Creating an email with attachment in webmail

Hi all, curious to hear how any of you might have solved this problem.

We’re updating an existing system that uses MAPI to launch the default email client on windows and sets up an email with subject, body text and importantly, an attachment, which the user can then customise before sending. Nothing particularly amazing.

However, with so many people using webmail, this starts to be less useful for users.

What we’re thinking is to offer an optional alternative, where the system displays the default email subject, body text and path to the attachment and makes it easy for the user to copy and paste these into their webmail client. I don’t love this solution but it’s the best we’ve come up with for those using gmail/hotmail/etc.

Anyone solved this in a more user friendly fashion?

Cheers
Malcolm

Why don’t you let the user send directly? Gmail, for instance, still supports smtp, and you can send via Indy

Grahame

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Yeah, but there is some resistance to needing the users to all enter their smtp details, as they are a fairly non-technical bunch. One option that’s been suggested is to not use the user’s smtp details, but have a common set using a single, central mail server. That could work, but then opens up the complications of running a mailserver for all their users.

This kinda feels like it should be a solved problem at the Windows level, like it was before webmail, but perhaps not.

Windows is just not the thing anymore. But appreciate the challenge of non-technical users, specially in these days of 2FA. But why make them use their own details? Use an account in your domain you create for them

There’s a risk that someone will reverse engineer whatever arrangements you put in place and get the account details, and then they can send emails… until you turn that account off. And wow, they can send email… not that big a risk…

Grahame

I may have to convince them that it’s a manageable problem. Thanks Grahame.

If people are using web mail, it will likely be gmail or microsoft. I have a demo of authenticating for them at

Many years ago I used a html editor component based of internet explorer, but the company doesn’t exist anymore. You could look at using

https://delphihtmlcomponents.com/

Obviously if you just want it to be plain text it would be much simpler.

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