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Version: 19

Email

Creating, sending or receiving emails in 4D is done by handling an Email object.

Email objects are created when receiving mails through a transporter class function:

You can also create a new, blank Email object and then fill it with Email object properties.

You send Email objects using the SMTP .send() function.

MAIL Convert from MIME and MAIL Convert to MIME commands can be used to convert Email objects to and from MIME contents.

Email Object

Email objects provide the following properties:

4D follows the JMAP specification to format the Email object.

.attachments : Collection    collection of 4D.MailAttachment object(s)
.bcc : Text
.bcc : Object
.bcc : Collection
    Blind Carbon Copy (BCC) hidden email recipient addresse(s) of the email
.bodyStructure : Object    EmailBodyPart object, i.e. the full MIME structure of the message body (optional)
.bodyValues : Object    EmailBodyValue object, containing an object for each <partID> of bodyStructure (optional)
.cc : Text
.cc : Object
.cc : Collection
    Carbon Copy (CC) additional email recipient addresse(s) of the email
.comments : Text    additional comments header
.from : Text
.from : Object
.from : Collection
    Originating address(es) of the email
.headers : Collection    collection of EmailHeader objects, in the order they appear in the message
.htmlBody : Text    HTML representation of the email message (default charset is UTF-8) (optional, SMTP only)
.id : Text    unique ID from the IMAP server
.inReplyTo : Text    message identifier(s) of the original message(s) to which the current message is a reply
.keywords : Object    set of keywords as an object, where each property name is a keyword and each value is true
.messageId : Text    message identifier header ("message-id")
.receivedAt : Text    timestamp of the email's arrival on the IMAP server in ISO 8601 UTC format (ex: 2020-09-13T16:11:53Z)
.references : Collection    Collection of all message-ids of messages in the preceding reply chain
.replyTo : Text
.replyTo : Object
.replyTo : Collection
    addresse(s) for responses
.sendAt : Text    Email timestamp in ISO 8601 UTC format
.sender : Text
.sender : Object
.sender : Collection
    email source addresse(s) of the email
.size : Integer    size (expressed in bytes) of the Email object returned by the IMAP server
.subject : Text    description of topic
.textBody : Text    Plain text representation of the email message (default charset is UTF-8) (optional, SMTP only)
.to : Text
.to : Object
.to : Collection
    primary recipient addresse(s) of the email

Email Addresses

All properties that contain email addresses (from, cc, bcc, to, sender, replyTo) accept a value of text, object, or collection type.

Text

Object

An object with two properties:

PropertyTypeDescription
nameTextDisplay name (can be null)
emailTextEmail address

Collection

A collection of address objects.

Handling body part

The textBody and htmlBody properties are only used with the SMTP.send() function to allow sending simple mails. When both property are filled, the MIME content-type multipart/alternative is used. The email client should then recognize the multipart/alternative part and display the text part or html part as necessary.

bodyStructure and bodyValues are used for SMTP when the Email object is built from a MIME document, e.g. when generated by the MAIL Convert from MIME command. In this case, both bodyStructure and bodyValues properties must be passed together, and it is not recommended to use textBody and htmlBody.

Example of bodyStructure and bodyValues objects

"bodyStructure": {
"type": "multipart/mixed",
"subParts": [
{
"partId": "p0001",
"type": "text/plain"
},
{
"partId": "p0002",
"type": "text/html"
}
]
},
"bodyValues": {
"p0001": {
"value": "I have the most brilliant plan. Let me tell you all about it."
},
"p0002": {
"value": "<!DOCTYPE html><html><head><title></title><style type=\"text/css\">div{font-size:16px}</style></head><body><div>I have the most brilliant plan. Let me tell you all about it.</div></body></html>"
}
}

.attachments

.attachments : Collection

Description

The .attachments property contains a collection of 4D.MailAttachment object(s).

Attachment objects are defined through the MAIL New attachment command. Attachment objects have specific properties and functions.

.bcc

.bcc : Text
.bcc : Object
.bcc : Collection

Description

The .bcc property contains the Blind Carbon Copy (BCC) hidden email recipient addresse(s) of the email.

.bodyStructure

.bodyStructure : Object

Description

The .bodyStructure property contains the EmailBodyPart object, i.e. the full MIME structure of the message body (optional). See Handling body part section.

The .bodyStructure object contains the following properties:

PropertyTypeValue
partIDTextIdentifies the part uniquely within the email
typeText(mandatory) Value of the Content-Type header field of the part
charsetTextValue of the charset parameter of the Content-Type header field
encodingTextIf isEncodingProblem=true, the Content-Transfer-Encoding value is added (by default undefined)
dispositionTextValue of the Content-Disposition header field of the part
languageCollection of textsList of language tags, as defined in RFC3282, in the Content-Language header field of the part, if present.
locationTextURI, as defined in RFC2557, in the Content-Location header field of the part, if present.
subPartsCollection of objectsBody parts of each child (collection of EmailBodyPart objects)
headersCollection of objectsList of all header fields in the part, in the order they appear in the message (collection of EmailHeader objects, see headers property)

.bodyValues

.bodyValues : Object

Description

The .bodyValues property contains the EmailBodyValue object, containing an object for each <partID> of bodyStructure (optional). See Handling body part section.

