PHP mail() function...... whats the deal!!!!

[saltious]

Hi world.

I am creating a helpdesk system for my company.

i would like to know more about the mail() function PHP uses. I have had a brief play with the following code but all i ever get is the echo.... message delivery failed...... it is quite annoying. (i understand this is basic code but when i get this wokring ill tart it up and even make it html. wow!)

$to = $email;
$subject = "Your Helpdesk Call Has Been Logged With ID ";
$body = "Please use the above ID in all correspondance";
$headers = "From: [e-mail]";
if (mail($to, $subject, $body, $headers)) {
echo("
Message successfully sent!

");
} else {
echo("
Message delivery failed...

");
}

this code come directly after my insert statement... which totally works.

I am using php, mysql and IIS 6. our mail server is an exchange server and i have added the address etc to the php.ini file... like so...

[mail function]
; For Win32 only.
SMTP = Exchange_Server_Name
smtp_port = 25

; For Win32 only.
;sendmail_from = [e-mail]

is there anything more i need do?

any ideas would be great.

many thanks!

[NogDog]

There seem to be 1001 things that can go wrong with mail(). :rolleyes: I've long since given up trying to keep track of all of them and instead depend on PHPMailer or Swift Mailer to take care of all the grunt work.

Otherwise, all I can do is refer you to the mail() page and the voluminous users' notes appended to it that discuss all the various and sundry "gotchas", including many issues with using it in a Windows environment.

PS: It might shed some light on your problem if you ensure PHP is reporting all error information. For testing purposes, you might want to add this to your code:

ini_set('display_errors', 1);
error_reporting(E_ALL);

[scrupul0us]

; For Win32 only.
;sendmail_from = [e-mail]

needs to be

; For Win32 only.
sendmail_from = [e-mail]

gotta remove the ';' to un-comment it... make sure to restart the server afterwards

also, put this at the top of everypage for development:

ini_set('error_reporting', E_ALL | E_STRICT);
ini_set('display_errors', 'On');

[illzz]

scrupul0us;10881725 wrote:

; For Win32 only.
;sendmail_from = [e-mail]

needs to be

; For Win32 only.
sendmail_from = [e-mail]

gotta remove the ';' to un-comment it... make sure to restart the server afterwards

I believe that you only need to do that to set a default address to send it from. Since it's being sent in the header, it should be fine (as long as it is defined somewhere prior to sending it out).

$headers = "From: [e-mail]";

I initially thought the same thing, but then I came across this note in the additional_headers parameter for mail():

Note: When sending mail, the mail must contain a From header. This can be set with the additional_headers parameter, or a default can be set in php.ini.

Failing to do this will result in an error message similar to Warning: mail(): "sendmail_from" not set in php.ini or custom "From:" header missing. The From header sets also Return-Path under Windows.

[saltious]

Hi Guys.

thanks for all the help so far.

ok heres where im at.

i have now amended the php.ini file to not have the ; where id left it in.

for the smtp server address i currently have the exchange server ip address (i have also tried the dns name).

I have been in exchange system manager and amended the smtp directory properties to allow the ip address of the php server to use the mail server as a relay point for smtp.

however, i still get this error. can anyone thing of anything at all i could have missed because i really dont know?

Warning: mail() [function.mail]: Failed to connect to mailserver at "localhost" port 25, verify your "SMTP" and "smtp_port" setting in php.ini or use ini_set() in C:\helpdesk\logfault.php on line 94
Message delivery failed...

could it have anything to do with the part is says trying to conenct to 'localhost'? if so where do i change that to be our exchange server?

many thanks..... again.

[illzz]

The 'localhost' looks like it is the issue. From what you stated, it sounds like they are separate machines.

Try putting this right before the mail() function and verify that it is correct and not being changed from what you set it to:

echo 'SMTP = ' . ini_get('SMTP') . "\n";

Also, have you tried to telnet from your webserver to the mail server, to verify that you are able to connect?

telnet <Exchange_Server_Name> 25

[bradgrafelman]

Also note that you may need to configure your Exchange server to allow the webserver (usually via IP address) to use Exchange like a relay server, sending e-mails without authenticating first. Otherwise, you'll have to look into SMTP authentication - something that the native mail() function in PHP can't do.

[saltious]

Hi again, and thanks again for your help.

i put that line in (echo 'SMTP = ' . ini_get('SMTP') . "\n"; ) and here the outout i now get...

SMTP = localhost

why is it saying localhost? it is on another server and i have address the address of that server to the php.ini file.

also i tried telnetting to the exchange server from the php server and it worked.

i am lost? can anyone help?

cheers!!!

[illzz]

Just to make sure... Have you been restarting your web server whenever you make an update to the php.ini file?