Joomla mail settings

[sallymander]

I am running Joomla 1.5 on 2 different sites. I have used Joomla 1.0 for quite a while and not had the following problems. I've tried working through the Joomla forums (apparently other users are having the same issues) but no solutions have been posted, other than "check with your host". So here I am :)

I am unable to use the Mass Mail component of Joomla 1.5. I have tried all of the available settings with the following results:

PHPmail gives me this error: Could not instantiate mail function.

Sendmail:
Mailer PHP Mail FunctionSendmailSMTP Server Mail from From Name Sendmail Path
when I send mail I get this message:
PHPMAILER_EXECUTE/usr/sbin/sendmail

SMTP:
Mailer PHP Mail FunctionSendmailSMTP Server Mail from From Name Sendmail Path SMTP Authentication No Yes SMTP Username SMTP Password ----------------------- SMTP Host
and I get this error: PHPMAILER_RECIPIENTS_FAILED

Do you have any suggestions/solutions for this problem?

Thanks SO much
Sally

[bdh]

directly accessing the mail port is not allowed. IOW, you can't open a socket directly to send mail. Your software must support the PHP mail() command and for that, there is no username or password required to send.

[sallymander]

so why am I getting that strange message with the php mail, and how do I get it to work?

[bdh]

seems the answer is on the Joomla forums here http://forum.joomla.org/viewtopic.php?f=431&t=272547

[sallymander]

may be the answer for some... I'm having no luck.
I have returned the settings to php. It will let me send to the administrators (2 accounts), but when I try to send to all registered users, Could not instantiate mail function message again.

The Joomla forum post was dealing with the contact us form, I tried the fix listed, but as I expected, it didn't help with mass mail. I don't know enough about php to be able to look in the code and figure out what does what. I've searched the forums and am not having any luck figuring this out.

What does "Could not instantiate mail function." even mean?

[bdh]

This seems to be an issue with the new version of Joomla as you pointed out. The link I gave you above, makes changes to components/com_contact/controller.php script. My guess is that's the script used to send email to the admin users. There is probably another one used for mass mailing or mailing users but I have no idea where that would be.

I think the only place you are going to find an answer is on the Joomla forums.

[sallymander]

Thanks Brent-
I appreciate the help. I'm waiting, semi-patiently, for help on the Joomla forums. From what I can tell, the "registered-user" category is the only one that doesn't work. Perplexing.

[bdh]

That's weird. Joomla is a massive community. I'd expect it it will work soon.

[sallymander]

I made a few new discoveries, but I really need help in figuring out where to go and how to fix it.
The mass mail function works fine for any user group if I have only a few users in the group, but not when there are more than that.
I was able to send to all user groups except "registered" -- there were about 35 users in that group. I would get the 'Could not instantiate mail function' error. I changed all users to "author" and tried to use mass mail, but I received the 'Could not instantiate mail function' error. When I changed one back to "registered" and tried to send the mass mail message, it worked.
SOOOOO-there has to be some disconnect in the number of messages allowed to go out.

Any suggestions of were to start? I'm not getting any replies from the Joomla forum. IF I had money I'd gladly pay someone who knows php to help me! ;)

Thanks for any guidance!~

[bdh]

The Server Message send limit is 1,000 / hour so it's not that. However, there is a limit on the number of messages that can be sent at once (Bcc messages). I think that is 25. If Joomla is using this method, there will be a problem. (However I can't think they would be so daft as to do this because this is something almost all servers have set because it's a massive spam trap).

We do have a resident Joomla expert on the board -- her user name is Orange (http://bibleforums.org/forum/member.php?u=29269). (Sorry kiddo but I know you're a whiz at Joomla :) )

[sallymander]

okay, maybe we're getting somewhere now! :-)
There is an option on the mass mail page:
Recipients as BCC. Adds copy to site email. If checked, all recipients will be included as BCC entries, so none will see any of the other recipients' E-mailaddresses. Because many mail routers treat E-mail without a To: entry as spam, the site email will be used for the To: entry.

I get the same error whether the box is checked or not though. I read some info on the joomla forum that said that feature was added because otherwise everyone's email went out with each mass mail. But I'm sure there are many many sites with more than 40 members (that's where we are at), and if most servers have a BCC limit, then there is still a glitch somewhere.
hmmmm.

[orange]

Hi Sallymander!

I have not used this mass mail component, and have no experience with it.
I usually use Acajoom (http://extensions.joomla.org/component/option,com_mtree/task,viewlink/link_id,1619/Itemid,35/) .
It not only hides other user emails from other users, but also has a build in break for timer that dispatches emails, and you can set it according to your server requirements.
It has a detailed statistics on newsletters send - who reads them and who does not.
You can set it to auto assign registered users to the newsletter list, and create other various lists.
Try Acajoom component, while you are looking for solution for the existing one.

[sallymander]

I've been messing with Vemod news mailer. Its working properly, which is a nice change of pace at this point. Not exactly what I needed, but it serves the purpose 'til I figure the other out.
I'll take a look at Acajoom as well

Thanks so much!
Sally