The .bodyValues object contains the following properties:

PropertyTypeValue
partID.valuetextValue of the body part
partID.isEncodingProblembooleanTrue if malformed sections are found while decoding the charset, or unknown charset, or unknown content transfer-encoding. False by default

.cc

.cc : Text
.cc : Object
.cc : Collection

Description

The .cc property contains the Carbon Copy (CC) additional email recipient addresse(s) of the email.

.comments

.comments : Text

Description

The .comments property contains an additional comments header.

Comments only appear within the header section of the message (keeping the message's body untouched).

For specific formatting requirements, please consult the RFC#5322.

.from

.from : Text
.from : Object
.from : Collection

Description

The .from property contains the Originating address(es) of the email.

Each email you send out has both the sender and from addresses:

  • the sender domain is what the receiving email server gets when opening the session,
  • the from address is what the recipient(s) will see.

For better deliverability, it is recommended to use the same from and sender addresses.

.headers

.headers : Collection

Description

The .headers property contains a collection of EmailHeader objects, in the order they appear in the message. This property allows users to add extended (registered) headers or user-defined (not registered, starting with "X") headers.

If an EmailHeader object property defines a header such as "from" or "cc" which is already set as a property at the mail level, the EmailHeader property is ignored.

Every object of the headers collection can contain the following properties:

PropertyTypeValue
[].nametext(mandatory) Header field name as defined in RFC#5322. If null or undefined, the header field is not added to the MIME header.
[].valuetextHeader field values as defined in RFC#5322

.htmlBody

.htmlBody : Text

Description

The .htmlBody property contains the HTML representation of the email message (default charset is UTF-8) (optional, SMTP only). See Handling body part section.

.id

.id : Text

Description

IMAP transporter only.

The .id property contains the unique ID from the IMAP server.

.inReplyTo

.inReplyTo : Text

Description

The .inReplyTo property contains the message identifier(s) of the original message(s) to which the current message is a reply.

For specific formatting requirements, please consult the RFC#5322.

.keywords

.keywords : Object

Description

The .keywords property contains a set of keywords as an object, where each property name is a keyword and each value is true.

This property is the "keywords" header (see RFC#4021).

PropertyTypeValue
.<keyword>booleanKeyword to set (value must be true)

Reserved keywords:

  • $draft - Indicates a message is a draft
  • $seen - Indicates a message has been read
  • $flagged - Indicates a message needs special attention (e.g., Urgent)
  • $answered - Indicates a message has been replied to
  • $deleted - Indicates a message to delete

Example

 $mail.keywords["$flagged"]:=True
$mail.keywords["4d"]:=True

.messageId

.messageId : Text

Description

The .messageId property contains a message identifier header ("message-id").

This header is usually "lettersOrNumbers@domainname", e.g. "abcdef.123456@4d.com". This unique ID is used in particular on forums or public mailing lists. In general, mail servers automatically add this header to the messages they send.

.receivedAt

.receivedAt : Text

Description

IMAP transporter only.

The .receivedAt property contains the timestamp of the email's arrival on the IMAP server in ISO 8601 UTC format (ex: 2020-09-13T16:11:53Z).

.references

.references : Collection

Description

The .references property contains the Collection of all message-ids of messages in the preceding reply chain.

For specific formatting requirements, please consult the RFC#5322.

.replyTo

.replyTo : Text
.replyTo : Object
.replyTo : Collection

Description

The .replyTo property contains the addresse(s) for responses.

.sendAt

.sendAt : Text

Description

The .sendAt property contains the Email timestamp in ISO 8601 UTC format.

.sender

.sender : Text
.sender : Object
.sender : Collection

Description

The .sender property contains the email source addresse(s) of the email.

Each email you send out has both the sender and from addresses:

  • the sender domain is what the receiving email server gets when opening the session,
  • the from address is what the recipient(s) will see.

For better deliverability, it is recommended to use the same from and sender addresses.

.size

.size : Integer

Description

IMAP transporter only.

The .size property contains the size (expressed in bytes) of the Email object returned by the IMAP server.

.subject

.subject : Text

Description

The .subject property contains the description of topic.

.textBody

.textBody : Text

Description

The .textBody property contains the Plain text representation of the email message (default charset is UTF-8) (optional, SMTP only). See Handling body part section.

.to

.to : Text
.to : Object
.to : Collection

Description

The .to property contains the primary recipient addresse(s) of the email.

MAIL Convert from MIME

History
ReleaseChanges
18Added

MAIL Convert from MIME( mime : Blob ) : Object
MAIL Convert from MIME( mime : Text ) : Object

ParameterTypeDescription
mimeBlob, Text->Email in MIME
ResultObject<-Email object

Description

The MAIL Convert from MIME command converts a MIME document into a valid email object.

