7. Synchronize: Subscribe and Remove
7.1 List Synchronization "Synchronize"
7.2 Subscribe using a Webform
7.2.1 Sample:
Basic PHP-Subscribe Webform
7.2.2 Sample: formmail.pl Subscribe
Webform
7.3 Remove using a Webform
7.4
Subscribe Message Format
7.5 Remove Message Format
7.6 Details and Logfile
7.1 List Synchronization "Synchronize"
The automated processing of user subscribe/remove requests is email based. This means a user can send a simple message with e.g. Remove to the lists email address or you use a webform, which generates the subscribe/remove message for the user and sends it directly to the list.
We recommend to use a webform for subscribe, which is more user friendly.
MailList Controller receives the subscribe and remove email requests during
the list "Synchronization". The program does a synchronize by default
every 60 minutes or when you click on "Synchronize". (See also: Options:
5.1.1 Synchronize List with Inbox)
Important:
Please make sure, that you always include a "Remove"
link in your message or tell the user to reply with "Remove". The
program will not add such a link automatically – we recommend to use a template
for the message, which contains the required item.
e.g.
... reply
with "Remove" in the subject to unsubscribe / remove ...
or
Click here to unsubscribe from our newslist
HTML Link Code:
<a href="http://www.your-domain.tld/remove.html"> Click
here to unsubscribe from our newslist </a>
A click on the link will
open your remove webform in the browser.
<a href="mailto:your-list@your-domain.tld?subject=Remove">
Click here to unsubscribe from our newslist </a>
A click on the link
will open the users mailclient.
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The program receives the subscribe and remove email requests during the list "Synchronization".
The program does a synchronize by default every 60 minutes or when you click
on "Synchronize".
The best way for a user to subscribe is using a webform. With a webform you
can use up to 15 customized fields for additional data, e.g. Name and Address.
Please make sure, that your list contains the required fields to collect the
input from the webform.
Requirements:
There is a form-mailer
or php needed to use a webform. Normally such a formmailer is installed in the
/cgi-bin or /scripts directory on your webserver. A formmailer processes data
from the form and send the results as an email to a specified email-address.
MailList Controller receives the email and retrieves the information from the
form. The program can automatically process these messages and subscribe a new
user to the list. Most of the time your webserver already has a formmailer installed
or supports php, which can be used for the form (Formmailers are also used for
contact-forms).
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Sample:
We use a simple list with only 2 fields "Name"
and "Email" for this sample.
The webform contains a form with 2 edit fields and a submit-button. The edit
field should have the name of the fields, which means "Name" and "Email"
in our sample.
Its possible that you have to add so called "hidden
fields" for the webfrom settings, e.g. recipient, subject, result page
...
The user enters his name and email and clicks on "Subscribe"
or "Submit" and the web-browser sends the form values to the formmailer
or php-script, which generates an email and sends it to the lists email address.
e.g.
From: someemail@somedomain.tld
To: your-list@your-domain.tld
Subject: Subscribe
Message-Body:
Email:
members-email-address@somedomain.tld
Name: John Smith
The users browser will be directed to some kind of success (HTML) page,
e.g. a page with "thank you for joining our newsletter service".
The subject should contain the "Subscribe Keyword" as first word
in the subject line of the message. You can change the subscribe and remove
keywords in the "List Settings" → "Incoming Messages Settings".
7.2.1 Sample: Basic PHP-Subscribe
Webform
How to Create a simple Subscribe Webform with php
7.2.2 Sample: formmail.pl
Subscribe Webform
The form for remove requests can have the same format as the subscribe request,
but only the email address is required. All other fields like e.g. Name can
be ignored.
The subject of the message should be "Remove" (by
default) instead of "Subscribe"
Sample:
The user enters his email only, clicks on "Remove" or "Submit"
and the web-browser sends the form values to the formmailer or php-script, which
generates an email and sends it to the lists email address.
e.g.
