TaskCentre® v4.5
SMTP Tool
Table of Contents COPYRIGHT ... 1 TRADEMARKS ... 1 INTRODUCTION ... 2 Overview ... 2 Features ... 2 GLOBAL CONFIGURATION ... 2 TECHNICAL SUMMARY ... 3
Working with other Steps ... 3
Dependencies ... 3 SMTP Agent ... 3 Objects Consumed ... 4 Objects Exposed ... 4 CONFIGURATION ... 5 General ... 6 Main ... 6 Options ... 8
Copyright & Trademarks
Copyright
The copyright in this document is owned by Orbis Software 2010. All rights reserved.
This publication may not, in whole or part, be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system or translated into any language in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of Orbis Software Limited.
Head Office:
Orbis Software Limited (UK) 2 Nuffield Road
Nuffield Industrial Estate Poole, Dorset BH17 0RB United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 1202 241124 Fax: +44 (0) 1202 241125 Email: [email protected]
Trademarks
Orbis Software Ltd owns the registered Trademark ‘TaskCentre’.
All other Trademarks used within this documentation are acknowledged as the property of their respective owners.
The information provided in this publication may contain errors, omissions, or typographical errors or may be out of date. Orbis Software may change, delete, or update any published information at any time and without prior notice. The information published in this document is provided for informational purposes only and is not binding on Orbis Software in any way except to the extent that it is specifically indicated to be so.
SMTP Tool
Introduction
Overview
The SMTP Tool is used to create a Task Step that triggers a Task to run based on the contents of incoming or outgoing mail sent via a virtual SMTP Mail Server.
When an email is received it is compared against a number of filters created in the Step which define values for the message parameters. Where all filter requirements are met the message is utilised to trigger a Task to run. On receipt, each of the email parameters is exposed and their values may be mapped to variables created for the Task and then used in other Steps.
For example, a Task is created to monitor for email messages received from any of the Sales team for a specific product and then to supply the information directly to the appropriate Product Manager.
This is achieved by creating a SMTP Step that selects email messages received containing the Sales team and product names. The message 'Body Text' and 'From' values are then mapped to variables. A SMTP Step is created and the variables dropped into the message body. When the Task is run an email is then sent to the Product Manager to show details of the message sender and the message itself
Features
Create filters for any message parameter. Include multiple filters in a Step.
Map message parameters to Task variables for use in other Steps. Map message attachments to a variable array.
Global Configuration
Before the SMTP Step is used a User with System Administrator rights may configure the Tool so that email messages are delivered either directly to the recipient (Direct Delivery Mode) or are handled by TaskCentre (Mail Intercept Mode). To prevent delays in processing email messages if TaskCentre is running slowly, the default option is set to Direct Delivery Mode. This is achieved through the Mail System Integration Configuration dialog (Ref: Figure 1) which may be opened by clicking on the Event node in the Task Manager and then double-clicking on the SMTP icon in the Items List.
SMTP Tool
Figure 1. Mail System Integration Configuration dialog.
The dialog consists of the following two option radio buttons:
Direct Delivery Mode (default) - Choose this option to enable Direct Delivery Mode. E-Mail
messages will be stored by the SMTP Event Tool and then passed immediately to the original recipient.
Mail Intercept Mode - In this mode, E-mail messages are intercepted by the SMTP Virtual
Server, handled by TaskCentre and then re-submitted to the recipient. This allows messages to be aborted by TaskCentre if required and therefore not delivered to the original recipient
Technical Summary
Working with other Steps
The SMTP Step is independent of any other Steps used in a Task. However, it accesses parameters that the Task exposes through the Task Browser dialog.
Dependencies
The products, technologies, protocols or systems that are required for the Oracle Trigger Step to work are listed below.
Microsoft IIS Server (Windows 2000 onwards) - The virtual SMTP server is used. Note the
Microsoft Vista does not include the virtual SMTP server.
TaskCentre SMTP Agent - The SMTP Agent must be installed and registered on the same
machine as the Microsoft IIS Server for the SMTP Step to be used.
SMTP Agent
The SMTP Event Agent works with the SMTP Tool to process incoming SMTP messages. It can run on the same or on a separate machine to the server and launches Tasks when messages arrive that match filter rules previously configured within a SMTP Step for a Task.
SMTP Tool It interfaces with Microsoft Virtual SMTP Server which is part of the Microsoft Internet
Information Services. When a message is received by the Virtual SMTP Server, a copy of the message is passed to the Agent which in turn decides if there are any Tasks to run.
The SMTP Event Agent consists of two main components:
IIS Event Sink - This component sits within the process space of the Microsoft SMTP
Virtual Server and accepts messages as they are submitted to the engine. The messages are then passed directly to the SMTP Event Agent Service to be processed.
SMTP Event Agent Service - This component runs as a Service and accepts messages
from the IIS Event Sink component. As messages are received the component examines the configured events in the system and runs Tasks as required
Objects Consumed
Objects that the SMTP Step consumes are listed below.
