DWC Send Mail Help

Table of Contents

·        Introduction

·        Installation & Quick Start

·        Operation

·        Setup File (Basic Version)

·        Setup Form (Pro Version Only)

·        Message File

·        Recipient File

·        Tools (Pro Version Only)

·        Utilities

·        Mail Merge (Pro Version Only)

·        Miscellaneous

·         Setting Up MS Outlook to Support an Email Campaign (Pro Version Only)

·         Setting Up Access to Your Email Database (Pro Version Only)

·         Processing Bounce Backs (Pro Version Only)

·        Contact Us

·        Terms and Conditions of Use

Last Updated: February 13, 2007


Introduction

DWC Send Mail is a simple to use, yet powerful SMTP bulk delivery application.  It’s not terribly sophisticated except in its simplicity.  It will run on almost any PC that has access to the Internet.  Of course, higher speed access the better, but don’t fret if you only have a dial-up connection – it’ll just take a bit longer if you have a lot of folks to email.

DWC Send Mail is perfect for clubs, chapters, organizations and small businesses.  Once it is setup, all you have to do is decide who you want to email and compose the email message.  Now that’s the fun part.  Use any text editor or word processor.  If you know HTML or are willing to learn, use a text editor.  That way you have maximum control over the actual HTML that is contained in your email message.  If you aren’t familiar with HTML, use your word processor.  You can bold text, change colors, center, change text size, use different fonts, create a table, or almost anything your word processor will let you do.  Then just save your message as an HTML document and send it.  You’ll be very pleased at the results.

Our promise to you – if you have a bit of trouble reading legal mumbo jumbo here it is in just plain ol’ simple language.

·          You can use the DWC Send Mail for anything you want as long as it is legal.  Don’t come looking to us to bail you out if you get in trouble.  What you do is your choice.

·          DWC Send Mail is for your use only.  You are not allowed to sell it, trade it, or even give it away.  If you want someone else to have it, point them to our web site and we’ll give them a copy with your blessing.

·          We don’t guarantee or warrant that DWC Send Mail works the way you want it to or on your computer.  If it does, great.  If it doesn’t, well we’re sorry, but we can’t do anything about that.

·          We assure you that DWC Send Mail works perfectly on every computer we’ve tried it on (and that’s a bunch) and all the folks we had test it, loved it.  Here’s what one of them said: “It’s Cool, Dude!” 

·          We also assure you that the email you send with DWC Send Mail will go only to the recipients in your recipient file.  DWC Send Mail is pretty darned smart, but it doesn’t know how to send the mail anywhere else.  Once you install it on your computer, it’s yours.  It talks to you and you alone.  There’s no hidden little thingy in there that tells us what you’re doing or who you’re emailing.  Quite frankly, we have other things to do with our time than sneak around where we’re not wanted.  Besides, most of us are pretty busy watching “Leave It To Beaver” reruns.

·          If for any reason you are not 100% satisfied with DWC Send Mail you can stop using it immediately without penalty or remorse.  You see, you got it for free and you used it for free so, we don’t feel the least bit bad if you don’t like it.  Well, that’s not exactly true.  We do feel a little bad, but we’ll get over it.  You should too.

Ok we were just kidding, really.  Please click here to read the end user license agreement.

Top

Installation & Quick Start

From a Downloaded Zip File

·          First SCAN the download file for viruses.  It was scanned when it was created and is routinely scanned once a day, but you never know.  Always be safe.

·          Double-click on the downloaded file DWCSENDMAIL.EXE.  That will unzip the contents of the setup disk to the TEMP folder on the selected drive so you can quickly find it and remove it later.

·          Use Microsoft Explorer or My Computer to open the TEMP folder, find and double-click on SETUP.EXE.  Alternatively, select Run from the Start menu and type {drive}\TEMP\SETUP.EXE (where {drive} is the drive designation where you saved the extracted files) and press Enter.

·          Follow the onscreen instructions.

Quick Start.

Once the installation is complete these steps:

·          With a text editor or word processor create:

o         A Setup File – Save as an ASCII File as Setup.ini in the application folder

o         A Message File – Save as a HTML File as Message.html in the application folder

o         Recipient File – Save as an ASCII File as Recipient.lst in the application folder

·          Run the program.


Top

Operation

·         Be sure to take a look at the sections below for Setup File, Message File, and Recipient File.

·         The DWC Send Mail main screen looks like this:

Figure 1

Let take a look at each part of the main screen.

·         Menus

o         File

§          Import Recipient File

·          Comma Delimited or CSV
If you have email addresses and display names (optional) stored in a comma delimited file (CSV), you can import that list with this tool.  You will be guided through dialog boxes to specify the recipient file and the CSV File.