4D follows the JMAP specification to format the returned email object.

Pass in mime a valid MIME document to convert. It can be provided by any mail server or application. You can pass a BLOB or a text mime parameter. If the MIME comes from a file, it is recommended to use a BLOB parameter to avoid issues related to charset and line break conversions.

Returned object

Email object.

Example 1

You want to load a mail template saved as MIME in a text document and send an email:

var $mime: Blob
var $mail;$server;$transporter;$status: Object

$mime:=File("/PACKAGE/Mails/templateMail.txt").getContent())

$mail:=MAIL Convert from MIME($mime)
$mail.to:="smith@mail.com"
$mail.subject:="Hello world"

$server:=New object
$server.host:="smtp.gmail.com"
$server.port:=465
$server.user:="test@gmail.com"
$server.password:="XXXX"

$transporter:=SMTP New transporter($server)
$status:=$transporter.send($mail)

Example 2

In this example, you send directly a 4D Write Pro document containing pictures:

var $mime: Blob
var $email;$server;$transporter;$status: Object

// Mime export of the 4D Write Pro document
WP EXPORT VARIABLE(WParea;$mime;wk mime html)

// convert 4D Write Pro Mime variable in mail object
$email:=MAIL Convert from MIME($mime)

// Fill your mail object headers
$email.subject:="4D Write Pro HTML body"
$email.from:="YourEmail@gmail.com"
$email.to:="RecipientEmail@mail.com"

$server:=New object
$server.host:="smtp.gmail.com"
$server.port:=465
$server.user:="YourEmail@gmail.com"
$server.password:="XXXX"

$transporter:=SMTP New transporter($server)
$status:=$transporter.send($email)

MAIL Convert to MIME

History
ReleaseChanges
17 R4Added
17 R5Modified

MAIL Convert to MIME( mail : Object { ; options : Object } ) : Text

ParameterTypeDescription
mailObject->Email object
optionsObject->Charset and encoding mail options
ResultText<-Email object converted to MIME

Description

The MAIL Convert to MIME command converts an email object into MIME text. This command is called internally by SMTP_transporter.send( ) to format the email object before sending it. It can be used to analyze the MIME format of the object.

In mail, pass the content and the structure details of the email to convert. This includes information such as the email addresses (sender and recipient(s)), the message itself, and the type of display for the message.

4D follows the JMAP specification to format the email object.

In options, you can set a specific charset and encoding configuration for the mail. The following properties are available:

PropertyTypeDescription
headerCharsetTextCharset and encoding used for the following parts of the email: subject, attachment filenames, and email name attribute(s). Possible values:
ConstantValueComment
mail mode ISO2022JPUS-ASCII_ISO-2022-JP_UTF8_QP
  • headerCharset: US-ASCII if possible, Japanese (ISO-2022-JP) & Quoted-printable if possible, otherwise UTF-8 & Quoted-printable
  • bodyCharset: US-ASCII if possible, Japanese (ISO-2022-JP) & 7-bit if possible, otherwise UTF-8 & Quoted-printable
mail mode ISO88591ISO-8859-1
  • headerCharset: ISO-8859-1 & Quoted-printable
  • bodyCharset: ISO-8859-1 & 8-bit
mail mode UTF8US-ASCII_UTF8_QPheaderCharset & bodyCharset: US-ASCII if possible, otherwise UTF-8 & Quoted-printable (default value)
mail mode UTF8 in base64US-ASCII_UTF8_B64headerCharset & bodyCharset: US-ASCII if possible, otherwise UTF-8 & base64
bodyCharsetTextCharset and encoding used for the html and text body contents of the email. Possible values: Same as for headerCharset (see above)

If the options parameter is omitted, the mail mode UTF8 configuration is used for header and body parts.

Example

var $mail: Object
var $mime: Text
$mail:=New object

// Creation of a mail
$mail.from:="tsales@massmarket.com"
$mail.subject:="Terrific Sale! This week only!"
$mail.textBody:="Text format email"
$mail.htmlBody:="<html><body>HTML format email</body></html>"
$mail.to:=New collection
$mail.to.push(New object ("email";"noreply@4d.com"))
$mail.to.push(New object ("email";"test@4d.com"))

// transform the mail object in MIME
$mime:=MAIL Convert to MIME($mail)

// Contents of $mime:
// MIME-Version: 1.0
// Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2018 15:42:25 GMT
// Message-ID: <7CA5D25B2B5E0047A36F2E8CB30362E2>
// Sender: tsales@massmarket.com
// From: tsales@massmarket.com
// To: noreply@4d.com
// To: test@4d.com
// Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="E0AE5773D5E95245BBBD80DD0687E218"
// Subject: Terrific Sale! This week only!
//
// --E0AE5773D5E95245BBBD80DD0687E218
// Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
// Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
//
// Text format email
// --E0AE5773D5E95245BBBD80DD0687E218
// Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8"
// Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
//
// <html><body>HTML format email</body></html>
// --E0AE5773D5E95245BBBD80DD0687E218--