Mail

The Mail module enables the sending of emails from within Magnolia. The module can be used to send plain text and HTML messages, and template-based messages.

Sending emails from Magnolia is typically an automated process. An event acts as a trigger. For example, a verification message is sent to a user when they fill a registration form.

Other Magnolia modules such as Form, Observation and Public User Registration use the Mail module for messaging.

Configuration

The Mail module is configured in /modules/mail. Besides configuring SMTP settings the module is ready to use.

Mail module configuration

Mail command

info.magnolia.module.mail.commands.MailCommand is used to send all mails in Magnolia. The command can execute on events such as user actions, workflow steps and scheduled jobs. You can write message templates and test them manually in the Mail tools app before automating the process for production use.

The command is registered in /modules/mail/commands/default/sendMail.

Mail command configuration

Configuring SMTP

The Mail module installs the Mail Tools app. Access to the app is restricted to the superuser role in the app configuration and app launcher layout. Fields that contain sensitive data, such as passwords, should be managed using the Passwords app.

The default transfer protocol (SMTP) settings are configured in /modules/mail/config/smtpConfiguration. These settings display the Mail subapp.

Add your SMTP settings in the Mail subapp to update the smtp configuration node:

  • SMTP server (the name of your mail server)

  • SMTP port (based on your security settings)

  • Authentication

  • Connection security method

    • No encryption

    • Use SSL

    • Use STARTTLS

SSL protocol version

Since version 5.5.13 of the Mail module, you can use the optional sslProtocols property (not displayed in the Mail app) to set the version of the SSL protocol(s) to be used. The property value is a whitespace-separated list of tokens, for example:

sslProtocols: TLSv1.1 TLSv1.2

Verifying setup

The Verify setup subapp provides tools to:

Verify the current mail settings

Use the first tool to send test mails to verify your SMTP settings. The tool sends a pre-configured simple mail with an optional attachment to the email address in the logged in user’s profile.

To send a test message:

  1. Access the relevant profile, typically superuser, in the Security app. Go to System users and add your email address in the superuser profile.

  2. Set the from address on the template in /modules/mail/config/templatesConfiguration/simpleConfiguration.

  3. Select either plain text or rich text mail type.

  4. Optionally, select an asset attachment from Assets chooser.

  5. Click Send test mail.

Verify message templates

The second tool in the Verify setup subapp allows you to verify your mail message templates. Message templates are typically used by forms on pages to send the data to the user who submitted the form.

As in the case of verifying mail settings, the tool sends the test mail to the email address configured in your user profile.

To send a test message:

  1. Select a template in the dropdown. Only registered templates are available. See Templates configuration for more information.

  2. Enter the test data. The content depends on the template configuration.

  3. Click Send test mail.

SMTP connection timeout

Using the timeoutInMillis setting on the SMTP configuration will define when a connection attempt to the server times out.

To set connection timeout:

  1. From the Configuration app, find the SMTP configuration node (/modules/mail/config/smtpConfiguration).

  2. Add a timeoutInMillis property and set its value accordingly. The default value is 5000 (milliseconds).

SMTP session debugging

Using the debug setting on the SMTP configuration will enable a dump of the session data to system out.

The session debug is only shown in the standard output and not printed to the log file.

To enable session debugging:

  1. From the Configuration app, find the SMTP configuration node (/modules/mail/config/smtpConfiguration).

  2. Add a debug property and set its value to true.

  3. From the console see the detailed session debug data:

    DEBUG: setDebug: JavaMail version 1.6.2
2020-05-04 18:07:25,329 DEBUG info.magnolia.module.mail.templates.MgnlEmail : Set attachments [0] for mail: [info.magnolia.module.mail.templates.impl.FreemarkerEmail]
DEBUG: getProvider() returning javax.mail.Provider[TRANSPORT,smtp,com.sun.mail.smtp.SMTPTransport,Oracle]
DEBUG SMTP: need username and password for authentication
DEBUG SMTP: protocolConnect returning false, host=smtp.mail.ch, user=magnolia.cms, password=<null>
DEBUG SMTP: useEhlo true, useAuth true
DEBUG SMTP: trying to connect to host "smtp.mail.ch", port 465, isSSL true
220 smtp01.mail.ch ESMTP
DEBUG SMTP: connected to host "smtp.mail.ch", port: 465
EHLO localhost
250-smtp01.mail.ch
250-PIPELINING
250-SIZE 160000000
250-AUTH PLAIN LOGIN
250-AUTH=PLAIN LOGIN
250-ENHANCEDSTATUSCODES
250 DSN
DEBUG SMTP: Found extension "PIPELINING", arg ""
DEBUG SMTP: Found extension "SIZE", arg "160000000"
DEBUG SMTP: Found extension "AUTH", arg "PLAIN LOGIN"
DEBUG SMTP: Found extension "AUTH=PLAIN", arg "LOGIN"
DEBUG SMTP: Found extension "ENHANCEDSTATUSCODES", arg ""
DEBUG SMTP: Found extension "DSN", arg ""
DEBUG SMTP: protocolConnect login, host=smtp.mail.ch, user=magnolia.cms, password=<non-null>
DEBUG SMTP: Attempt to authenticate using mechanisms: LOGIN PLAIN DIGEST-MD5 NTLM XOAUTH2
DEBUG SMTP: Using mechanism LOGIN
DEBUG SMTP: AUTH LOGIN command trace suppressed
DEBUG SMTP: AUTH LOGIN succeeded
DEBUG SMTP: use8bit false
MAIL FROM:<magnolia.cms@mail.ch>
250 2.1.0 Ok
RCPT TO:<magnolia.cms@mail.ch>
250 2.1.5 Ok
RCPT TO:<magnolia.cms@mail.ch>
250 2.1.5 Ok
DEBUG SMTP: Verified Addresses
DEBUG SMTP: magnolia.cms@mail.ch
DEBUG SMTP: magnolia.cms@mail.ch
DATA
354 End data with <CR><LF>.<CR><LF>
Date: Mon, 4 May 2020 18:07:25 +0200 (CEST)
From: magnolia.cms@mail.ch
To: magnolia.cms@mail.ch, magnolia.cms@mail.ch
Message-ID: <1617772963.1.1588608445333@localhost>
Subject: This is a test email for freemarker template
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

