| What is ContentByMail? |
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ContentByMail (CBM) is a mambot that runs under Joomla! 1.0.x and Mambo 4.5.x and which enables you to create content for the site by sending email to your site 
ProcedureWhenever the CMS prepares content for display on the site (not 'just' a directory etc.), it executes small programs, so-called Mambots. Typically these mambots perform small tasks, such as text-replacements etc. The nice thing about these small guys is that they are executed 'sort of' regularly. And exactly because of that 'frequent, automatic' execution it seemed ideal to me to 'abuse' them for a totally untypical task: the checking of a mailbox and the creation of new content in the database of the CMS. SetupIn order to use the bot, you need a mailbox. Usually a dedicated mailbox is setup which is only accessed by CBM. In your CMS, you install the mambot as usual and configure it by providing at least the credentials required to access the mailbox. And that's all you need, you start mailing then! And that's really all?Well, it can actually be that simple! But mosten often you will want to specify where the mails are to be published, you may want to control the access-level etc. So I recommend to read the comprehensive doc after you first successfull tests. The doc is contained in the ZIP and linked to from the config-screen of the mambot. LicenseCBM is no freeware! Testing the program is free and possible without any limitations, even without limitations on the testing-period. However, as soon you are no longer testing but productively using CBM, I ask you to pay for it. How much you pay is entirely up to you! Just pay what you can and what feel it is worth to you. Of course I hope that professional users (as well as designers and people using CBM in client-projects) will pay a bit more – but it's up to you, as long as you feel it is 'fair', that's fine Current status and future plansThe latest version is still 1.0.5 (from 2005) which still works well. Its major lack is that disability to process images that are embedded/attached to the msg – a feature that many people asked for.  Download (288 KB)
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Comments (54)
  written by Brad, June 10, 2007  written by Michael, June 14, 2007
Brad,
are you referring to Joomla 1.5 or 1.1? 1.1 shouldn't be a problem, but I'm sorry to say I haven't had the time to look at 1.5 yet, so there might be issues. I can't promised a firm date, but I'll try to do some testing with 1.5 Tx Michael  written by Tom, June 14, 2007
I've just successfully installed CBM on J1.1 this morning. It's a great mambot. I have come across a couple of issues, though. The {cbm_lazy} tag seems to need to be set the opposite way than you would expect to allow submissions without tags.
And I'm still having to go into the backend and manually change the Publish From date, as the {pub_up} tag adds five hours onto the time of submission. (Probably something to do with the site's configured time offset, but I haven't worked it out yet). Thanks again, really useful work. Tom written by Michael, June 14, 2007
Thanks Tom for your kind comment
 You are right about the {pub_up}-thing, this is correctly handled by the bot and usually the problems are related to the Joomla-timezone (or the server's time!).  written by lee, August 10, 2007
hi, is it possible to extract the image capture code from mms blog component and include in this mambot?
 written by Michael, August 10, 2007
hi lee, I'm afraid the current version does not support that.
written by lee, August 10, 2007
Sorry, I know it doesn't support it I guess I was kindof asking when the next version will be released and if it will include that function?
  written by Planlos, August 12, 2007
...es läuft perfekt. Vielen Dank für diese grandiose Arbeit.
ANMERKUNG: ich habe extra den Footer freigeschaltet, leider läuft der Link ins Leere: http://mbaas.de/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=76&Itemid=59 ...schade..... Gruss Planlos  written by Annaleen, August 13, 2007
Hi
I do have a problem with the time, it's only publishing 6 hours later, is there a way to set the time-zone? Kind Regards Annaleen written by Michael, August 13, 2007
@Lee: _a_ next version should include funtionality to handle attached/embedded images - but pls. don't ask for the timing...