·          Excel Worksheet
If you have email addresses and display names (optional) stored in a worksheet, you can import that list with this tool.  You will be guided through dialog boxes to specify the recipient file and the Excel workbook file.  You will be prompted for the name of the worksheet and the field names for display name and email address.

§          Edit
·          Setup File:  See Setup file structure below.
·          Recipients File
·          Message File
 

§          Save This Setup
This will allow you to save the the current Setup File along with the name and location of the Recipients and Message files to any folder and filename you wish.  Use this to save the exact setup for each campaign.  Later, simply browse and read the Setup File to start your campaign.

§          Exit
This allows you to exit the program when you select this item.  It closes all files, disconnects the mail modules, and shuts down the application.  If you prefer you can accomplish the same by clicking the large red X in the upper right of the main screen or clicking the close button in the lower right of the screen.

o         Tools (Pro Version Only)

§          Process Bounce Backs
This routine is compatible with MS Outlook 2000 and above. The routine allows you to select a campaign folder that contains subfolders for 'bademail', 'unsubscribe' and 'delayed' mail. It reads any unread messages in those folders and updates the database based on the email addresses it finds.
See Setting Up MS Outlook to Support an EMail Campaign in the Miscellaneous Section.

o         Help

§          View Help
Opens a new window and displays this file.

§          View Help Online
Opens a new window and displays the most current version of this help file from the dwcllcsolutions.com website.  This file is updated from time to time and is always included in the distribution files.  The date this file was last updated is at the bottom of the Table of Contents

§          Check for Upgrade
You can see the version number and build date of the Send Mail executable you are now using from the Help >> About menu.  If you are wondering if a more current version/build is available for download, click this option.  Your Send Mail application will contact the home site and determine the most current version and let you know if you are current.  If an upgrade is available, go to http://www.dwcllcsolutions.com/register.asp?product=SendMail, enter your access code and you can download the latest version.  If you cannot locate your access code, go to http://www.dwcllcsolutions.com/askfortechsupport.asp and request your access code.

§          Upgrade to DWC Send Mail Pro
Allows you to upgrade the Basic Version to the Pro Version.  For this to work, you would have to have received an email from us with your license key.

§          About
Opens a new window which show the version DWC Send Mail you are using along with copyright and license information.

·         File Locations.  The default location for these files is in the application folder.  They can be located anywhere on your computer or on any network drive/folder that you have read/write access.

o         Setup File. 

o         Recipient File

o         HTML Message File

·         Buttons

o         Browse.  There is a browse button to the right and above the text box for each of Setup File, Recipient File, and Message File.  You may browse through your files and select the appropriate file for a particular job.

o         Preview HTML.  This will open your web browser and show you generally what the email message body will look like.  As you compose your HTML email message, you can preview it as you go along.  You can even leave this window open as you compose.  Then modify the file, save it, and refresh the preview window to see the results of your handiwork.

o         Send Mail.  Once you are completely satisfied with your campaign, click this button.  The Setup, Message, and Recipients file will be read into memory, and the email message will be sent to each recipient, once message at a time.  You can monitor the process by watching the progress bar near the bottom of the main screen and the Job Status, see below.  It will fill from left to right and when the process is complete the bar will clear.

o         Test Mail.  Before you send the mail to all recipients, it is advisable to test what will be sent.  You set up a Test Email Address and Test Display Name in the Setup.ini file.  When you click this button, the message will be sent to that address.  Once that is done, go to the email application for the Test account and review the results.

o         Close
This allows you to exit the program when you select this item.  It closes all files, disconnects the mail modules, and shuts down the application.  If you prefer you can accomplish the same by clicking the large red X in the upper right of the main screen or selecting the File Menu and Exit.

·         Sending Mail

o         Job Status
When the Send Mail button is clicked and the process begins, a window similar to this will appear:


Figure 2

The Job Status window will tell you when the job starts and is completed.  If any errors occur during the job, the email address of recipient will appear and an indication of the approximate cause of the error.  Typically errors occur when an email address is malformed or the host email server returns an error. 

 

Top

Setup File

·          The default setup file is named setup.ini and is stored in the same folder as the application.

