Gustav Brock
Gustav at cactus.dk
Fri Sep 25 17:22:49 CDT 2009
Hi Doug Several methods: 1. Use a small client that communicates directly with the receiving SMTP server. Only for low volume mail and/or in a closed circuit where receivers are known and reliable. Your app must handle transmission errors. 2. Use the "Smart Host" - the SMTP server of the current ISP. Will most often not need authentication. Great for mails sent to multiple users. This is the most common method. 3. Provide your own SMTP server (hosted or in-house) for the clients. If so, your server must accept connections from outside which means that authentication is a must. Is not possible for clients where port 25 is blocked except if you use secure connections to your server. Gives you access to logs for the traffic. 4. Use Gmail SMTP as you have explained below. A variation of #2 and #3 above. 5. Use an SMTP at, say, a web hosting company. These always have an SMTP server for sending mail from web apps, and sometimes this allows normal mail from clients. Will always require authentication. We use all methods. The choice is dependant on the purpose. No method is "best". /gustav >>> dw-murphy at cox.net 25-09-2009 19:51 >>> Possibly I can get educated here re SMTP. I use CDO via Access to send email to eliminate the Outlook issues. The issue I have found is that most non-business plans through an ISP block the regularly used SMTP ports. Mine does. The only way I have been able to get around this is to use the GMAIL SMTP server on their secured ports which give you access with your Gmail credentials. The risk here is that if you send many messages at one time, less than 100 in my case, and have bounces or rejections Gmail may shut down your account. How do list users handle situations where you don't have access to corporate servers? Doug