[AccessD] OT: failing e-mail / RE: Automating Outlook from Access

Jim Dettman jimdettman at verizon.net
Wed Aug 25 10:55:33 CDT 2021 

 Man, did AOL trash the formatting on my e-mail.

 Anyway, as an FYI, I've been off-line on my Verizon.net account for the last few days and was unable to reply to John.  Apparently, they closed off basic authentication for anything that doesn't support oAuth2 and didn't bother to inform anyone.   If you are having problems with a mail client connecting to an account, look to generate an "app password" with your provider and use that.

 Microsoft was going to kill off basic authentication as well on Oct 21 of this year, but they are going to delay doing so again (was supposed to happen last year).

Jim.

-----Original Message-----
From: AccessD On Behalf Of Jim Dettman via AccessD
Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 2021 11:31 AM
To: accessd at databaseadvisors.com
Cc: jimdettman at verizon.net
Subject: Re: [AccessD] Automating Outlook from Access

John,


 
  Since you areselling something, and taking orders and payments on-line, it's an e-com site. 


 
  Maybe not in thetraditional sense your thinking of with a site being totally about sales (likeAmazon),  but any site that sellssomething on-line falls into the "e-com" site category.


 
  That's true eventhough you are creating your own custom site and not using someone else'splatform like Big Commerce's.


 
Jim.

-----Original Message-----

From: AccessD On Behalf OfJohn Colby

Sent: Monday, August 23, 2021 11:43 AM

To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving <accessd at databaseadvisors.com>

Subject: Re: [AccessD] Automating Outlook from Access


 
Jim, I am not "getting orders from an e-commercewebsite" I am getting

orders from my own custom written website.


 
On Mon, Aug 23, 2021 at 9:27 AM Jim Dettman via AccessD<

accessd at databaseadvisors.com>wrote:


 
> John,

>
 
> <<I don't understand the fascination withPolling.  >>

>
 
>    It's not afascination with polling.  Pollinganything is inefficient

> and should be avoided.  As you know, it's far better to have a push

> notification, which of course is what you aregetting with the e-mail.

>
 
>    But gettingthose e-mails relies on a lot of additional layers and

> processes, where you could be going direct to theserver. With e-mails,

> there's just a lot more opportunity for things to gowrong.   A simple

> example; your anti-virus updates and now youre-mails go to your junk

> folder.

>
 
>    I'd be verysurprised if your web site doesn't have a database

> associated with it. Almost any e-com site does these days. If that is the

> case, why would I want to rely on all the additionalthings associated with

> sending/receiving e-mails and scrape the data, whenI could go direct to

> the source and get the data strictly defined?  That's my point.

>
 
>    As far aspush vs poll, the way e-com sites handle that now is that you

> subscribe to a "feed", which gives you apush notification when data is

> available. Then you jump out and get it.  Soyou are not stuck with

> polling.   Butif your site doesn't have that functionality, then you'd be

> stuck with a poll situation.   I don't think that would be the end of the

> world though and well worth it rather than relyingon an e-mail process.

>  With thatlevel of ordering, a poll every five or ten minutes is certainly

> not going to kill a server.  Plus you get the added benefit of knowing the

> web site is up and reachable.

>
 
>    With allthat said, since you are in control of things, the e-mail

> approach will be workable.   But it's not the approach I'd be taking if I

> had a choice getting order data from a web site.

>
 
> Jim.

>
 
> -----Original Message-----

> From: AccessD On BehalfOf John Colby

> Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2021 4:12 PM

> To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving<

> accessd at databaseadvisors.com>

> Subject: Re: [AccessD] Automating Outlook fromAccess

>
 
> This is not an Amazon site selling 100K pieces ofjunk a week.  This is a

> custom written app for a very specific market, withvery specific

> professionals buying it.  The app is very specific and solvesregulatory

> requirements for these professionals.

>
 
> The total market size is under 100K.  I expect an upside down bathtub sales

> curve.  Once aperson buys one, it will auto renew, and / or emails

> soliciting renewal.

>
 
> I want the whole thing to be email driven.  All the professionals use

> Microsoft Office, that is a known.  I expect to email an attached database

> initially, with an email license extension key whenthey renew.  I expect

> to automate Outlook on their end as well such thatthe key comes in, I

> intercept it and process the key.

>
 
> I will "poll" a server if I must but Idon't see that as an attractive

> design.  Sofar, Outlook automation has worked a treat. Emails come in, an

> event is raised by Outlook, it is hooked by Access,and everything relative

> to that order just happens.  Within seconds of pressing buy on the sales

> server an email is on the way.  Outlook collects it's mail periodically (is

> that polling?)

>
 
> I don't understand the fascination withPolling.  We (citizens) get dozens

> or hundreds of emails every single day.  Email is a known, old, well oiled

> technology. Our company owns the sales server, I personally own (wrote)

> the dedicated email receiver program processing theorders, we own the

> dedicated email address, we own the custom app thatis being sold.

>
 
> If what I am doing works, then 98% of sales will behandled entirely

> automatically, programmatically.  Shipping is by email attachment.  License

> renewals is by email.  Sales is via the web site.

>
 
> So tell me why Polling is superior?  So far every single person replying

> has suggested polling.

> There must be some reason it is the preferredstrategy.  I'm baffled.🤔

>
 
>
 
> On Sun, Aug 22, 2021 at 10:52 AM Jim Dettman viaAccessD <

> accessd at databaseadvisors.com>wrote:

>
 
> > << Yep. Until the web site goes down, the database corrupts, gets

> > hacked, or

> > a million other problems that web siteshave.>>

> >

> >  Well ifany of that is true, you probably are not going to get an e-mail

> > anyway.

> >

> >  I don'tthink I'd be relying on receiving an e-mail.  But that's me and

> > as you say, there are a bunch of ways to dothis.

> >

> > Jim.

> >

> <<snip>>

>
 
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> Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com

>
 

 

 
-- 

John W. Colby

Colby Consulting

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