[archived] bab_newsletter: Newsletter Manager for Textpattern

benbruce · 2006-02-11 01:29:08

- jw -,

I’ve worked out the prefix issue — still need to go through the code and update all references to both tables; and then I’ll have to ask you to test it on your set up as well when you have a minute.

It’ll take me some time to get to that — not really difficult but kind of grunt-work. I’ll post the update as soon as I can, though.

ma_smith,

The html form instructions are confusing. I’ll try to help below if I can.

Some items off the top of my head to double-check are:

Once upon a time I had the instructions read, “Make sure each “mime” tag has a blank line under it.” Try that and see if it helps [it sounds like some of the mime headers and boundaries are getting screwed up].
Double-check the email address you’re testing with. Some [like Hotmail] are going to give you issues — I described a not-great-but-probably-works quick fix for that above.

The HTML form has to contain BOTH a text version and an HTML version within it, and they must be bound by the following tags:

<code>

<txp:bab_newsletter_text_mime />

insert text template here

<txp:bab_newsletter_html_mime />

insert html template here

<txp:bab_newsletter_end_mime />

</code>

Further, you can add text underneath the “end_mime” tag — in the event that the two versions are attached to an email, instead of either one or the other just appearing, this text will appear in the email that someone opens [read the bit about the “mime warning” in the Help section; this is also the quick fix I mentioned]:

<code>

<txp:bab_newsletter_text_mime />

put your text template here

<txp:bab_newsletter_html_mime />

put your html template here

<txp:bab_newsletter_end_mime />

Add some text here that will appear in the email someone opens, that has both the text and the HTML versions attached, as happens with some webmail programs. This way your subscribers won’t be scared off …

</code>

Now in each template [you have a text and an HTML], you may use the following tags [plus any combination of hard-coded material:

txp:bab_newsletter_subscriber_name
txp:bab_newsletter_text_body
txp:bab_newsletter_html_body
txp:bab_newsletter_unsubscribe_line

So that your final form might look something like this:

<code>

<txp:bab_newsletter_text_mime />

=============================
MY NEWSLETTER HEADER [TEXT]
=============================

Hello <txp:bab_newsletter_subscriber_name />,

<txp:bab_newsletter_text_body />

=============================
MY NEWSLETTER FOOTER [TEXT]
=============================
<txp:bab_newsletter_unsubscribe_line />

<txp:bab_newsletter_html_mime />

Hello <txp:bab_newsletter_subscriber_name />,

<txp:bab_newsletter_html_body />

<txp:bab_newsletter_end_mime />

Add some text here that will appear in the email someone opens, that has both the text and the HTML versions attached, as happens with some webmail programs. This way your subscribers won’t be scared off … I suggest adding the unsubscribe link to the bottom of this too. Here is where you could add the text template as well, for those who are only seeing the mime warning, like this:

<txp:bab_newsletter_text_body />

<txp:bab_newsletter_unsubscribe_line />

</code>

Not sure if that helps or not — your problems could be because it’s confusing, or they could be because the script is screwy. But see if that works it out and let me know back here. Did you see the Email-on-Post Plugin? There’s a second version coming soon that allows you to choose which DB table to use. Also, bulk mailing is coming for both.

Last edited by benbruce (2006-02-11 04:23:29)

-jw- · 2006-02-11 16:44:32

…and then I’ll have to ask you to test it on your set up as well when you have a minute.

No problem at all. Just let me know.

squaredeye · 2006-02-12 19:56:08

Ben,
Thanks man, that was helpful. I’m further along, but still not there.

Here is my exact form code:
I left it almost untouched from what you gave me above.
<code>
<txp:bab_newsletter_text_mime />

=========================
MY NEWSLETTER HEADER [TEXT]
=========================

Hello <txp:bab_newsletter_subscriber_name />,

<txp:bab_newsletter_text_body />

=========================
MY NEWSLETTER FOOTER [TEXT]
=========================
<txp:bab_newsletter_unsubscribe_line />

<txp:bab_newsletter_html_mime />

Hello <txp:bab_newsletter_subscriber_name />,

<txp:bab_newsletter_html_body />

<txp:bab_newsletter_unsubscribe_line />

<txp:bab_newsletter_end_mime />

Subscriber, don’t be scared off, I’m only ugly, but I’m not bad. If you care to see the html version of the email see it here (link to be added)

<txp:bab_newsletter_text_body />

<txp:bab_newsletter_unsubscribe_line />
</code>

All of the mime pieces have spaces under them. I hate hotmail I haven’t used it for years. I am using OS X’s mail app on a mac, as well as squirrel mail on my host server.

The mail app only shows the last bit as though it would have the others (text and html) as attachments, yet doesn’t show the attachments

squirrel mail shows the last bit as well (neither text nor html) (I would have expected text), but DOES show the attachements, which upon opening show the mails as they should be seen (minus the header images for the html message)

I still get the “Unsubscribe: unsubscribe@artiswork.org&email=matthew@artiswork.org” as my unsubscribe line
What should this look like?