·          The format for the setup file is:
setup item = item value

·          The following items are required (see syntax in example below each item) in the setup file.

o         SMTP Host:  All POP/SMTP email accounts have an Incoming Server address and an Outgoing Server address.  The SMTP Host is the Outgoing Server address.  If you do not know your Outgoing Server address, open your email application such as Microsoft Outlook Express then click Tools > Accounts > Mail.  Highlight the account you wish to use for Send Mail and open its properties.  Select the Servers tab and copy the address for the address of the Outgoing mail (SMTP) server.  Paste that value in the setup.ini file as the SMTP Host.  Example:

SMTP Host = outgoing.verizon.net

o         Username:  This is the username for the account discussed above for the SMTP Host.  Example:
 
Username = custcare

o         Password:  This is the password for the account discussed above for the SMTP Host.  Example:

Password = xT44y1qL

o         From Email Address:  This email address will appear in the recipient’s inbox along with the Display Name below.  This does not have to be the email address of the account discussed above for SMTP Host.  This can be any valid email address.  Just remember, when the recipient replies to your email message, this is the address where the reply is sent.  Example:

From Email Address = customercare@mystore.com

o         Display Name:  This is the name that will appear in the recipient’s inbox along with the email address above.  Example:

Display Name = Customer Care Center

o         BCC Email Address:  This item is seldom used, but available should you decide it’s needed.  This address will be sent a blind copy of each email to each recipient.  Example:

BCC Email Address = listmanager@mystore.com

o         Test Address:  Before you send your email to all recipients, it’s a good idea to see what they will see.  After you’ve composed your email message, click the Test button on the main page one time and then check the inbox of the address listed here.  Example:

Test Address  = listmanager@mystore.com

o         Test Display Name:  This is the display name that will be in the test email message discussed above.  Example:

Test Display Name = Test Recipient

o         Message Subject:  This will appear on the subject line of each email message sent for the campaign.  It should be 128 characters or less.  Example:

Message Subject = Fall Clearance Promotional Discount

Top

Setup Form (Pro Version Only)

The Pro Version allows you to edit and manage setup parameters through a form rather than editing a file.  When you select Setup under the Edit menu, you will see a form similar to this:

 

The form is divided into sections to allow you to edit like data within each section.

SMTP Setup

  • Send mail uses your email account to send all messages.  To accomplish this, it must know your account credentials.  You may need to look at your account setup in your email program to retrieve these values.
    • SMTP Host - this is the outgoing or SMTP server address or domain name.
    • Username -  the user name associated with the account you are using.
    • Password - the password for this account.

Message Head Setup

  • These fields allow you to set up the message header.  
    • Sender's Display Name - this will appear in the 'From' field of the message header
    • Sender's Email Address - this will be the email address used if the recipient wish to reply to the message.
    • Test Email Address - the address used for the recipient of the test message if you click the 'Test' button on the main form.
    • BCC Email Address - You may place one or more email addresses separated by semicolons for a blind copy of each message sent.
    • Test Display Name - this will appear in the 'To' field of the message header for the test message.
    • Message Subject - This will be the subject of every message sent.  The subject may be simple plain text without formatting markup.  That is, you may not bold, underline, etc. the subject.  However, you may embed any field from the database query (see below) or a global variable (see below).

Excel Column Heads

  • Excel Column Heads are used to import the recipient list from a Spreadsheet.  You may leave them blank if you wish. 
    • Display Name - the column header that contains the display names for your recipients.
    • Email Address - the column header that contains the email addresses for your recipients.

Batch Parameter

  • If you are using an ISP for your email service they will likely have some limit on the number of messages you may send within a certain time period.  For example, Verizon only allows you to send 500 messages within a one hour period.  If you exceed that amount within the time period your account is locked out for some period.  To avoid that, you may use this feature to limit the number of messages sent in one batch.  If, for example, you wish to send 400 message per batch and then pause for 60 minutes, you would ensure that Verizon would not lock out your account.  Contact your email service provider to find out what your limits are.
    If you own your own email server and have no limits, simply enter 0 (zero) in the messages per batch field.
    • Send _____ messages per batch and then ... - the maximum number of message per batch.  Zero equals no limit.
    • Alert/Wait - Send Mail will pop-up an alert message and wait for your action to continue.
    • Pause for ____ Mins - Send Mail will pause for this number of minutes before sending the next batch.  This is automatic and may be unattended.

Database Information

  • If you use a recipients file, you may ignore this section.  However, if you use a query to extract a record set to determine which recipients your email is sent to, you will want to complete this information.
    • Connection String - this is a qualified connection string to a valid datasource such as MS SQL Server, MS Excel, MS Access, MySQL, Oracle, etc.
    • Recipient Table Name - this is the name of table that may be access using the connection string to manage bounce-backs, delays, etc.  If you do not intend to use the bounce-back management feature of the Pro version, you may leave this blank.
    • Merge Query - this is the meat of the application.  You may enter any valid SQL query in this space to extract the desired record set from your database.  The query must contain at least two fields: 'displayname' and 'email'.  These two fields are used to address each email message.  To gain the greatest benefit from Send Mail's features, be sure to set up your email database as explained in the Setting Up Access to Your Email Database section below.