@Planlos: prima, freut mich, daß Du zufrieden bist. Nach dem Umbau der Website gehen die Footer-Links leider wirklich ins Leere, es wird wirklich Zeit für ein Update  @Annaleen: you've got mail  written by dknauss, August 22, 2007
I have had CBM fail and cause problems for Mambo 4.5.x under different server conditions, php versions, etc. The most dramatic failure was recently when my host began to make changes to the email system--converting the IMAP mailboxes from mbox architecture to maildir. Even though I had CBM using a POP mail account, it was only by disabling it that I could log into the Mambo backend. Hopefully once the host is done messing things up, I can get CB working again. It is a great tool.
 written by alberto abella, August 23, 2007
If you do not store who is the sender of the message, you can publish spam whenever it is registered into the site. And if you have some hundreds of users you cannot get it which one is the spammer.
 written by Theo, August 27, 2007
include() [function.include]: Failed opening '/home/vrouluujmitballe.nl/www/mambots/content/contentbymail/$botFileName/language/footer.english.php' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/share/php:/usr/share/pear') in /home/vrouluujmitballe.nl/www/mambots/content/contentbymail/includes.php on line 293
Hi i get this failure when in send a mail to CBM kan you help me? written by Planlos, August 29, 2007
...ich habe mir erlaubt den Link im Footer zu ändern. Er zeigt jetzt auf diese URL hier, da die alte URL nicht mehr gültig war.... ein bischen Werbung darf schon sein für so ein gutes Produkt.
Wann gehts eigentlich weiter...wegen Einbinden von Images etc. ? gruss Planlos written by Michael, August 30, 2007
und was das weitermachen angeht, gilt leider immer noch das oben Gesagte...
 written by gummarith, August 31, 2007
ERRLOG: Server=217.64.195.227/pop3:21/notls, Mailbox=INBOX, User=lucaricchi.com92905, cmd=
Log: IMAP-Extension not loaded, trying to load... 2 dl() [function.dl]: Unable to load dynamic library '/usr/local/web/php/lib/imap.so' - /usr/local/web/php/lib/imap.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory1024 Could not load IMAP-Extension! If the error you are seeing contains a remark about 'undefined symbol RND_seed', this is very likely a problem of your PHP-Installation and you should contact your ISP about it... CONFIG:.........................  written by Alvin, October 08, 2007
Hey,
Thank you, thank you for writing this program, and thank you for continuing to develop it, from what you've been writing it sounds as though you have had little but programming on your brain for a while. I hope you have some other outlets in your life, and have quality time to spend with them.  written by Ed, October 14, 2007
Mike,
In reading the posts above I noticed that some people have been assisted in getting the 5 to 6 hour lag time (email send to email post) reduced. I there an internal code adjustment that can be made to speed this process? I'd be more then happy to make a donation to your efforts with this 'bot' but the lag time is keeping me from using it within a production site. Your reply would be most welcomed. Ed written by Ed, October 15, 2007
Mike,
Please disregard my last post. I figured out how to adjust the lag time and everything is working fine. Donation to follow! Ed  written by Galawyn, November 05, 2007
there's any possibility to have an contentbymail extension that works without IMAP c-Client ? I'm asking for it at my hoster (paid plan...) but for now i received no indication
written by Galawyn, November 06, 2007
Mike,
Please disregard my last post. I figured out how to adjust the lag time and everything is working fine. Donation to follow! Ed ... how? thanks (my hoster add imap c-client) ... publishing date 6 ore   written by Michael, November 06, 2007
@Alvin:
> I hope you have some other outlets in your life, > and have quality time to spend with them. Oh, yes, thanks very much I'm rather disciplined in staying away from the computer during wkend, which is great for family life, but doesn't really help development... @Galawyn, Ed: great, glad to hear you got it working! For general reference: ALL cases of publishing delays so far had to do with server-config or Mambo/Joomla-config, CBM doesn't do much there, so there's not much it could do wrong  written by Robin, November 08, 2007
Hi Michael, I'm just testing CBM to see if it will ultimately be suitable for a club website. It seems like a fantastic product, but something slightly weird seems to happen. I have Joomla 1.0.13, and CBM set to allow anything from anyone. It checks the POP mailbox, collects the email, sends the sender the success response, but then doesn't post the content until someone logs in to the site that has Editor permissions or above. As soon as Editor or above logs in the content posts. Have you come accross this before, or does it look like I may potentially have something conflicting with CBM trying to post in my set up?
Thanks for all the hard work you do on this (and the club has agreed to a donation if I can get it working!)  written by Fran, November 20, 2007
Mike, just posting a fews words to say I've really enjoyed reading the previous posts. Its clear that you are very devoted to your project. You demonstrate that by your quick responses. I've yet to down load and install your CBM but when I do, after reading the comments above, no doubt I will also throughly enjoy using CBM.
