EMail Report fails without email client
If I enable Email reports, it works fine, such as using the icon in the report preview - as long as I have a MAPI email client installed, like Thunderbird. But some of my clients, like myself originally, do not have an email client installed - they just have GMail. Then I get a Windows error like "There is no email program asscociated...". I tried assigning GMail and others as the default email client in Windows settings, but still get the error. But does an external email client have to be installed??
I tried following the RB Wiki instructions, adding Indy components and so forth but nothing seems to work if no email client is installed, just using GMail. When it fails in my program with RB, it also fails to do email in Windows Explorer -> Send To Mail recipient.
I have many users with different versions of Windows, email clients, and browsers. To get this to work with as many of them as possible, perhaps I need to tell them to find their local computer guru, and get the Send to Email process to work in Windows Explorer. Or can I make sure their GMail will work for reports??
Scott S.
I tried following the RB Wiki instructions, adding Indy components and so forth but nothing seems to work if no email client is installed, just using GMail. When it fails in my program with RB, it also fails to do email in Windows Explorer -> Send To Mail recipient.
I have many users with different versions of Windows, email clients, and browsers. To get this to work with as many of them as possible, perhaps I need to tell them to find their local computer guru, and get the Send to Email process to work in Windows Explorer. Or can I make sure their GMail will work for reports??
Scott S.
Comments
The email feature in ReportBuilder can send emails in three ways:
1. Directly by connecting to a SMTP server. (ex. Gmail SMTP server via Indy).
2. Opening and/or sending from the default email client on the machine (i.e. Outlook).
3. Connecting to an on-line service via REST api such as Gmail or Outlook.com.
Each of these requires a different email plugin to be used. If you would like to send directly, you will need to use the ppSMTPIndy10 plugin and provide proper credentials to connect to a SMTP server. If you would like to send with Outlook, you will need to use the default ppSMTPMAPI, ppSMTPExtendedMAPI, or ppSMTPOutlook plugin. Thunderbird… ppSMTPThunderbird plugin.
To use the REST service to connect directly to a web email service such as Gmail, you will need to use the ppRESTMailGmail plugin and register your application with Google using their Developer's Console. This is documented in the TppRESTMailGmail help topic. TppRESTMailOutlook365 for Outlook.com help.
Adding a single plugin to the uses clause will register it to be used. If you would like to use multiple plugins you will need to manually register and unregister them as needed, possibly giving your users the option before emailing.
See the following article on the email fundamentals and how to register plugins on demand.
http://rbwiki.digital-metaphors.com/output/email/email-fundamentals/
See the top of the following article on how to connect to Gmail using the Indy plugin.
http://rbwiki.digital-metaphors.com/output/email/how-to-customize-indy-email-settings/
Also, the EmailSettings properties are extensively documented. See the included documentation for how they interact with the email feature.
PreviewInMailClient := True; // previews the email in the machine’s default email client if an email client email plugin is being used.
ShowEmailDialog := True; //Displays the built-in email dialog for use when utilizing direct-send email plugins (Indy).
Nico Cizik
Digital Metaphors
http://www.digital-metaphors.com
I had found some of this info in rbwiki, but your summary of how it fits together is very helpful!
Scott