Global Merge Fields

  • For any given email campaign, you may have variable bits of information that you wish to merge into every message body or subject line (see Email Merge, below).  You may have as many of these merge fields as you wish for any campaign or simply have a set that you will carry from one project to another.  Just because you've defined a merge field does not mean you have to use it in the body or subject of your email message.
    • Field Name - this is the name of the field such as 'DATE', 'EVENT_DATE', etc.
    • Field Value - this is the replacement value for the field wherever the field is used in the subject line or body of the message.

File Locations

  • Send Mail uses three data files: setup, recipients, and message.  You may name them whatever you wish.  The location of the setup file is omitted here because the form you are editing is based on that file.
    • Recipient File - this will be either the location and name of the recipient file or the word 'query'.  For instructions about the format and content, see the Recipients File section. For information about using the 'query' feature, see the Email Merge section below
    • Message File - this is the location and name of the HTML or plain text message file. See the Message File section below.

Images

  • Checking the embed images box will cause the process to find all image tags in the HTML message and attempt to embed the image directly in the body.
  • Typically, image tags within the HTML message body will be constructed something like:
    <img src='c:\campaign\fall-06\images\photo.jpg' width='230' title='The Photo' />
    or possibly
    <img src='http://www.regcampaigns.com/fall-06/images/photo.jpg' width='230' title='The Photo' />
  • The decision to embed images or use an absolute URL to an image on a website should be based on the size of images and the target audience of the email message.  Here are some notions to consider:
    • Many filtering routines on mail servers do not allow email messages with embedded images.
    • Your outbound mail server or the recipients inbound mail server restrict the size of messages.  So, if you embed large images or several images so that the size of the email message exceeds those limits, your email may not reach some or all of the recipients.
    • Small embedded images such as your company logo usually pass through the filters and pass size limits.
    • Using absolute URLs for images requires that the recipient's email application download the image from the source you provide.  In this case the email application may not initially render the message as you intended if the download is not automatic.

Action Buttons

  • The action button on this form are fairly self-explanatory.
    • Browse - allows you to browse for a particular file and location.
    • Save - saves the setup file and closes the form.
    • Save As - saves the setup file with a new name or location and closes the form.
    • Close - closes the form without saving.
    • Test Query - this feature allows you to test the connection string and query.  A new window will pop-up displaying the results of your query.  If either the connection string or the query are not valid, an error message will appear in the pop-up form.
      NOTE: If the is a long pause between when the time you click the 'Test Query' button and the pop-up, be patient.  Send Mail is likely having difficulty connecting to the database server.  The typical cause for this is an invalid entry in the connection string.

 

Top

 

Message File

·          The default message file is named message.html and is stored in the same folder as the application.

·          The HTML message file must be a properly formed HTML document.  You may create this with a text editor, a word processor that will save the file in HTML format, such as Microsoft Word, any HTML generator.

·          You may display graphics and forms in your HTML message.  However you must be sure that all graphics source addresses can be resolved to a legitimate Internet address.  Images that you insert into an MS Word file will not show up in your email.  You must edit the html message file and replace the image with a valid image tag such as:

<img src=”http://www.mysite.com/picture.gif” border=“0”>

·          Any action resulting from an embedded form must refer to an embedded JavaScript function or a legitimate Internet address.

·          Example file:
<html>
  <body width="660" bgcolor="#F0F0F0">
    <font face="arial,tahoma">
    <p align="center"><font size="4">Spectacular Fall Clearance Promotional Discounts at MyStore</font></p>
    <p align="center"><font size="3" color="#ff0000">Promotion End on January 31, 2005</font></p>
    <table width = "90%" border="1" align="center">
      <tr>
        <td width="50%" align="center">Item</td>
        <td width="25%" align="center">Regular Price</td>
        <td width="25%" align="center">Discount Price</td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td width="50%" align="left">Coat</td>
        <td width="25%" align="right">$124.95</td>
        <td width="25%" align="right">$99.99</td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td width="50%" align="left">Jacket</td>
        <td width="25%" align="right">$154.95</td>
        <td width="25%" align="right">$129.99</td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td width="50%" align="left">Pants</td>
        <td width="25%" align="right">$88.95</td>
        <td width="25%" align="right">$66.99</td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td width="50%" align="left">Belt</td>
        <td width="25%" align="right">$22.95</td>
        <td width="25%" align="right">$14.99</td>
      </tr>
    </table>
    <p align="right"><font size="2"><a href="http://www.mystore.net">Click Here for more information</a></font></p>
    </font>
  </body>
</html>

Top

Recipients File

·          The default recipient file is named recipient.lst and is stored in the same folder as the application.