<h1></h1>
<img src="cid:0001"/>

This is the path that has been changed:

.
250 2.0.0 Ok: queued as CCE8A10036F
DEBUG SMTP: message successfully delivered to mail server
QUIT
221 2.0.0 Bye
2020-05-04 18:07:26,080 INFO fo.magnolia.module.mail.handlers.SimpleMailHandler: Mail has been sent to: [magnolia.cms@mail.ch, magnolia.cms@mail.ch]

Templates configuration

Templates are configured in /modules/mail/config/templateConfiguration. The testFreemarker template is provided as an example.

info.magnolia.module.mail.MailTemplate allows for a number of configuration nodes and properties. The following are the most commonly used:

Templates configuration

Property Description

templatesConfiguration

required

Templates configuration node.

     <template name>

required

Template name.

         attachments

optional

info.magnolia.module.mail.templates.MailAttachment provides for a number of attachment options.

         parameters

optional

Any parameters to be passed to the script.

Do not use parameter names type, contentType.

             templateFile

required

Relative path to the template script.

             type

required

Scripting language used in the template.

             contentType

optional

Type of content for the message body. It is only necessary to include this property for HTML emails.

             from

optional

Email address that will appear in the From field of the message, unless defined elsewhere, for example in Form module.

             subject

optional

Subject line of the email, unless defined elsewhere for example in the Form module.

pageCommentsNotification is used by the Commenting module.

Template renderers

Template renderers are registered in /modules/mail/config/factory/renderers:

Template renderers

Properties Description

renderers

optional

Renderers node.

     freemarker

optional

Renders FreeMarker email templates.

     magnolia

optional

Renders Magnolia web pages in an email.

     simple

optional

Renders simple text emails that do not require a specific scripting language to be parsed.

Template script

Here’s the example testFreemarker.html template script.

<h1>${user}</h2.
    <img src="cid:0001"/>
    This is the path that has been changed: ${path}

This script requires two parameters, user and path, that need to be provided in the Data to send box in the Verify templates tool. The parameters are passed to the template script and rendered in the message. Each parameter should be added on a single line in the <parameter name=<value> format. For example:

user=jsmith
path=/my/path

Attachments

In the attachments node you can define properties for the parameters called by the script. For example, the testFreemarker.html template script references img src="cid:0001". The cid property identifies the attachment as an image (value=\{}) and the url property sets the image location.

Attachments

The mimeMultipart property can be used to define the structure of info.magnolia.module.mail.templates.MgnlMultipartEmail:

Attachments node

Property Description

<attachment name>

optional

Attachment name.

     mimeMulitpart

optional, default is `related`

Defines the structure of info.magnolia.module.mail.templates.MgnlMultipartEmail.

Values:

  • mixed: Standard email attachment.

  • related: Attachment shown inline.

MailAttachment does not use Content-ID properties but uses attachment names (not file names).

Custom templates

To create a custom template:

  1. Create a template named, for example simpleTemplate.html using Freemarker code.

    <html>
  <body>
    <p>Dear ${fullName},</p>
    <p>Please follow this link in order to validate your account:
    <a href="${href}">Verify your user</a></p>
    <p>Thank you!</p>
  </body>
</html>

  2. Save the template to the file system in for example, /<CATALINA_HOME>/webapps/<contextPath>/templates/simpleTemplate.html. You can put the template anywhere in the webapps folder of a Magnolia instance.

  3. Register the new template in the /config/templatesConfiguration node.

    Custom templates registration

  4. The new template appears in the dropdown list in the Verify templates tool.

Email applications and clients on the market display emails in different ways. The main reason for this is varied support for CSS styles. You can use a web based service such as Mailchimp Inbox Inspector to preview the message in various clients and work towards consistency.

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