Need Windows based mail list server that supports Netscape v4.x
address books.
Will handle intra-office group lists (staff of 14).
***UNIQUE FEATURE***-Each email sent to list members must be
individually addressed to just each singular member using his/her real
address in the To: field---NOT the list group name in the To: field.
Integration with Netscape Messenger desired, but not required. |
Request for Question Clarification by
webadept-ga
on
18 Jul 2002 22:01 PDT
Hi,
This sounds like you are trying to use a desktop PC for sending the
email instead of a server. Is this true? Because this feature is
fairly standard on most servers, with simply a setup rather than
additional software.
webadept-ga
|
Clarification of Question by
johngonzalez-ga
on
19 Jul 2002 11:07 PDT
Yes-you are basicly correct.
I have managed to configure Netscape Messenger for use as a multi-user
mail system by giving each user's folder its own _Inbox,
_Sent,_Drafts, and _Templates subfolders. I created rules (in order
of Staff seniority) to check the To: and CC: fields of incoming mail
for each user's address and move the mail to the corresponding user's
_Inbox. Each user's Netscape config is set to find the mail store on
the Server and to put the Sent, Drafts and Templates into their
appropriate subfolders.
The downfall of this setup is that if an email contains more than one
staff's address in the To: or CC: fields, then all email copies go
into the first person's _Inbox, according to the rules' senority
order.
That is why I need an app that will send out individually addressed
emails to each person in the list.
|
Hi again,
Not sure right now what the final answer is going to be, but I did
want to comment that your description is a very ingenious method of
using low resources for a high output system. Very creative.
Personally I'm a big fan of this type of computing. However, its my
experience that cool little systems like this become "critical need"
systems very quickly. Please keep that in mind.
There is probably not an existing program that is "shelf quality" to
do this for you. One thing you could try is using the BCC field
instead of the CC field. BCC operates differently. The email server
when it uses a BCC field, strips out the other addresses from the
header, creates a separate email for those on that list and sends them
individually. BCC stands for Blind Carbon Copy, (or something like
that) and is used to send messages so the person in the To: field
doesn't know who is also reading the email. Instead of putting an
address in the To field, leave that blank and put everyone that is
getting the message in the BCC field. This should work with the setup
you described.
If this does not work, and since you have come up with such a method
for your system, I thought I would ask if you have any experience with
Perl or some other language? and follow up a bit if that becomes
necessary. Where is the email server? Is it off site or do all of your
clients (staff members) have their own email account somewhere?(aol,
msn, yahoo etc) You have an internal network without a server, so I am
guessing perhaps a Mac system or Netware setup?
Let me know if the BCC thing works. It should, since each message
would then have only a single email address, and you are not trying to
send large lists to those outside your own company.
Thanks,
webadept-ga |
Request for Answer Clarification by
johngonzalez-ga
on
22 Jul 2002 15:00 PDT
The BCC approach was a good thought, but unfortunately when Netscape
Messenger sends out BCCs, it does not include any To: field in the
email copies. So there is no way for the Rules to scan a To: or CC:
email field to determine which folder the item should be moved to.
I do not know Perl or Javascript or Java.
Each user has his/her own mailbox with our ISP-Interland.
We are running Win NT as our Server and all the PCs, save one, are
running Win98se. As mentioned before, the Netscape mail store is
located on the Server.
When I initially researched mail list apps, I could not find one that
sent out individually addressed emails based upon group members in a
list. Is there no such list server for small mailings?
Your comment was duely noted re: systems becoming "critical need" and
we are just about at that point now. I will be following up this
issue with a request for recommendations on Email servers that run on
Win2k (NOT MS Exchange!!!).
|
Clarification of Answer by
webadept-ga
on
22 Jul 2002 17:54 PDT
Check into Sendmail.
http://www.sendmail.org
Also, if you are looking into spending this kind of money, I would
suggest a simple linux box and use sendmail on that. Keep you well
under 1000.00 us, hardware and all, and this list problem of yours
would be solved instantly, since sendmail handles all this for you.
Not difficult to set up and easy to edit once you get going.
I'll start looking around for a solution to this current problem. I
thought that since you could set rules for the CC and the To fields
you would be able to do it for the BCC. Bummer. Okay.. I'll let you
know when I find something.
webadept-ga
|
Clarification of Answer by
webadept-ga
on
29 Jul 2002 04:02 PDT
I'm not having much luck with this. As you have found in your searches
there are small list applications, but none send individual emails
out, they all send to a "list" of recipients. This isn't to say I've
stopped looking. I wanted to check with you to see if you had a
website available to you.
Most of the applications I am finding which would do this sort of
thing run from a website. A simple form, with a list of addresses to
send to are on the website, and you cut and paste the message into the
form, click the send button and the message is sent, one per address.
So, is this an option for you or no?
Still looking for the elusive desktop version of this, the trouble is
that this type of "looping" is rather redundant, so most "real"
software companies are not using single send when sending to the whole
list is less, well... bloated, I guess would be the best term I can
think of. I've thought more than once that I could simply make the
thing for you since I program this type of stuff, but that's basically
against the policy here. Anyone with Visual Basic or Delphi experience
could make this for you rather quickly. A simple version that is.
Simple example code can be seen at these places.
E-Mail Enable your VB Apps Using MAPI
http://www.thescarms.com/vbasic/MapiEmail.asp
Visual Basic
http://www.developersdomain.com/vb/articles/smtp.htm
One of the things that has happened in this area is the move to web
based apps rather than desktop apps. Even the VB code I am finding
shows web based forms running VB script. And its such a simple program
to write.. I must have 20-30 versions of this exact thing for various
purposes in Perl and PHP, which I've written over the past few years.
Of course none of this is helping you much.
Write back and I'll continue poking around various code sites to see
if I can find a desktop model.
webadept-ga
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
johngonzalez-ga
on
29 Jul 2002 18:03 PDT
We do have web space available to us from our IPS, but we have yet to
deveop the site. And I think I'd perfer an app the runs off the
desktop.
BTY-I have downloaded Lyris ListManager (free version) that supports
lists of 200 members (more than enough). Before I did that, I had at
least 3 emails back and forth with Lyris asking about the sending of
individually addressed emails. They say that's what the product does,
though looking at the specs of the Pro version, it seems only that
(non-free) version does what I'm looking for.
I'll keep you informed...
|
Clarification of Answer by
webadept-ga
on
29 Jul 2002 20:28 PDT
Hi, Yeah I saw this company and by passed it. Database compatibility
includes Microsoft MSDE and SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and Oracle. This
seemed to me a bit beyond your present status. Do you have one of
these databases that you can use? Perhaps you should let me know a
price range you are looking for, and the "solidness" of the company
you want to buy this from.
webadept-ga
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
johngonzalez-ga
on
30 Jul 2002 18:17 PDT
Microsoft MSDE comes included with the free version of ListManager.
And Lyris is a well know company with a solid product.
Please give me some time to eval this list manager.
I'm currently fighting multiple fires across all PCs in our network.
(I think the latest Norton Antivirus Defs screwed something up. All
PCs keep getting Msgsrv.exe not responding. ...But that's another
story)
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