·          Each record in the recipient file must be on it’s own line and contain a display name and a recipients email address contained in angle brackets.

·          Example file:
John Q. Public <jqpublic@usa.com>
Joe T. Smith <jtsmith@organization.org>
Mary Brownstone <mary.b@department.gov>

·          Optionally, the recipient file can contain just email addresses, omitting the display name. 
Example:
jqpublic@usa.com
Joe T. Smith <jtsmith@organization.org>
<mary.b@department.gov>
[sally.smith@thisplace.org]

Top

Utilities

Importing Email Display Names and Email Addresses.

·          From the File Menu select Import Recipient File.

·          If you know the filenames for the file to import and the new recipient file name, just enter them into the appropriate boxes.

·          If you want to browse for the locations of the files, click the Browse button.

§          As dialog box will appear with the type of file at the top of the screen.  This will likely be the Import File Path and Name, if it is blank.  Find the file you want to import and click the Open button.

§          Browse again and select the Recipients file to overwrite, or if it doesn’t exist, select the target location and type the file name in the File name box and click the Open button.

·          When you are satisfied with your selections, click the Import button.  Unless the import file is extremely large, this process will only take a second or two.

·          You may view your handiwork by editing the recipient file under the File menu.

 

Importing a Comma Delimited File or CSV

·         From the File Menu, first select Import Recipient File then Comma Delimited or CSV.  You will see the following dialog box:



Figure 3

·         Enter the file name of the CSV file and Recipient list file.  You may browse for either or both files.

·         When you use the browse too, the dialog box will allow you to select either the CSV file or the Recipient file, depending on which box contains the cursor.  Therefore, if you’ve selected a CSV file and the cursor automatically moved to the Recipient file text box and you wish to select a different CSV file, simply place the cursor in the CSV text box and click Browse.  The same is true for the Recipient file.

·         Once you are satisfied with your selections, click the Import button.

·         The format for the CSV file is:
Display Name, Email Address
or
“Display Name”, “Email Address”

·         You may stack email address for convenience such as:
Mary Smith, msmith@acme.com; mary.smith@verizon.net; mary1234@hotmail.com
however, only the first email address will be associated with the display name.  The remaining email addresses will be the only entry in the To: field of the email message.

Importing an Excel Worksheet

·         From the File Menu, first select Import Recipient File then Excel Worksheet.  You will see the dialog box in Figure 3, above.

·         Enter the file name of the Excel Workbook file and Recipient list file.  You may browse for either or both files.

·         Once you are satisfied with your selections, click the Import button.

·         Another dialog box will appear:



Figure 4

·         The worksheet dropdown will list the names of the worksheets contained in the MS Excel file you designated.  Select the worksheet that contains the email list you wish to use.

·         Once you’ve selected the worksheet, the dialog box will show the column names contained in the worksheet.

·         Select the column containing the display names or -no display name- is you wish to omit the display names.

·         Select the column containing the email addresses.

·         Click the Import button.

Exporting Email Display Names and Email Addresses for Microsoft Outlook Express 6.x.

·          Open Microsoft Outlook Express.

·          Select the Address Book

·          From the File Menu, select Export, then Other Address Book.

·          Select Text File (Comma Separated Values)

·          Specify the file name and location and click Next.

·          Check only the boxes for Name and E-Mail Address.

·          Click Finish.

·          Close all windows.

Exporting Email Display Names and Email Addresses for Microsoft Outlook 2000/2003.

·          Open Microsoft Outlook 2000/2003

·          Select from the Menu – File > Import and Export

·          Select Export to a File

·          Select ‘Create a Comma Separated File (Windows)’.

·          Select the ‘Contacts’ folder.

·          Designate a file name (remember where you put it).

·          Map Custom Fields:

o         Clear Map

o         In the From Frame:

§          Find Email

§          Drag Display Name to the To Frame

§          Drag  Email Address to the To Frame

o         Click Ok

·          Click Finish

Editing the Setup, Recipients or Message Files.

·          From the File Menu select Edit and then the file you wish to edit.

·          The file presented for edit is the one listed in the appropriate box.

·          The following box will appear with the contents of the file you selected.



Figure 5

·          Once the file contents are available, make any changes you wish.  If you are satisfied with the results, Save the file.  If you want to Revert to the original file click the Revert button.  I you want to abandon your changes, simply Close the window.

Top

Email Merge (Pro Version)

Mail Merge is a powerful feature and can be used to customize plain text or HTML messages for a given campaign and/or individual recipients.  Data for the merge can be drawn from a database or for tags in the Setup.ini file.  Data extracted from merge tags in the Setup.ini file are common to each email message in the campaign.  Data extracted from a database query are specific to each recipient.

