General Settings → Mail Services → About the Mail Client → Configuring the Mail Client

Configuring the Mail Client

This section describes configuration settings for the Mail Client. For distributed installations, you configure these mail server settings directly on the server or servers where the Mail Client is installed. You can change these settings any time after installation by running SBM Configurator in utility mode.

To configure the Mail Client, select the Enable Mail Client check box, and then select a Protocol from the drop-down list.

Note: The Advanced button is used by Support for troubleshooting purposes only.

POP3 and IMAP Options

For each SBM project that will accept e-mail submissions, you or a network administrator must dedicate a mailbox under the POP3 or IMAP protocol. The SBM administrator must know the mailbox name and password for the mailbox; users who will submit via e-mail must know the e-mail address for the mailbox.

To configure POP3 or IMAP mail server options for the Mail Client, provide the following:

Field Description
Host Enter the IP address or host name of the mail server that hosts mailboxes that can be used for e-mail submission. These mailboxes will receive incoming e-mails, which will be used to create items in SBM.
Port Enter the port number used by the mail server. By default, the port number is set to 110 for POP3 mail servers and 143 for IMAP.
Use SSL Select this option to send and receive messages through a secure connection.
Port is SSL dedicated Select this option if you know that the server requires an SSL-dedicated port. Otherwise, to use SSL encryption in the standard way, clear this check box.
Include HTML formatted e-mail messages

Select this option to include HTML-based text from an incoming e-mail message for e-mail submissions and the E-mail Recorder.

  • This prevents messages containing HTML-based text from being dropped.
  • If this option is selected, the Mail Client processes messages that contain "text/plain" and "text/html".
  • Clear the check box to force the Mail Client to only process plain text messages.
Delete e-mail messages after processing

Select this option to have the Mail Client delete messages from your mail boxes after the message has been processed successfully.

  • If this option is enabled for the POP3 protocol, messages are always deleted. If this option is disabled, the message is deleted if it is processed successfully, and left marked as unread if processing fails.
  • If this option is enabled for the IMAP protocol, messages are only deleted if they are processed successfully. If this option is disabled, messages are only marked as read (regardless whether they are processed successfully or not).
  • If this option is disabled, messages are processed and only marked as read (not deleted). This means unread messages may collect in the mailbox and the Mail Client will attempt to process them on every cycle until they are manually deleted.

If you use a self-signed SSL certificate, you must add the certificate to the Java VM truststore. Use the Manage Trusted Certificates option on the Tomcat Server tab to add the certificate.

Exchange Options

Use the Exchange (via Web services) protocol to communicate directly with an Exchange server using the MS Exchange Web services API. You might use this option if your company does not allow connection through POP3 or IMAP. If no such restriction exists, consider choosing one of these options because they enable faster connection speeds than MS Exchange.

To configure the Mail Client to use Exchange, provide the following:

Field Description
Exchange version Select the current version of your Exchange server.
Service URL Enter the service URL for your Exchange server. For example: https://serverName/EWS/Exchange.asmx.
Include HTML formatted e-mail messages

Select this option to include HTML-based text from an incoming e-mail message for e-mail submissions and the E-mail Recorder.

  • This prevents messages containing HTML-based text from being dropped.
  • If this option is selected, the Mail Client processes messages that contain "text/plain" and "text/html".
  • Clear the check box to force the Mail Client to only process plain text messages.
Delete e-mail messages after processing Select this option to have the Mail Client delete messages from your mail boxes after the message has been processed successfully. If this option is disabled, messages are processed and only marked as read (regardless whether they are processed successfully or not).

If the Exchange Service URL is secured by SSL, you must provide the certificate authority (CA) chain that signed the endpoint certificate. This means that you must add the public certificate of each CA in the certificate chain to the Tomcat truststore. If the endpoint is secured via SSL, use the Manage Trusted Certificates option on the Tomcat Server tab to import the certificates and trust the chain that signed the endpoint's SSL certificate.

Configuring E-mail Submission

You configure how the Mail Client handles HTML and attachments for e-mail submission in SBM Configurator. You designate mailboxes and map fields for e-mail submission in SBM Application Administrator. For details, refer to the SBM Application Administrator Guide.

Tip: Instruct users to limit e-mails submission file attachments to less than 100 MB. If larger files must be attached to items, users should attach them by logging in and attaching the files.

