Electronic document delivery
To enable electronic document delivery, the PDF background job queue must be running in the relevant environment. The queue must be started on a PC with Adobe Distiller, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Outlook, and the .NET Framework runtime installed. Outlook should be running.
When a template includes text in both the Message and HTML Body fields, emails based on the template are sent as MIME multipart or alternative messages. Such messages include both a plain text section and an HTML section, which represent the same content. Old email clients incapable of processing HTML only display the plain text version while newer clients display the HTML version. They can also give the user the choice of which one to display.
The HTML part of a multipart or alternative message is converted into plain text, instead of the plain text part of the message being displayed. This happens when the Read all standard mail in plain text option is set within Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 and 2007.
If an HTML message based on a template cannot be sent through SMTP, then the HTML part of the message is ignored. For example, the HTML message cannot be sent because the .NET Framework runtime is not installed on the machine running the PDF background job queue. The plain text part of the message is sent by the pre-existing method through email clients such as Outlook. An error message is displayed in the batch queue’s log file for each such failure.
Clearing the Active check box in the Mail Server Details option at the Mail and Fax Server Maintenance form prevents messages from being sent in HTML format through SMTP. These messages are sent in plain text through MAPI (communication with the Outlook client, based on the pre-existing functionality).
Sending the message through SMTP fails with an invalid address message in the PDF background queue’s log. This happens when an email addressee for a HTML message has a display name as an email address such as Jane Smith. The text part of the message is sent through MAPI.
When the Enable check box is selected in the Include Environment name in Subject for e-mail notifications option in , messages based on email templates correctly incorporate the environment name.
Email history logging is still carried out where required for messages sent through SMTP. At this stage, only the plain text part of the message body is saved.
There is no attempt to validate HTML code resulting from the substitution of data for merge and image fields. It is passed to the SMTP server as is.
Finally, there is a difference between the From email address used for messages sent through SMTP and messages sent through an email client such as Outlook. The address of the Pathway user initiating the message as the From address is used in messages sent through SMTP. For example, the user is finalising a document to be sent electronically. The address of the user logged on to the client as the From address is used in messages sent through email. In the case of the PDF background job queue machine, the address cannot be the same as the user initiating the message.
When a new certificate request is lodged through ePathway, the request lodgement confirmation is sent through email. If the certificate has been set up to auto-generate and send, then it is also sent if the PDF background job queue is running.