Embedding Merge Fields in the Message Body

Merge fields may be embedded anywhere in the message file.  The merge process is a simple find and replace routine that parses the message body and for each field identity found and replaces the field tag with the data element from the source record.

The format for merge field tags is <FIELD:{FIELDNAME} /> (note the end of the tag is {space}/>).

Example HTML message body with embedded merge tags:

<p>Dear <FIELD:DISPLAYNAME />,</p>

<p>You are receiving this email because you requested to be notified when a new version of <FIELD:PRODUCTNAME /> was posted for download.</p>

<p>Version <FIELD:VERSION /> has been posted for download.</p>

<p>To download version <FIELD:VERSION /> <a href=”<FIELD:DOWNLOADURL />”>click here</a>.</p>

<p>Follow the onscreen instructions and, when asked, enter <FIELD:ACCESSCODE /> as your access code.</p>

If you wish to be removed from this notification list <a href=”http://www.dwcllcsolutions.com/notifyremove.asp?Id=<FIELD:REGID />”>click here</a>.

<p>Thanks,</p>

<p>Customer Support Team</p>

Data Sources for the Merge

In this example, data for the merge is drawn from two sources.  The merge field data for PRODUCTNAME, VERSION, and DOWNLOADURL is located in the Setup.ini file because those field data is common to all recipients.  The format for merge field data in the setup file is:

<FIELD:{FIELDNAME}>{field content}</FIELD:{FIELDNAME]>

So, the common merge data in the setup file for this message might look like this:

[MERGE FIELDS]
<FIELD:PRODUCTNAME>DWC Send Mail</FIELD:PRODUCTNAME>
<FIELD:VERSION>1.0.9</FIELD:VERSION>
<FIELD:DOWNLOADURL>http://www.dwcllcsolutions.com/register.asp?product=sendmail</FIELD:DOWNLOADURL>

The merge field data for DISPLAYNAME, ACCESSCODE and REGID are drawn from a query stored in the setup file and executed against an ODBC connection and recordset.  The entries similar to the following are required in the setup file.

[CONNECTION STRING]
 Connection String = DRIVER={SQL Server};SERVER=10.1.1.2;DATABASE=products;UID=admin;PWD=xyt77r1

 

[MERGE QUERY]
Query = SELECT r.RegId, (r.FirstName + ' ' + r.LastName) as DisplayName, r.EMail, a.AccessCode FROM registrants as r INNER JOIN regaccesscodes as a ON r.RegId = a.RegId WHERE r.Notify=1 AND a.ProdId=2

Notice that DISPLAYNAME is not an actual field in the registrants table but a concatenated field consisting of FirstName, a space and LastName.  The syntax for the query in SQL Server 2000 is above.  If the query is used for MS Access, the concatenation would be r.FirstName & “ “ & r.LastName as DisplayName.

To use the Email Merge feature, the query must provide both the DISPLAYNAME and EMAIL fields even if you don’t use them in the body of your message.  Those fields are used by the send mail process for the recipient display name and recipient email address.

Finally, to trigger the Email Merge, the Recipient File on the main DWC Send Mail Screen must contain the word query.  The word query is not case sensitive.  See the figure below.

Top

Miscellaneous

Setting Up MS Outlook to Support an Email Campaign

The key to setting up MS Outlook is by using the Rules and Alerts Wizard to place incoming email in the appropriate folders for the campaign.  When Send Mail sends the email messages for a campaign it uses the information contained in the setup file for that campaign when it creates the email message.  The key to managing the campaign is to use the 'From Email Address' from the campaigns setup when defining Outlook Rules for the campaign and then to direct the incoming mail to a particular folder based on words/phrases contained in the subject line.

Bounce Backs

Messages are bounced back to the sender by an email server for a only few reasons: delivery failure, delayed delivery and spam protection.  A new incoming message initiated by the outgoing email can be caused because the addressee is out of the office, desires a change of address or wishes to opt-out (unsubscribe) for future emails.

Delivery Failure:  A delivery failure can come from your email server or the addressees' email server.  You email server will return any email whose address cannot be resolved so that your email server knows where to direct the message.  The addressee's email server will return a message if the recipient address does not exist or is inactive.  The subject line of the returned email might include something like:
DELIVERY FAILURE: User {recipient's email address} not listed in public Name & Address Book
Delivery Notification for <{recipient's email address}>
Delivery Notification: Delivery has failed
Delivery Notification: Delivery has timed out and failed
Delivery Status Notification (Failure)
Mail delivery failed: returning message to sender
Returned mail: Over quota
Returned mail: Service unavailable
Returned mail: User unknown
Returned mail: see transcript for details
Undeliverable: <{your email subject}>
failure notice
 