I’m running 4.03.03 of the newsletter plugin and 4.03.01 of the EOP plugin (which I love – Thanks)

~~My forms are both “article” type, should they be misc.?~~ Doesn’t seem to matter.

I am downloading thunderbird now to try to see if my situation improves any there
***********************************************************
Questions:

When I get this working, how does one style the html in the html message? Is it all inline?
I would want to control the width for instance. Would a div style=“width: 600px” work for something like that?

Thanks for your help Ben, and others,

Matthew

*??? Ben, As I type out this reply, the text headers have no < 7 > or < 8> prepended to them, when I submit, they do. Is that normal? Is that the mimes? What’s going on there?

Last edited by ma_smith (2006-02-12 20:56:18)

benbruce · 2006-02-15 17:42:03

ma_smith,

I’m hoping to have a thorough answer to all your questions some time later this week. Sorry for the delay.

Email programs do weird things with the multi-part emails they receive — sometimes, they will pick the most proper version [and display EITHER the text version OR the HTML only]. I think an example of this is Yahoo. Sometimes, they attach the two versions to an email so that the user can open whichever they like, and then in the email the user receives, they’ll put the “mime warning.” An example of this is Horde Webmail [and perhaps Squirrel, etc]. Sometimes the program won’t attach the versions at all, and will only display the “mime warning.” This is like Hotmail. Further, most of these email programs can be customized by the user.

So, leaving aside your issue with gmail, where I’m pretty sure the initial mime message was not being read [and so the email program didn’t know that the text mime and the html mime and the end mime WERE mime messages], it sounds as if the script is doing as it should be doing. You’ll have to play with your HTML form to figure out which way you most want to deliver it [again, the advice I’ve been reading is to forego HTML email altogether, build an HTML page, and then send a text version with a link to the HTML page if the reader wants it in HTML].

As for your unsubscribe line… It looks like you’ve entered an email address in the “unsubscribe link” field of your preferences [“unsubscribe@artiswork.org”]. Instead, you put the “hard” url of the article where you’ve placed the bab_unsubscribe tag. That would look more like this: http://www.example.com/index.php?id=##. Using this method, you can create a page that is a customized “goodbye page.” You could do anything with this page you like — you could add teasers for more products, you could ask people to fill out a survey as to why they are unsubscribing, or just make a nice page so that they leave feeling like, wow, they are so nice there. Also, the unsubscribing process is automatic. They follow the link, they are removed from your database.

Of course, if you just want people to be able to send an email to you saying they want to unsubscribe, you could:

Remove the bab_unsubscribe_link from your forms.
Hard code the email address you want to send [“unsubscribe@artiswork.org”] into the forms.
When you receive email, you can manually delete them from the list.

I’m not sure what the deal is with the <7> and <8>.

Also, about style … Here’s a link to read about using style in HTML email [basically, you need to limit what you do the most basic you possible can]: http://css-discuss.incutio.com/?page=StyleInEmail.

Hope that helps, more to come …

– Ben

squaredeye · 2006-02-15 18:13:04

Ben,
Ahah! Duh! Doh! (all apply).
I haven’t actually built a subscribe or unsubscribe page yet. That makes a lot of sense now :)

As per the html and text newsletters. I gotcha. I am happy presenting a text newsletter with a link to the html.

I will probably create a newsletter section and have the EOP post a “hello, subscriber there is a new newsletter for you to see”.

Thanks for your help Ben,
I look forward to seeing what you work out,

Matthew

benbruce · 2006-02-17 00:00:29

Okay, I’ve posted an update at the top of this thread. It contains [hopefully], the fix for the table prefixes, as well as a small change to try and solve ma_smith’s “gmail issue.” I also added the ability to add more than one email address at a time in the admin, and changed the txp_subscribers table structure to allow for future changes [subscriber preferences, etc].

When you have a minute, please let me know how these changes went — did they solve the problems listed above?

One question I’ve run into here, for myself, is whether the added complexity of the html emails is really worth the effort and confusion?

The advice that seems soundest to me — and which I’ve passed along — is to build your HTML version on your own site, and then to email a text version with a link to the html version. The reason for this is that as of right now, there’s really no way to control what your email will look like in all the different browsers, customized by all your different subscribers. If that’s the proper advice, then the newsletter plugin could be greatly simplified by removing the HTML option altogether.

Another option would be to set up subscriber preferences, like“HTML or Text emails” and then use that preference to determine which version to send — though this would be complex to implement, it would be simpler in the long run.

Finally, are folks interested in the “Test” feature? If not, then the way the EOP plugin is set up seems like an easier way to set up the newsletter plugin.

Any thoughts on these questions?

squaredeye · 2006-02-17 01:17:58

Ben,
Thanks. I’ll check the update out soon.

