SMTP service installed and
> configured correctly on the web server.
>
> Doenyone know how I can set this up properly - I've read the Help
> but no
> joy!
>
> I've got an email server on our Proxy/Firewall machine. When I send
> email
> from VBS or ASP I assume that somehow I need to tell SMTP service to
> connect
> to the other email server?
> Is this right?
> How do I do this?
> I'm completely lost with this - Is SMTP services like exchange (not
> that I
> know about exchange!)?
>
>
> Hope someone can help!
>
> Regards
> Nick
>
>
> ----------
> > Nick,
> >
> > Take a look at http://www.cdolive.com/asp.htm - lots of useful
> info there.
> >
> >
> > Ray
> >
>
> ---
> You are currently subscribed to asp_databases
>
Message #11 by "Ken Schaefer" <ken@a...> on Thu, 31 Aug 2000 21:19:31 +1000
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|
> I'm using W2K so do you know of any differences between it and NT4?
None that I'm aware of.
> So what it seems, is that the SMTP service makes the server machine act as
a
> 'sort of' mail server?
It acts as one half of a mail server. It acts as the SMTP part, which
delivers and receives mail.
Most mailservers also come with another part called a POP3 server. This
takes mail received by the SMTP server which is destined for your domain and
divides it up into mailboxes, and then handles connections from clients who
want to read their mail.
> This JMail component? Is that a globally recognised add-on to Windows
> Servers - just like Blat, I'm not too keen on installing third party
add-ons
> to reduce crashes, etc.
It's quite popular. There's a few popular components, JMail is one. ASPMail
is another.
I wouldn't use Blat, as that requires you to (AFAIK) to write a COM wrapper,
and then use that to call the Blat executable, which would run outside the
IIS process...which is not as good performance wise as using an in-process
component.
I've been using JMail for a while and I've never had any problems with it,
in terms of server stability.
> If I want to use CDONTS, then I have to setup the SMTP service on my
server
> which I lack understanding of. Do I have to install/configure any
additional
> things if I want to use JMail that you know of?
JMail requires you to have an SMTP server somewhere...any email delivery
does. But it allows you to specify an existing SMTP server, so you could use
the one your company already has. CDONTS only works with the SMTP server
that comes with the NT Option Pack.
JMail works by connecting to the SMTP server like an email program does, ie
it uses Windows Sockets to open a TCP connection to port 25 of the SMTP
server and sends the same commands that Outlook or Eudora would send.
CDONTS works by writing a textfile and dropping that into the "incoming"
directory of the NT SMTP service, and then the SMTP service processes that.
> Even without queues, this component looks great - it's got a lot of
> additional features that will make life easier. Are there a list of sites
> that have more of these cool components?
Very probably - look around http://www.15seconds.com or www.learnasp.com or
www.asphole.com or any of the popular ASP sites.
Cheers
Ken
Message #12 by "Nick Middleweek" <nickm@t...> on Thu, 31 Aug 2000 13:06:38 +0000
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Once again, thanks!
Have you used the Queue feature. The documentation on the tech.dimac.net
site says:
<http://tech.dimac.net/isapiscript.dll?action=read&id=32559&exId=32574>
' Instead of using the Send() method, we use nq
' The email will be placed in the mail queue and sent
' as soon as the mailservice picks it up.
' We do not need to specify a mailserver, as the
' mailservice does all that for us.
' What we do need to do is to specify where the MS pickup
' directory is. If you are running w3 JMail on a
' Windows 2000 server, this is not neccessary, otherwise
' Unless you are running windows 2000 on your webserver,
' you will need to specify where the MS pickup directory
' is (c:\inetpub\mailroot\pickup\).
What is it that picks up the mail? What is the mailservice? Is this SMTP?
I assume you prefer JMail to ASPmail?
Regards
Nick Middleweek
----------
>From: "Ken Schaefer" <ken@a...>
>To: "ASP Databases" <asp_databases@p...>
>Subject: [asp_databases] Re: Sending email
>Date: Thu, Aug 31, 2000, 11:19
>
>> I'm using W2K so do you know of any differences between it and NT4?
>
> None that I'm aware of.
>
>> So what it seems, is that the SMTP service makes the server machine act as
> a
>> 'sort of' mail server?
>
> It acts as one half of a mail server. It acts as the SMTP part, which
> delivers and receives mail.
> Most mailservers also come with another part called a POP3 server. This
> takes mail received by the SMTP server which is destined for your domain and
> divides it up into mailboxes, and then handles connections from clients who
> want to read their mail.
>
>
>> This JMail component? Is that a globally recognised add-on to Windows
>> Servers - just like Blat, I'm not too keen on installing third party
> add-ons
>> to reduce crashes, etc.
>
> It's quite popular. There's a few popular components, JMail is one. ASPMail
> is another.
> I wouldn't use Blat, as that requires you to (AFAIK) to write a COM wrapper,
> and then use that to call the Blat executable, which would run outside the
> IIS process...which is not as good performance wise as using an in-process
> component.
>
> I've been using JMail for a while and I've never had any problems with it,
> in terms of server stability.
>
>> If I want to use CDONTS, then I have to setup the SMTP service on my
> server
>> which I lack understanding of. Do I have to install/configure any
> additional
>> things if I want to use JMail that you know of?
>
> JMail requires you to have an SMTP server somewhere...any email delivery
> does. But it allows you to specify an existing SMTP server, so you could use
> the one your company already has. CDONTS only works with the SMTP server
> that comes with the NT Option Pack.
>
>
> JMail works by connecting to the SMTP server like an email program does, ie
> it uses Windows Sockets to open a TCP connection to port 25 of the SMTP
> server and sends the same commands that Outlook or Eudora would send.
>
> CDONTS works by writing a textfile and dropping that into the "incoming"
> directory of the NT SMTP service, and then the SMTP service processes that.
>
>> Even without queues, this component looks great - it's got a lot of
>> additional features that will make life easier. Are there a list of sites
>> that have more of these cool components?
>
> Very probably - look around http://www.15seconds.com or www.learnasp.com or
> www.asphole.com or any of the popular ASP sites.
>
> Cheers
> Ken
>
>
> ---
> You are currently subscribed to asp_databases
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