Parameters (Text) - Textual data is extracted from email message parameters and
mapped to variables
Objects Exposed
Objects that the SMTP Step exposes for use by other Steps are listed below.
Variables (Text) - Textual data is mapped to selected Parameter Variables for use in other
SMTP Tool
Configuration
The SMTP dialog is used to create a new or edit an existing SMTP Step which triggers a Task to be run when a message is sent or received containing specific parameter values. The Step can be set to trigger a Task to run based on data contained in the 'Sent From', 'To Recipients', 'Cc Recipients', 'Subject' and 'Body Text' parameters of the message.
In addition, variables created for the Task may be mapped to the message parameters so that their values may be used in other Steps. For example, a variable called 'Message' could be mapped to the 'Body Text' variable and then included in an SMS text message created using the Send SMS (m:science SMS Server) Step.
To create a new Step:
In the Task Browser dialog, select the 'Tools' tab, click on the SMTP icon under the 'Event' node and then drag and drop- it onto the Task Plan. The SMTP dialog will open and once created an icon for the Step will be displayed on the Task Plan.
In the Task Browser dialog, select the 'Environment' tab, right-click on the Steps node and select the 'SMTP' option from the 'New' > 'Event' drop down menu. The SMTP dialog will open and once created the Step is displayed under the Steps node in the Task Browser. It may then be dragged and dropped onto the Task Plan.
Right-click anywhere on the Task Plan in the Design tab of the Task dialog and selected the 'SMTP' option from the 'New' > 'Event' drop down menu. The SMTP dialog will open and once created an icon for the Step will be displayed on the Task Plan
To open an existing Step:
On the Task Plan in the Design tab of the Task dialog, double-click on the SMTP icon . The SMTP dialog will open to enable the Step details to be edited.
In the Task Browser dialog, select the 'Environment' tab and double-click on the SMTP node displayed under the Steps node. The SMTP dialog will open to enable the details to be edited.
In the Task Browser dialog, select the 'Environment' tab, right-click on the SMTP node displayed under the Steps node and select the 'Edit Step' option from the drop down menu. The SMTP dialog will open to enable the details to be edited.
The dialog has three tabbed panes described below through which an SMTP Step may be created and configured.
SMTP Tool
General
Figure 2. SMTP – General tab.
The contents of the ‘General’ tab (Ref: Figure 2) are as follows:
‘Name’ (field) – A unique name for the Step may be manually entered.
‘Description’ (field) – A description for the Step may be manually entered.
Main
The Main tab (Ref: Figure 3) provides a comprehensive set of options for configuring the Step. The contents of the ‘Main’ tab are as follows:
‘Use Agent’ (drop down list) - Displays a list of all mail servers that have the Mail Event
Agent installed on them for selection. Selecting a specific mail server means that only e-mails received by that server will be used to trigger a Task. Alternatively, selecting the 'All Mail Event Agents' options means that all mail servers listed will be used.
SMTP Tool
o ‘All of the above’ (option radio button) - Only e-mails received which match the criteria for all of the filters listed will be used to trigger a Task.
o ‘Add’ (button) - Opens the Filter Properties dialog (Ref: Figure 4) to enable a new
Filter to be created.
o ‘Edit’ (button) - Opens the Filter Properties dialog to enable details for the Filter
selected in the table to be edited.
o ‘Remove’ (button) - Remove the selected Filter from the table.
‘Mapping’ (area) - This area contains a table which displays a list of Variables created for
the Task. The 'Parameter' column contains a drop down list of message parameters for selection to be mapped against the Variable. If the array option has been selected for the variable then it may be mapped to the message attachments
SMTP Tool
Figure 4. Filter Properties dialog.
The Filter Properties dialog is displayed when either the 'Add' or 'Edit' button is selected in the Main tab of the SMTP dialog and is used to configure a new Filter for a SMTP Step through the following:
‘Mail Property’ (drop down list) - Displays a list of message parameters for selection to
which the Filter is to be applied when the message is sent or received.
‘Filter Mask’ (text box) - Specific text to be searched for, which must be contained within
the selected message parameter for the message to match the Filter requirements and therefore be used by the Step.
‘Case Sensitive Match’ (option check box) - Selecting this option means that the search
made on the text entered in the 'Filter Mask' text box will be case sensitive
Options
The Options tab (Ref: Figure 5) of the SMTP dialog provides a number of options for aborting the delivery of a message to the original recipient and for setting up a list of Users to notify. The original message can also be included in the notification as an attachment.
The tab contains the following:
‘Message Abort Options’ (area) - Provides radio button to select the following options:
o Never - The message is never aborted and is always delivered to the original
recipient.
o Always - The message is always aborted and is never delivered to the original
SMTP Tool
‘Send Error Notification To’ (check box) - Checking this option provides the following for
selecting recipients to receive an e-mail notification of an error: o 'Recipients' (table) - provides a list of recipients.
o 'To' button - Opens the Select Recipients dialog to enable any number of recipients to be selected to receive the notification e-mail.
o 'Attach Original Message To Error Notification' - Users added to the 'Recipients' table will also receive a copy of the original e-mail as an attachment.