Cheers from the wannabe geek in New Zealand  written by Enio, December 04, 2007
this app is wonderful, just wondering if maybe is possible to catch files like .doc, .pdf and not only pics... and also would be amazing if can take text and the attached file.
by the way, congratulations for a great app!  written by kunci, December 08, 2007
Hi!
This is a very good mambot! I hope you develop it!  written by Teodor Andrei, December 10, 2007
Hello
I read manual for this mambot but i didn't find an answer for my problems. First, i would like to use this mambot on J!1.0.13 on my intranet. I set a mailbox to receive messages but there is no message imported in my content. Don't know where to see errors Second: it is posible to add attachments to mails? I need to list some MS Excel information into my content daily (it's an automaticaly report delivered to an email address) Please let me know what i have to do. My email configuration look like this: Mailserver: smtp.mycompany.com Protocol: pop3:110 Flags:notls Mailbox to open:INBOX Login: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Password: mypassword I set all other information to access all Please help Thank you  written by Terry Kjargaard, January 19, 2008
I am certainly impressed by your work so far. I am having some difficulty getting the {section} and {category} tags to work. Regardless of how I enter these tags the content still gets posted to the default (news) section even though the cbm_open parameter is set to "everything is open' option.
 written by arman, January 30, 2008
How do you format mail to distinguish the intro from the body in the mail being sent?
 written by Jerry, February 03, 2008
Tom,
The bot reads the time from the email server, and publishes at that time. You need to make the joomla server time match the email server time.  written by KL Ho, March 18, 2008
After I installed, I was locked out of my website. I had this message: Direct Access to this location is not allowed.
How do I remove CBM from my website? Thanks.  written by christiaan, March 26, 2008
Hi, when do you think we can start with "testing" the version for joomla 1.5????
Do you know a com that is comatible with joomla 1.5??  written by Frank, April 07, 2008
Ich nutze diesen super Mambot schon eine ganze Weile. Heute erschien im Frontend folgende Fehlermeldung:
Array ( [0] => Bad login [1] => Bad login [2] => Bad login [3] => Too many login failures ) Irgendwas mit zuviele Anmeldeversuche. Ich arbeite mit einer E-Mail die nur für diesen Mambot genutzt wird, nicht öffentlich ist und niemanden bekannt ist außer mir. Deshalb kann ich mir auch keinen Missbrauch der E-Mail o.ä. vorstellen. Hat jemand eine Idee? Ich habe es bereits mit einer neuen Mailadresse versucht, das gleiche. Danke Frank  written by Ves, April 21, 2008
Hi,
it seems like it is gabbling up double-byte characters. Can something be done? written by Michael, April 30, 2008
@Enio/Teodor: Attachments currently not possible.
@Teodor: You can configure it to send logs by email... Joomla 1.5: I have no idea, sorry. Currently caught up in a project with Nestlé and other nice clients, no time for CBM... Double-byte: that would require some work. It can be done, yes, but don't ask when @fromating: RTFM! {intro}my introtext{/intro}{body}bodytext{/body} @Frank: ja, es gibt da eine Schwäche in der Behandlung parallel laufender CBM-Instanzen, daher kann ich mir das mit zu viele Logins schon vorstellen. Abhilfe vielleicht möglich durch Erhöhen des Prüf-Intervalls in der Konfig, ansonsten warten auf die nächste Version....  written by RNakoneshny, May 21, 2008
Hello Michael
Am getting same message as fellow above (gammarith aug 2007): ERRLOG: Server=217.64.195.227/pop3:21/notls, Mailbox=INBOX, User=lucaricchi.com92905, cmd= Log: IMAP-Extension not loaded, trying to load... 2 dl() [function.dl]: Unable to load dynamic library '/usr/local/web/php/lib/imap.so' - /usr/local/web/php/lib/imap.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory1024 Could not load IMAP-Extension! If the error you are seeing contains a remark about 'undefined symbol RND_seed', this is very likely a problem of your PHP-Installation and you should contact your ISP about it... CONFIG:......................... Any suggestions would be helpful. Would like to use for school website. Would like to donate when working :-)  written by Douson, June 24, 2008
Hi! Good job.
