ASP.NET Web Pages - The WebMail Helper
The WebMail Helper - One of many useful ASP.NET Web Helpers.
With the WebMail object you can easily send emails from a web page.
The WebMail Helper
The WebMail Helper makes it easy to send an email from a web application using SMTP (Simple Mail transfer Protocol).
Scenario: Email Support
To demonstrate the use of email, we will create an input page for support, let the user submit the page to another page, and send an email about the support problem.
First: Edit Your AppStart Page
If you have built the Demo application in this tutorial, you already have a page called _AppStart.cshtml with the following content:
_AppStart.cshtml
@{
WebSecurity.InitializeDatabaseConnection("Users", "UserProfile", "UserId",
"Email", true);
}
To initiate the WebMail helper, add the the following WebMail properties to your AppStart page:
_AppStart.cshtml
@{
WebSecurity.InitializeDatabaseConnection("Users", "UserProfile", "UserId",
"Email", true);
WebMail.SmtpServer = "smtp.example.com";
WebMail.SmtpPort = 25;
WebMail.EnableSsl = false;
WebMail.UserName = "support@example.com";
WebMail.Password = "password-goes-here";
WebMail.From = "john@example.com";
}
Properties explained:
SmtpServer: The name the SMTP server that will be used to send the emails.
SmtpPort: The port the server will use to send SMTP transactions (emails).
EnableSsl: True, if the server should use SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption.
UserName: The name of the SMTP email account used to send the email.
Password: The password of the SMTP email account.
From: The email to appear in the from address (often the same as UserName).
Second: Create an Email Input Page
Then create an input page, and name it Email_Input:
Email_Input.cshtml
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h1>Request for
Assistance</h1>
<form method="post" action="EmailSend.cshtml">
<label>Username:</label>
<input type="text" name="customerEmail" />
<label>Details about the problem:</label>
<textarea name="customerRequest"
cols="45" rows="4"></textarea>
<p><input type="submit" value="Submit"
/></p>
</form>
</body>
</html>
The purpose of the input page is to collect information, then submit the data to a new page that can send the information as an email.
Third: Create An Email Send Page
Then create the page that will be used to send the email, and name it Email_Send:
Email_Send.cshtml
@{ // Read input
var customerEmail = Request["customerEmail"];
var customerRequest = Request["customerRequest"];
try
{
// Send email
WebMail.Send(to:"someone@example.com", subject: "Help request from - " + customerEmail, body:
customerRequest );
}
catch (Exception ex )
{
<text>@ex</text>
}
}
WebMail Object Reference - Properties
| Properties | Description |
|---|---|
| SmtpServer | The name the SMTP server that will send the emails |
| SmtpPort | The port the server will use to send SMTP emails |
| EnableSsl | True, if the server should use SSL encryption |
| UserName | The name of the SMTP account used to send the email |
| Password | The password of the SMTP account |
| From | The email to appear in the from address |
WebMail Object Reference - Methods
| Method | Description |
|---|---|
| Send() | Sends an email message to an SMTP server for delivery |
The Send() method has the following parameters:
| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| to | String | The Email recipients (separated by semicolon) |
| subject | String | The subject line |
| body | String | The body of the message |
And the following optional parameters:
| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| from | String | The email of the sender |
| cc | String | The cc emails (separated by semicolon) |
| filesToAttach | Collection | Filenames |
| isBodyHtml | Boolean | True if the email body is in HTML |
| additionalHeaders | Collection | Additional headers |
Technical Data
| Name | Value |
|---|---|
| Class | System.Web.Helpers.WebMail |
| Namespace | System.Web.Helpers |
| Assembly | System.Web.Helpers.dll |
Initializing the WebMail Helper
To use the WebMail helper, you need access to an SMTP server. SMTP is the "output" part of email. If you use a web host, you probably already know the name of the SMTP server. If you work in a corporate network, your IT department can give you the name. If you are working at home, you might be able to use your ordinary email provider.
In order to send an email you will need:
- The name of the SMTP server
- The port number (most often 25)
- An email user name
- An email password
In the root of your web, create a page (or edit the page ) named _AppStart.cshtml.
Put the following code inside the file:
_AppStart.cshtml
@{
WebMail.SmtpServer = "smtp.example.com";
WebMail.SmtpPort = 25;
WebMail.EnableSsl = false;
WebMail.UserName = "support@example.com";
WebMail.Password = "password";
WebMail.From = "john@example.com"
}
The code above will run each time the web site (application) starts. It feeds your WebMail Object with initial values.
Please substitute:
smtp.example.com with the name the SMTP server that will be used to send the emails.
25 with the port number the server will use to send SMTP transactions (emails).
false with true, if the server should use SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption.
support@example.com with the name of the SMTP email account used to send emails.
password with the password of the SMTP email account.
john@example with the email to appear in the from address.
You don't have to initiate the WebMail object in your AppStart file, but you must set these properties before you call the WebMail.Send() method.
