Email header settings

Email header settings define the information that goes into the header of each email that is generated from an Email template.

The default Email SMTP settings and the sender's name and address are defined in the Connect Designer preferences and can be adjusted per run in the Send Email and Send Test Email dialogs.

The subject, the recipients (To, CC and BCC), the sender and the reply-to address can be specified with Email Script wizards.

Tip: Load data or a data mapping configuration first, so you can create Email Scripts that use a field in your data. See Loading data.

Email SMTP settings

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is the standard protocol for sending emails across the Internet.

Default SMTP settings can be specified in the Preferences dialog: select Window > Preferences, expand the Email preferences and click SMTP.

You can add as many presets as needed, for example for different Email Service Providers (see Using an ESP with PReS Connect). To do this, click the Add button at the right. Then fill out the following settings:

  • Name: The name of the preset. This will show up in the Send Email dialog.
  • Host: The SMTP server through which the emails are to be sent. This can be a host (mail.domain.com) or an IP address.
  • Port: You can specify a port number. This will be added to the host name, for example: smtp.mandrillapp.com:465.
  • Use authentication: Check this option and fill in the user name if a user name and password are needed to send emails through the host. (The password has to be specified in the Send Email or Send Test Email dialog.)
  • Start TLS: This option is enabled if authentication is checked. It sends emails through Transport Layer Security (TLS), which is sometimes referred to as SSL.

When you click the Restore button, the presets for a number of Email Service Providers will appear.

When updating the software from a version prior to version 1.5, pre-existing presets will be maintained in the new version.

In the Send Email and Send Test Email dialogs you will be able to choose one of the presets and adjust the settings to your needs.

Subject

To specify a subject for an email template:

  1. On the Resources pane, expand the Contexts folder, and expand the Email section.
  2. Right-click the section of which the subject should change and click Properties. Now you can change the subject.

Creating a dynamic subject with variable data

To replace an Email section's subject by a dynamic subject:

  1. On the Scripts pane, click the black triangle on the New button and click Email Subject Script. A new script named Subject is added to the Scripts pane.
  2. Double-click the new script to open it.
  3. Select a data field and type a prefix and/or suffix.

The result of this script will appear in the email as the subject line.

To create a dynamic subject without variable data, or to create a subject that depends on the value of a data field, click Expand and modify the script. If you don't know how to write a script, see Writing your own scripts.

Recipients: To, CC and BCC

The Email To Script Wizard defines the email address to which the email will be sent. The Email CC Script Wizard and the Email BCC Script Wizard define additional email addresses to which the email will be sent.

The To and CC email addresses will be visible to all of the recipients. The BCC ('blind carbon copy') email address(es) will not be visible to any of the other recipients.

To specify recipients for Email output:

  1. On the Scripts pane, click the black triangle on the New button and click Email To Script, Email CC Script or Email BCC script. A new script is added to the Scripts pane.
  2. Double-click the new script to open it.
  3. Select a data field that holds an email address.

The result of this script goes in the email's To, CC, or BCC address field, respectively. It should be a valid, fully-formed email address.

Sender

From address

A default From name and email address can be specified in the Preferences dialog: select Window > Preferences, expand the Email preferences and click General.
This name and email address will appear as the default in the Send Email and Send Test Email dialogs.

To dynamically specify a From address you have to use the Email From Script Wizard:

  1. On the Scripts pane, click the black triangle on the New button and click Email From Script. A new script is added to the Scripts pane.
  2. Double-click the new script to open it.
  3. Select a data field that holds an email address.

The result of this script overwrites the address given in the Send Email dialog or Send Test Email dialog. It should be a valid, fully-formed email address.

A dynamical From address is often used when sending email campaigns and to do tracking of email replies. Include the recipient's email address in the From address to enable automatic detection and removal of undeliverable e-mail addresses. (This technique is called VERP; see Wikipedia).

Reply-To address

The Reply-To address has to be specified in a script:

  1. On the Scripts pane, click the black triangle on the New button and click Email From Script or Email Reply-To Script. A new script is added to the Scripts pane.
  2. Double-click the new script to open it.
  3. Select a data field that holds an email address.

The result of this script should be a valid, fully-formed email address.

Email PDF password

The Email PDF Password Script Wizard defines a password with which to protect the PDF generated when using the Print context as PDF Attachment option in the Send Email or Send Test Email dialogs (see Generating Email output). The result of the script will be the password necessary to open the PDF when it is received by email.

To define a password to protect the generated PDF attachment:

  1. On the Scripts pane, click the black triangle on the New button and click Email PDF password Script. A new script is added to the Scripts pane.
  2. Double-click the new script to open it.
  3. Select a data field and optionally, type a prefix and/or suffix.
Password types

PDF allows for two types of passwords to be set on a secured PDF file: a user password and owner password. The user password allows a limited access to the file (e.g. printing or copying text from the PDF is not allowed). The owner password allows normal access to the file. The Email PDF password script sets both the user and owner password to the same value, so that when the recipient provides the password, he can manipulate the file without limitations.

If a template has a Control Script that creates multiple PDF attachments, all the attachments are secured by the same password.
Via a Control Script it is possible to set a different user password and owner password, see Control Script: Securing PDF attachments, Control Scripts and Control Script API.
 
  • Last Topic Update: 10:41 AM Jun-08-2017
  • Last Published: 2019-05-22 : 2:51 PM