More words are not present, I will test...  written by islatur, August 05, 2008
hi, i currently use a boggler account and a rss reader on my site to have last minute deals posted.
works, but content by email sounds way better than depending on blogger. is a 1.5 version on the horizon?  written by kai, August 19, 2008
Moin,moin,
von wo wohlt sich das Tool eigentlich den Author Namen? Vom Absender eMail Namen (obwohl es einen User zu der eMail Adresse im System gibt?) Oder wie geht das?  written by Fernando, September 10, 2008
I'm installed CMB and it works fine.
However it will be very useful if the mambot could include a file as attachments. Does it is possible? Fernando  written by Kurt söser, September 12, 2008
Hallo!
Ich bekomme leider immer wieder folgende fehlercode Fatal error: Call to undefined method stdClass::update() in /home/.sites/941/site745/web/plugins/content/contentbymail.php(36) : eval()'d code on line 75 Was läuft da nicht rund? Bitte um Hilfe  written by Andy Girton, September 30, 2008
I know there are many of us that would pay to have this available.
 written by wow gold, October 16, 2008
Ich bekomme leider immer wieder folgende fehlercode
Fatal error: Call to undefined method stdClass::update() in /home/.sites/941/site745/web/plugins/content/contentbymail.php(36) : eval()'d code on line 75 Was läuft da nicht rund? Bitte um Hilfe  written by RNakoneshny, October 16, 2008
Hello Michael
Am getting same message as fellow above (gammarith aug 2007): ERRLOG: Server=217.64.195.227/pop3:21/notls, Mailbox=INBOX, User=lucaricchi.com92905, cmd= Log: IMAP-Extension not loaded, trying to load... 2 dl() [function.dl]: Unable to load dynamic library '/usr/local/web/php/lib/imap.so' - /usr/local/web/php/lib/imap.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory1024 Could not load IMAP-Extension! If the error you are seeing contains a remark about 'undefined symbol RND_seed', this is very likely a problem of your PHP-Installation and you should contact your ISP about it... CONFIG:......................... Any suggestions would be helpful. Would like to use for school website. Would like to donate when working :-) wow gold  written by kakajoe, October 16, 2008
is it possible to use pop from gmail ?? cause i keep this message when i set it with gmail.
Array ( [0] => Connection failed to 209.85.199.111,995: Connection timed out  written by agti49, December 30, 2008
ich möchte nur diese Erweiterung testen
 written by Jürg Schumacher, February 09, 2009
Hallo Michael
Auch ich wäre sehr an diesem Plugin für Joomla 1.5.x interessiert. Eine andere Website von mir läuft unter Serendipity (www.s9y.org) und verwendet schon recht lange ein sinngemäss gleiches Plugin (welches einwandfrei funktioniert). An und für sich scheint mit Serendipity als CMS viel ausgereifter, als Joomla - insbesondere die Updates für sämtliche Plugins funktionieren automatisch und ohne manuelles Uploaden - einfach so im Betrieb. Das Plugin dort heisst "POP Fetcher" (=>http://www.s9y.org/208.html). Vielleicht nützt dier der Quellcode etwas? Ich bin aktuell eigentlich nur bei Joomla 1.5.x gelandet, weil mehr attraktive Templates verfügbar sind. Herzlicher Gruss aus der Schweiz Jürg  written by DragonDon, April 05, 2009
I was just asking the Joomla Community and someone pointed out this site. I am grateful that this is set for a 1.0 site because the site I want to add this on is just that! I'll be testing over the next week or so.
I know about not having dedicated time to work on such projects but on the other hand, if there is no demand, then there is less likely of time being created. So I'll add in my voice for a 1.5 version request as well.....when you can afford the time of course I'll update with my testing results later.  written by Michael Baas, April 06, 2009
I finally managed to get the dnload-probs sorted out as you have hopefully all noticed
Appreciate your continued interest in the development of the bot and would like to confirm I still haven't given up, but getting the time is still a major struggle for me. I'll try my best!  written by Ricardo Cristof Remmert-Fontes, April 07, 2009
Hi Michael,
thumbs up for your ongoing struggle! :-D Looking forward for the result. Best regards, Ricardo Cristof  written by michael jordan shoes, February 24, 2010 written by michael jordan shoes, February 25, 2010
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Love the idea and program, we would just like to know why it does not work with the newer versions of Joomla? Do you know what we are doing wrong or is it that Joomla has possiably added permissions to prevent your program from working.
Tx brad