From: someemail@somedomain.tld
To:
your-list@your-domain.tld
Subject: Subscribe
Message-Body:
Email: members-email-address@somedomain.tld
Name: John Smith
The users browser will be directed to some kind
of success (HTML) page, e.g. a page with "your email address has been removed
from our newsletter".
The subject should contain the "Remove
Keyword" as first word in the subject line of the message. You can change
the subscribe and remove keywords in the "List Settings" -> "Incoming
Messages Settings".
From: members-email-address@somedomain.tld
To: your-list@your-domain.tld
Subject: Subscribe
Message-Body:
Name:
John Smith
or
From: someemail@somedomain.tld
To: your-list@your-domain.tld
Subject: Subscribe
Message-Body:
Email= members-email-address@somedomain.tld
Name= John Smith
or
From: someemail@somedomain.tld
To: your-list@your-domain.tld
Subject: Subscribe
Message-Body:
Email: members-email-address@somedomain.tld
Name: John Smith
The program uses the Email from the messagebody
- if Email is defined in the messagebody – otherwise it uses the email from
the message header from-line. This might be useful since some formmailers always
use the same email address as sender.
Please click on "Webform Submissions"
in the "List Settings" -> "Incoming Messages Settings"
to show the correct format for the selected list. The subject, recipient and
fieldnames can be different for each list.
From: members-email-address@somedomain.tld
To: your-list@your-domain.tld
Subject: Remove
Message-Body:
...
or
From: someemail@somedomain.tld
To: your-list@your-domain.tld
Subject: Remove
Message-Body:
Email= members-email-address@somedomain.tld
or
From: someemail@somedomain.tld
To: your-list@your-domain.tld
Subject: Remove
Message-Body:
Email: members-email-address@somedomain.tld
The program uses the Email from the messagebody - if Email is defined in
the messagebody – otherwise it uses the email from the message header from-line.
This might be useful since some formmailers always use the same email address
as sender.
The section "Incoming Messages" contains details about all incoming messages.
You can also select the list and time period for the reports. Double-click
on a day to open the details window. The detail window gives you detailed information
about all incoming messages.
An alternative to show new subscibers is
the member viewer. Open the list members with status "Subscriber"and
sort the records by date. The "Date" is the date of the last update,
this means this can be used to locate new subscriber, unsubscriber and returned.
The most detailed information about the "Synchronization"
contains the logfile.
Click on "Logfile" in the program
to open todays logfile or use "File Explore → Service Logfiles"
for older
logs. The program creates one logfile for each day.
Sample:
00:03:04 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
00:03:04 Synchronize Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:03
00:03:04 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
00:03:04
00:03:04 <Max. Number of Messages (POP3): 1000>
00:03:04 <Archive
Subscribe Message Source enabled>
00:03:04 <Connecting to xxx.xxxxxxxx.xxx
on port 110>
00:03:04 <List-Email: yourlist@yourdomain.tld>
00:03:04 <POP3-User:
xxxx-xxxxxxxxx>
00:03:05 Connected xxx.xxxxxxxx.xx
00:03:05 "Demo &
Test" 1 [Subscribe] USER=alpha@arclab.com
00:03:05 "Demo &
Test" 2 [Subscribe] USER=beta@arclab.com
00:03:05 "Demo & Test"
Received 2 messages
00:03:05 Delete Messages from POP3 ...
00:03:06 2
Messages deleted
00:03:06 Disconnected
00:03:06 "Demo & Test"
Out: Send Subscribe Message to alpha@arclab.com
00:03:07 "Demo &
Test" Out: Send Subscribe Message to beta@arclab.com
00:03:07
The logfile shows 2 new subscriber for the list "Demo &
Test" and the program has sent out the "Welcome" autoresponder
message to both new members.
The logfile is also a good place to
start if anything goes wrong – it contains detailed information about the complete "Synchronization"
process.