One question I’ve run into here, for myself, is whether the added complexity of the html emails is really worth the effort and confusion?
The advice that seems soundest to me — and which I’ve passed along — is to build your HTML version on your own site, and then to email a text version with a link to the html version. The reason for this is that as of right now, there’s really no way to control what your email will look like in all the different browsers, customized by all your different subscribers. If that’s the proper advice, then the newsletter plugin could be greatly simplified by removing the HTML option altogether.

From a standards point of view I think the idea of getting rid of the html versions of the email is just fine as it is important that you have an email that is viewable by all or most. I know that there will be those who are disapointed, but hey, whaddya do?

However, it is nice to have the option? I can imagine that if one were to keep the html basic that it would display correctly in all mail account browsers?

Another option would be to set up subscriber preferences, like“HTML or Text emails” and then use that preference to determine which version to send — though this would be complex to implement, it would be simpler in the long run.

I think the problem with this feature is that if the subscriber selects html, but isn’t able to receive it because of the type of mail program that they use. That would result in a poor user experience. Not a good idea.

Finally, are folks interested in the “Test” feature? If not, then the way the EOP plugin is set up seems like an easier way to set up the newsletter plugin.

I don’t follow you here? Do you mean for the newsletter to be sent out to the subscribers when you publish your newsletter to a certain section? (Hmm, I may get this now, do you mean, for instance how you can specify where the newsletters are archived to and when it is posted there, an email is sent to any subscribers? If that is what you mean, I like it. It makes more sense to me, although you may just be changing the button to “publish”, and the subscriber wouldn’t get two emails if you had EOP installed as well, yes?

Thanks again Ben,
This is a great plugin.

Matthew

Last edited by ma_smith (2006-02-17 03:15:36)

loid · 2006-02-17 02:29:09

Ben, I’ve just discovered your plugin and know it will be exceedingly useful. Unfortunately, while I can add email addresses just fine, the preference fields all are blank and, after I fill them in and hit ‘set newsletter preferences’ they become blank again and apparently aren’t saved.

The newsletter isn’t being sent, either in test mode or not.

I’m using Textpattern 4.0.3 and run several other plugins with no problems.

Are there any server-side requirements I should be aware of, or are there any known issues with other plug-ins not playing nice?

Loid

squaredeye · 2006-02-17 03:01:43

Loid, did you click the “install tables” link at the top of the preferences panel? It sounds like that might be your culprit?

benbruce · 2006-02-17 22:09:04

loid,

Are you running your TXP installation on a sub-domain, or do you have a “prefix” on your textpattern tables? This could be related to – jw – ‘s problem [above], which I was hoping I fixed with this version.

ma_smith’s advice is good, also, though I wonder what you meant by “I can add emails just fine.”

The mail will not send unless there is an admin email — so if you aren’t able to set that preference, the mails will not be arriving.

I just deleted all the tables and reinstalled the plugin, and I am able to save the preferences, etc. So hopefully we’ll be able to work it out.

– Ben

benbruce · 2006-02-17 22:35:52

ma_smith,

Thanks for all your feedback on the plugin. I’ll keep working at it from this end and if you have more ideas or suggestions let me know.

– Ben

squaredeye · 2006-02-17 22:44:54

Ben,
No problem. Did you get my email? I had some issues still with the unsubscribe : <code>(http:address)$email</code> thing still. As well, I am still unable to view either the text or the html in the Newsletter plugin, when the html is set up. (the EOP plugin uses the same form though, and IT DOES go through – although it displays the WHOLE form, and does not choose a single type?)

As I mentioned in my email, if you’d like to hop on the site (its just a testbed) and check it out from within I’d be glad to hand you the keys? Email me if you care to try?

Cheers man,

Matthew

Textpattern CMS

Textpattern CMS support forum

#73 2006-02-11 01:29:08

Re: [archived] bab_newsletter: Newsletter Manager for Textpattern

#74 2006-02-11 16:44:32

Re: [archived] bab_newsletter: Newsletter Manager for Textpattern

#75 2006-02-12 19:56:08

Re: [archived] bab_newsletter: Newsletter Manager for Textpattern

#76 2006-02-15 17:42:03

Re: [archived] bab_newsletter: Newsletter Manager for Textpattern

#77 2006-02-15 18:13:04

Re: [archived] bab_newsletter: Newsletter Manager for Textpattern

#78 2006-02-17 00:00:29

Re: [archived] bab_newsletter: Newsletter Manager for Textpattern

#79 2006-02-17 01:17:58

Re: [archived] bab_newsletter: Newsletter Manager for Textpattern

#80 2006-02-17 02:29:09

Re: [archived] bab_newsletter: Newsletter Manager for Textpattern

#81 2006-02-17 03:01:43

Re: [archived] bab_newsletter: Newsletter Manager for Textpattern

#82 2006-02-17 22:09:04

Re: [archived] bab_newsletter: Newsletter Manager for Textpattern

#83 2006-02-17 22:35:52

Re: [archived] bab_newsletter: Newsletter Manager for Textpattern

#84 2006-02-17 22:44:54

Re: [archived] bab_newsletter: Newsletter Manager for Textpattern

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