Ticket #11774 (closed PLIP: fixed)
Add "test mail server" form to Mail Settings
Reported by: | aclark | Owned by: | aclark |
---|---|---|---|
Priority: | minor | Milestone: | 4.2 |
Component: | User Experience and Interface | Version: | |
Keywords: | Cc: | eleddy |
Description (last modified by aclark) (diff)
Proposer: Alex Clark
Seconder: Elizabeth Leddy
Motivation
After one configures a mail server in Plone, he or she must then add a user (or perform some other task that sends an email) in order to test the mail server. This is silly. Instead, we should have a form that allows one to input an email address and click a button labeled "Test mail server" to test the mail server. This form will: use the configured mail settings to try and send an email to the specified address then return the results: success or failure. This will provide a much more intuitive way to test the mail server settings.
Assumptions
We assume this feature will be universally desired by all users regardless of skill level (i.e. beginners will appreciate the hand holding, power users will appreciate the power.)
Proposal & Implementation
We need to add a form the to the current mail settings control panel (i.e. @@mail-controlpanel). It is expected this will be done via "form tabs" similar to the users/groups control panel (i.e. @@usergroup-userprefs)
We will also need to test the mail server in Python; we plan to set a reasonable socket timeout while waiting for the server to respond.
Deliverables
Primarily we need to edit the controlpanel code: plone/app/controlpanel/mail.py
- We will not break any existing related tests, and we will add new tests as needed (probably at least one to demonstrate the new functionality.)
- We will need to handle localization in the same way it is currently handled for fields in the existing mail control panel.
- We will suggest to the doc team that end user documentation reflect this improvement and/or we are willing to provide additional documentation as needed/requested.
Risks
There is some risk inherent in waiting for a request to be processed by an external service, but it should be mitigate by Python [1]
Participants
Alex Clark [aclark]
Progress
No progress yet (there is no 4.2 buildout yet). But if accepted, work can begin immediately. This is expected to be an 8-16 hour task.
[1] E.g. via graceful handling of errors provided by http://docs.python.org/library/email.errors.html or something similar.
Attachments
Change History
comment:3 Changed 5 years ago by ldr
Is adding a whole fieldset really necessary here, perhaps just a "Send test email" button would suffice?
comment:4 follow-up: ↓ 5 Changed 5 years ago by eleddy
- Cc eleddy added
this is approved. Can you complete this email by the end of this week?
comment:5 in reply to: ↑ 4 Changed 5 years ago by eleddy
Replying to eleddy:
this is approved. Can you complete this email by the end of this week?
I can't type. I mean complete this IMPLEMENTATION by the end of this week :) We want to hit this cycle
Changed 5 years ago by aclark
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attachment
Screen shot 2011-06-14 at 2.44.21 PM.png
added
The existing UI w/form tabs added
Changed 5 years ago by aclark
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attachment
Screen shot 2011-06-14 at 2.44.31 PM.png
added
The tab for sending a test mail
Changed 5 years ago by aclark
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attachment
Screen shot 2011-06-17 at 8.49.29 PM.png
added
New, simpler UI suggested by elro
comment:6 Changed 5 years ago by aclark
- Status changed from new to assigned
- Owner changed from limi to aclark
Ready for review/merge.
comment:8 Changed 5 years ago by ldr
Also see [50603] - Better to use a separate try/finally for restoring the default socket timeout.
comment:10 Changed 5 years ago by ldr
comment:11 Changed 5 years ago by ldr
comment:12 Changed 5 years ago by ldr
comment:13 Changed 5 years ago by cah190
comment:14 Changed 5 years ago by aclark
Feel free to change the message wording. Also, as the PLIP *motivation* suggests, we want this button expressly for the purpose of not having to rely on the contact form, or any other mechanism in Plone that sends e-mail. "Browse to the contact form, or do something else to send mail in Plone" is far less intuitive than "click the test mail button" to test the mail server functionality.
comment:15 Changed 5 years ago by WouterVH
The 7-year old ticket #2444 is set as a duplicate of this one.
comment:16 Changed 5 years ago by esteele
- Status changed from assigned to closed
- Resolution set to fixed