Send Email actions
Send Email actions send an email message to a list of recipients using the SMTP protocol. Optionally, the action may be configured to generate an HTML report containing the text of the email. The name of the mail server and any connection details required should be set by a LiveCompare administrator in the Configuration - Email screen.
| Action property | Description |
|---|---|
| Attachment1 | A String dataset referencing a resource that will be linked to in the email’s Attachments section if Attachment1 is included in the Attachments property below. The string must refer to a URL on the LiveCompare server, for example, the URL of a generated report, and it must not be set to a relative path. |
| Attachment2 | A second String dataset referencing a resource that will be linked to in the email’s Attachments section if Attachment2 is included in the Attachments property below. The string must refer to a URL on the LiveCompare server, for example, the URL of a generated report, and it must not be set to a relative path. |
| Attachments | A String List parameter or dataset containing the String properties whose referenced files will be linked to in the email’s attachments. For example, to include links to the files referenced by the Attachment1 and Attachment2 properties above, the Attachments String List should be set to contain Attachment1 and Attachment2. |
| Bcc | A String List parameter containing a list of addresses for the email’s Bcc field (optional). |
| Block | A Boolean parameter or dataset that determines whether the email will be sent. If this parameter is set to false, the Send Email action uses an external program to send the email. If this parameter is set to true, the email won't be sent. |
| Cc | A String List parameter or dataset containing a list of addresses for the email’s Cc field (optional). |
| Debug | A Boolean parameter that determines whether debug information for the Send Email action will be written to LiveCompare’s debug log files. The default value is false. |
| Fixed |
A Boolean parameter that indicates whether the Send Email action will generate fixed location reports. If this parameter is set to true, the action stores its report in the <Report Name> directory; this directory will be removed and then recreated each time the action is run. If the Fixed parameter is set to false, a new report will be generated in its own time-stamped directory each time the action is run. Each fixed location report in a workspace should normally have a different value for its Report Name parameter. This will ensure that each workflow’s Report URL dataset points to the expected report. |
| From |
A String parameter or dataset containing the sender’s email address. An Email Administrator must configure the email server to allow this address to send emails using an external program. Please check with your LiveCompare administrator to determine an appropriate email address to use, for example the account specified in the Configuration - Email screen’s SMTPUsername field. If you don’t set this property, the action uses the value specified in the Configuration - Email screen’s EmailFromAddress field. |
| Html | If this Boolean parameter is set to true, the text of the email message will be sent as HTML, allowing HTML tags to be embedded in the ‘Message’ text. The default value is false, which means that the email message will be sent as plain text. |
| Max Attachment Size | An Integer parameter or dataset specifying the maximum total size (in KB) for the attachments that are to be sent. The default value is 1000, or approximately 1 MB. If the total size of the attachments to be sent exceeds this limit, the email will be sent without the attachments. |
| Message | A String Multiline parameter containing the text of the email. |
| Report Name | A String parameter that stores the name used for the generated email report. If the Fixed parameter is set to false, the generated report name includes a timestamp indicating when the report was created. |
| Report URL | A String dataset that is set to contain the URL of the generated email report. |
| String1 | A String parameter or dataset containing a URL or other string value to be included in the email. |
| Subject | A String parameter or dataset containing the subject line for the email. |
| To | A String Listparameter or dataset containing a list of addresses for the email’s To field. |
| Zip |
This property is not used. |
Mail server settings
To specify the mail server settings to be used by the Send Email action, sign in to LiveCompare as an Administrator and navigate to the Administration > Configuration > Email hierarchy folder. Complete the fields in the Configuration - Email screen as follows:
| Field | What to do |
|---|---|
| EmailFromAddress | Enter the ‘From’ address that LiveCompare will use when sending emails from the apps Consumer interface. |
| SMTPIgnoreSSLCertificateErrors | If the SMTPUseSSL field is set to X, set this field to X to have LiveCompare ignore SSL certificate errors when sending emails. This setting should be used with caution. |
| SMTPServer | Enter the IP address or DNS name of the mail server that will be used to send the email, then click Add. The server may need to be configured to allow emails from the LiveCompare server to be sent using SMTP. |
| SMTPPort | Enter the SMTP port to be used for sending the email, then click Add. If you don't set this field, the action uses 25 as the default value. |
| SMTPUsername | Enter the username that LiveCompare will use to authenticate with the SMTP server when sending email, then click Add. Leave this field blank if no user-based authentication is required. |
| SMTPPassword | Enter the password that LiveCompare will use to authenticate with the SMTP server when sending email, then click Add. Leave this field blank if no user-based authentication is required. |
| SMTPUseSSL | If this field is set to X, LiveCompare will attempt to connect to the SMTP server using SSL. |
Example
Send Email actions support the use of the Define Action Parameters Wizard, which allows new input String properties to be created. These may be used to specify additional attachments, or to include variable values in the action’s Message or Subject properties.
String properties for the Send Email action may be referred to by enclosing them in % symbols. For example, the Subject property may be set to the following:
Email from %From%
When an email is sent, the value of the From property will be substituted into the Subject field. This technique may be used for any new String parameters added to the action by the Define Action Parameters Wizard. Note that if you plan to substitute a URL into a text field, the URL should be enclosed in angled brackets as follows:
Emailing <%String1%>
To include a URL as a link, set the Send Email action’s HTML property to true, and enclose the URL in HTML tags as follows:
Emailing <br/> <a href="%String1%">%String1%</a> <br/>
To examine the details for a Send Email action, double-click the action node, or select View Details from the node’s context menu.
- If the Block property is set to true, the Details screen displays the text ‘Blocked. No email sent.’.
- If the total attachment size exceeds the value of the Max Attachment Size property, the Details screen displays the text ‘Attachment skipped. Too big.’.