Delayed Delivery:  An email message is delayed when your email server can contact the addressee’s email server, but cannot get the proper acknowledgement to send the message.  You will receive such a delayed delivery message as often and for as many times as your email server is configured to do so.  After four or more such messages for the same addressee, you may assume that the address is bad or that the addressee’s email server is not functioning properly.  The subject line of the returned email might include something like:
Warning: could not send message for past 4 hours
Delivery Notification: Delivery has been delayed
Span Protection:  Many email service providers are now allowing their users to ‘white-list’ recipients before allowing messages to be delivered to avoid spam.  Such systems will automatically email a message to the sender requesting that a form be completed on-line to ensure that you are a human before allowing that message and future messages to pass.  You will simply need to deal with these messages one at a time.
Out of Office:  The email will typically contain a subject that begins with ‘Out of Office’.  You do not want to process these messages as bounce backs.  They are for information only.  You email has been delivered.
Change of Address:  These email messages are generated by the recipient and you may elect to handle them in a variety of ways.  If your campaigns are typically small, then you most likely will simply read the email message and change the address in your database manually.  A more automatic approach would be to include a link in your email message that directs the recipient to a web page that will enter the new address into the database.
Opt-Outs:  This must be a feature included in your email message.  The CAN-SPAM law requires it and, even if it didn’t, it’s just a good practice.  You can accomplish this in one of two ways.  The easiest way is to include a line in your email something like this:

If you no longer wish to receive this email <a href='mailto:NewCampaign@MyGroup.org?subject=Unsubscribe'> click here to unsubscribe</a>.

A more automatic approach would be to include a link in your email message that directs the recipient to a web page that will enter the opt-out status into your database.
Using MS Outlook’s Rules Wizard

·         Open MS Outlook

·         Create a Folder under Personal Folders for the campaign

·         Create Sub-folders for bademail, unsubscribe, delayed, out of office and change of address.  The latter two are for your convenience and not required by Send Mail Pro.

·         Set up the bademail rule. 

·         Pull down the Tools menu and select Rules and Alerts.  This will bring up a window similar to:


Figure 6

·         Double-click on the New Rule button to bring up a window similar to:


Figure 7

·         Select ‘with specific words in the recipient’s address’ and enter the ‘From Email Address’ you are using for the campaign.

·         Select ‘with specific words in the subject’ and enter phrases that are likely to be in the returned email subject such as “Mail delivery failed”.  Refer to the list above for some starter phrases.

·         Click the Next button and select the bademail folder for this campaign.

·         Setup the delayed rule in a similar way as you did the bademail rule. 

·         Enter the ‘From Email Address’

·         Enter the words in subject from the list above for delayed messages and then build on that through experience

·         Direct the email to the delayed folder.

·         Setup the unsubscribe rule in a similar way as you did the other two rules. 

·         Enter the ‘From Email Address’

·         Enter ‘Unsubscribe’ in the the words in subject

·         Direct the email to the unsubscribe folder.

·         You may wish to set up a rule for Out of Office in the same way.

·         It’s a good idea to set up a general rule for the campaign that sends all mail to the campaign folder from the ‘From Email Address’ except the email that directed to the other folders you’ve already set up.  To set up this rule you will

·         Set up the ‘From Email Address’ as before

·         Direct the email to the campaign folder

·         Then on the Are there any exceptions screen, enter all the phrases you used in the other rules.

Setting Up Access to Your Email Database

Open and edit the Setup.ini file you are using for this campaign.  Add the Connection String  and Table Name values like:

For MS SQL Server
[CONNECTION STRING]
Connection String = Driver={SQL Server};Server=10.1.1.27;Database=yourdatabasename;Uid=username;Pwd=password
 

For MS Access
[CONNECTION STRING]
Connection String = Driver={Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb)};Dbq=c:\email_campaigns\newcampaign\newcampaign.mdb;Uid=admin;Pwd=
 

For both MS SQL Server and MS Access
[TABLE NAME]
Table Name = NewCampaign

DWC Send Mail expects the following fields (type - field name) in your database table:

·         character - email

·         character - displayname

·         integer - validaddress

·         integer - optout

·         date/time - dateoptout

·         integer - delayed

·         integer - NeedsAttention

Processing Bounce Backs

·         Pull down the Tools menu and select Process Bounce Backs

·         The Select Folder window will appear and look something like this:


Figure 8

·         Select the Parent folder for the campaign and click Ok.

·         The Job Status window will open and show the activity that occurs in each folder of the campaign.


Figure 9

·         Once the Job is complete, you may copy the contents of the Job Status window to the clipboard for other use or simply close the window.  Your database has been updated.

