Mail and PHP on local machine

[Anon]

I set up my W98SE machine with an Apache Server, MySQL and PHP 4. Everything works great for local testing. However I have a set of scripts that create mailing lists and send mail to the lists on my web hosts server.

I want to be able to tweak and test these on my local machine but I am stumped on how to get the mail out from my local machine for testing purposes only. I found some command line programs like sendmailbot or postie but have no Idea how to make use of them. Do I alter some parameters in php.in or something? Or os there a simpler solution?

Thanks,

David Nice

[vingborg]

First, you have to edit you PHP.INI: Open the file in an editor and search for "[mail function]". You should find something like the following:

[mail function]
SMTP = ;for win32 only
sendmail_from = [e-mail]
sendmail_path =

Now, change the SMTP line, so that it points to a SMTP server accessible from you computer. You usually have two options:

1) Point it to the SMTP server of your regular ISP. This is viable if you have a permanent connection to the Internet (ADSL or something like that)

Your SMTP line should look something like the following:

SMTP = smtp.your-isp.net

where smtp.your-isp.net is the domain name of the SMTP server at your regular ISP.

2) Install an SMTP server on your local machine, and change the SMTP line to the following:

SMTP = localhost
or
SMTP = 127.0.0.1

Now, the tricky part here is to install and configure a local SMTP server, which can be a bit daunting. I don't know the programs you mention, but I use the excellent, if somewhat hairy, Mercury system (http://pmail.com).

[Anon]

Jesper,

Well I edited php.ini entering the SMTP server at my ISP but it still won't send mail.

I think I need to run a simple maillform script to make sure it's not a problem with the list scripts. (I doubt this because he same scripts run fine on my web host).

I know the server information is correct and doesn't require authentication because I can enter it in a command line utility and it sends mail.

I guess I could install an SMTP server on my machine but I thought I needed a static IP to do that. I do have DSL but the IP is still dynamic.

Thanks,

David Nice

[offnordberg]

Did you restart Apache after modifying the php.ini file? I had the same problem for a while, but it went away after I had restarted windows (so maybe you need to actaully stop apache and then start it vs. just restarting it).

• Erik

[davidnice]

Erik,

Yes I restarted. I loaded a simple mailform script in case my list scripts had any errors. That did not send any mail either.

This has got to be something really simple that I am missing cause I can send via the command line.

David

[nasser]

Hello
I have Apach+PHP4+Myssql running as a part of our LAN we use a mail server in the NT server , How can I make my Apache server use the mail function , for example I have a PHP discussion forum that require registration , then a conformation massage should send for the register user in this case will be one of our local employee .
Do I need to install Pegasus Mail for Win98 to make this work ?
Kindly let me know your comments .