In the E-mail submission section, configure the following:

Field Description
Use HTML e-mail section Select this option to tell the Mail Client which part of an e-mail message should be included in the submitted item if both plain text and HTML parts are present in the e-mail message.
  • This option is only applicable if Include HTML formatted e-mail messages is selected.
  • This option is useful when combined with the Attach HTML e-mail as PDF option below.
  • If HTML rendering is disabled due to security concerns, then disabling Use HTML e-mail section is preferable so that only plain text is attached (instead of attaching text with HTML tags that is more difficult to read).
Attach HTML e-mail as PDF

Select this option to attach "text/html" formatted e-mails as PDF attachments to the SBM item (in addition to the field mappings you define in Application Administrator).

  • This option is only applicable if Include HTML formatted e-mail messages is selected.
  • This option is useful if you receive incoming e-mails with HTML and embedded images because it preserves the text and image sequence in the original e-mail.
  • The Mail Client host machine must have at least one .ttf Unicode font installed in the Windows font directory to ensure that high-ASCII characters appear in the resultant PDF.
  • You can customize the following .css file to set the preferred font: 
    \notificationsrv.war\WEB-INF\classes\pdf.css
  • Contact Support or visit the Knowledgebase for help with modifying the size or layout of the resultant PDF.
Include embedded attachments By default, attachments embedded in e-mail submissions are ignored. Select this check box to add all embedded attachments, including e-mail signatures, to submitted items. This setting applies to all e-mail submissions.

The following tables describe how messages are processed depending on the message content type and the various combinations of the Use HTML e-mail section and Attach HTML e-mail as PDF options.

Table 1. text/plain messages
Use HTML e-mail section Attach HTML e-mail as PDF Result
Enabled Enabled PDF is not generated and only plain text is submitted
Enabled Disabled PDF is not generated and only plain text is submitted
Disabled Enabled PDF is not generated and only plain text is submitted
Disabled Disabled PDF is not generated and only plain text is submitted
Table 2. text/html messages
Use HTML e-mail section Attach HTML e-mail as PDF Result
Enabled Enabled PDF is generated and HTML is submitted
Enabled Disabled PDF is not generated and HTML is submitted
Disabled Enabled PDF is generated and only plain text is submitted
Disabled Disabled PDF is not generated and only plain text is submitted

The behavior is the same for incoming e-mails that are “multipart/alternative” depending on whether the type of a particular part is “text/plain” or “text/html”.

Configuring E-mail Recorder

On your mail server, create a dedicated E-mail Recorder mailbox using either the POP3, IMAP, or Exchange server protocols. These mailboxes are typically configured by an IT department or network administrator. The mailbox can have any name, but the SBM administrator must know the name and password for this mailbox.

Note: The E-mail Recorder mailbox is not added to the To line when users reply to notifications sent by a MAPI mail server.

Review the following information before using E-mail Recorder:

  • You configure how the Mail Client handles HTML and attachments for e-mail submission in SBM Configurator; however, you establish e-mail submission for your SBM projects using the SBM Application Administrator.
  • The E-mail Recorder mailbox cannot be used for other Mail Client functions, such as e-mail submission or cross-database posting.
  • E-mail messages are attached to items in the order they are received.
  • HTML is rendered in notes that are created by the E-mail Recorder only if Include HTML formatted e-mail messages is selected in SBM Configurator and Render HTML in Notes is selected in SBM System Administrator.
  • By default, e-mail messages that are sent using an external e-mail client are set as restricted, meaning that only users who have privileges to view notes for a particular item can view the attached e-mail. To set an e-mail message sent from an external e-mail client as "unrestricted", users must edit the e-mail message after it is attached to the item as a note and select the Unrestricted check box on the Add/Modify Note dialog box. This enables users who can view the item to view the attached e-mail messages.
  • Messages are deleted if they do not contain a valid [ttid: table ID, record ID] string from the mailbox dedicated for E-mail Recorder. To avoid losing e-mail messages not sent by the E-mail Recorder, do not use the specified mailbox for any other purpose.
  • E-mail Recorder messages that are attached to SBM items only display the reply portion of an e-mail reply by default. If users want to view the previous e-mail text, they can toggle the view using the show and hide options while viewing the item. Hiding the prior message text improves the overall readability of E-mail Recorder messages on items.