Top

Contact Us

Mailing Address:
DWC Send Mail
DWC LLC
5100 Kingston Drive
Annandale, VA  22003
Voice 703.642.8213
Fax 703.642.8211

 

Email Address:
dwcinfo@dwcllcsolutions.com

Top

 

TERMS & CONDITIONS

DWC Send Mail End User License Agreement

THIS IS A LEGAL AGREEMENT between "you," the end user of DWC Send Mail ("DWCSendMail") brand software, and Don Withrow Consulting LLC, a Virginia limited liability company ("DWC LLC").

Use of the software you are about to download or install indicates your acceptance of these terms. You also agree to accept these terms by so indicating at the appropriate screen, prior to the download or installation process. As used in this Agreement, the capitalized term "Software" means the DWCSendMail time keeping software (either the freeware or commercial versions) together with any and all enhancements, upgrades, and updates that may be provided to you in the future by DWC LLC. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, YOU SHOULD SO INDICATE AT THE APPROPRIATE SCREEN AND PROMPTLY DISCONTINUE THE INSTALLATION AND DOWNLOAD PROCESS.

Ownership

The Software and any accompanying documentation are owned by DWC LLC and ownership of the Software shall at all times remain with DWC LLC. Copies are provided to you only to allow you to exercise your rights under this Agreement. This Agreement does not constitute a sale of the Software or any accompanying documentation, or any portion thereof. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, you do not receive any rights to any patents, copyrights, trade secrets, trademarks or other intellectual property rights relating to or in the Software or any accompanying documentation. All rights not expressly granted to you under this Agreement are reserved by DWC LLC.

Grant of License Applicable To DWCSendMail Basic

Subject to the terms and conditions set out in this Agreement, DWC LLC grants you a limited, nonexclusive, non-sub-licensable, and revocable right to use the freeware version of the Software called DWCSendMail Basic ("DWCSendMail Basic") solely in accordance with the following terms and conditions:

1. Use of DWCSendMail Basic. DWCSendMail Basic is being distributed as Freeware. It may be freely used, copied and distributed as long as it is not sold and all original files are included, including this license and DWC LLC’s copyright notice. You may use DWCSendMail Basic on as many computers as you require.

2. Distribution Permitted. You may make copies of your copy of DWCSendMail Basic to give to others provided that such copies are not modified from the original downloaded copy of DWCSendMail Basic. You may not charge a fee for distributing copies of DWCSendMail Basic except that freeware distribution companies may charge their normal shipping and handling fees not to exceed $5.00 U.S. per copy. If a copy of DWCSendMail Basic is distributed, DWC LLC requests that you send DWC LLC an e-mail addressed to info@dwcllcsolutions.com notifying DWC LLC of such distribution and the identity of the person or entity receiving the copy of DWCSendMail Basic.

3. Termination. DWC LLC may terminate your license to DWCSendMail Basic at any time, for any reason or no reason. DWC LLC may also terminate your license to DWCSendMail Basic if you breach any of the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement. Upon termination, you shall immediately destroy all copies of DWCSendMail Basic in your possession, custody or control.

4. Fees. There is no license fee for DWCSendMail Basic. If you wish to receive the commercial version of DWCSendMail, DWCSendMail Pro, you will be required to pay the applicable license fee.

Grant of License Applicable To DWCSendMail Pro

Subject to the terms and conditions set out in this Agreement, DWC LLC grants you a limited, nonexclusive, nontransferable and non-sub-licensable right to use the commercial version of the Software called DWCSendMail Pro ("DWCSendMail Pro") solely in accordance with the following terms and conditions:

1. Use of DWCSendMail Pro. You may download and use DWCSendMail Pro on multiple computers owned, leased or rented by you; however, you are the only individual with the right to use your licensed copy(ies) of DWCSendMail Pro. All copies of DWCSendMail Pro must include DWC LLC’s copyright notice.

2. Distribution Prohibited. You may not distribute copies of DWCSendMail Pro for use by any individual other than you. Distribution of DWCSendMail Pro by you to third parties is hereby expressly prohibited.

3. Fees. A license to DWCSendMail Pro costs $85.00 entitling you to unlimited use of the version of DWCSendMail Pro you purchased along with one year (i.e., 365 days) of support and upgrades as set forth below.

4. Support. DWC LLC will provide you with support services related to DWCSendMail Pro ("Support Services") for a period that begins on the purchase date and ends 365 days later. The nature, scope and extent of Support Services shall be as set forth in DWC LLC’s policies and programs described in any user manuals, in "online" documentation, and/or other DWC LLC provided materials and are subject to change at DWC LLC’s sole discretion.

5. Upgrades. DWC LLC will provide you with free upgrades for a period that begins on the purchase date and ends 36