To enable the E-mail Recorder feature, select Enable E-mail Recorder check box and provide the following:

Field Description
Login name Enter the login or user name of the mailbox account that will be dedicated to E-mail Recorder.
Mailbox e-mail address Enter the e-mail address of the mailbox. This address appears in the To box in e-mail messages sent using E-mail Recorder.
Mailbox password Enter the mailbox password.
Password verification Verify the mailbox password.
Only if "From" matches an SBM user

Select this option to limit the e-mail messages that are attached to items to those sent by users in your system with a matching e-mail address.

  • If this option is selected, you must grant users the Add Note privilege for the necessary projects and/or auxiliary tables. Users do not need to be granted Add Note privileges to attach external e-mail messages to items as notes.
  • Clear the check box to allow non-users to attach e-mail messages to items as notes.
  • This option may be useful for tracking correspondence from customers or partners, but use caution because it allows unauthorized users to add e-mail messages as notes to items in your system.
Restrict size of e-mailed notes

Enter the maximum number of characters that can be added as a note to limit the size of attached e-mail messages.

  • The character limit applies to individual e-mail messages.
  • For example, if you specify a 500-character limit, each e-mail message attached to an item can contain no more than 500 characters.
  • Messages larger than the specified character limit are truncated once the limit is reached.
  • The default value is 0 (in which no limit is imposed).
  • The show and hide viewing options do not apply to e-mail messages that have been truncated by this setting.
Use HTML e-mail section Select this option to tell the Mail Client which part of an e-mail message should be included in the submitted item if both plain text and HTML parts are present in the e-mail message.
  • This option is only applicable if Include HTML formatted e-mail messages is selected.
  • This option is useful when combined with the Attach HTML e-mail as PDF option below.
  • If HTML rendering is disabled due to security concerns, then disabling Use HTML e-mail section is preferable so that only plain text is attached (instead of attaching text with HTML tags that is more difficult to read).
Attach HTML e-mail as PDF

Select this option to attach "text/html" formatted e-mails as PDF attachments to the SBM item.

  • This option is only applicable if Include HTML formatted e-mail messages is selected.
  • This option is useful if you receive incoming e-mails with HTML and embedded images because it preserves the text and image sequence in the original e-mail.
  • The Mail Client host machine must have at least one .ttf Unicode font installed in the Windows font directory to ensure that high-ASCII characters appear in the resultant PDF.
  • You can customize the following .css file to set the preferred font: 
    \notificationsrv.war\WEB-INF\classes\pdf.css
  • Contact Support or visit the Knowledgebase for help with modifying the size or layout of the resultant PDF.
Include attachments when using e-mail recorder

Select this option to attach files included with e-mail messages to items.

  • If you require that incoming messages be sent by SBM users, the e-mail address must match that of a user who has privileges to add attachments to items in the project.
  • If this user does not have privileges to add notes but has privileges to add attachments, then only the attachments are added to items.
  • If this user only has privileges to add notes, but not attachments, then only the notes are added to items.
Insert e-mail as note

Select this option to attach e-mail messages that are sent from items as notes to those items.

  • Once the e-mail is sent, the message appears in the Notes section of the SBM item.
  • The Message Address Details portion of the note contains the To and CC contents of the e-mail. Replies that are added through E-mail Recorder also display these details in the notes that are created.

The following tables describe how messages are processed depending on the message content type and the various combinations of the Use HTML e-mail section and Attach HTML e-mail as PDF options.

Table 3. text/plain messages
Use HTML e-mail section Attach HTML e-mail as PDF Result
Enabled Enabled PDF is not generated and only plain text is attached
Enabled Disabled PDF is not generated and only plain text is attached
Disabled Enabled PDF is not generated and only plain text is attached
Disabled Disabled PDF is not generated and only plain text is attached
Table 4. text/html messages
Use HTML e-mail section Attach HTML e-mail as PDF Result
Enabled Enabled PDF is generated and HTML is attached
Enabled Disabled PDF is not generated and HTML is attached
Disabled Enabled PDF is generated and only plain text is attached
Disabled Disabled PDF is not generated and only plain text is attached

The behavior is the same for incoming e-mails that are “multipart/alternative” depending on whether the type of a particular part is “text/plain” or “text/html”.

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