Major Additions - vBMS : vBulletin Mail System

vBulletin Mail System

Finally, for vBulletin 3.6, there is a port from filburt1's original hack. For those of you who aren't aware, he essentially declared it open source, and it's been a bit of a wait for someone to fix it up... I've wanted it for my site, too, so I finally sat down and just did it.

What is this?
The vBulletin Mail System is a way to give your users webmail access from your site. They can have a name@yourwebsite.com address, send and receive emails and attachments, etc. Options such as mailbox quotas, limits on numbers/types of attachments, a message trailer ("Free mail at yourwebsite.com!") at the end of each message, etc. are all available as well.

Please note: this is a pre-final version. As far as I have seen, it is working so far for me, but I have not tested it completely and thoroughly and it's very likely there'll be a number of bugs popping up. However, I have successfully been able to install this on a clean board, exchange emails regularly (including attachments), go through all the basic options/etc. without any errors popping up, so it should be fine. Still, make sure you back up your database before installing this, just due to the nature of its "beta"-ness.

To install: upload all files from the "upload" directory to your server in the proper directories. Then, navigate to admincp/vbms_install.php on your server and run the installer. It will make several template additions. If your navbar or header templates hav been modified, it will not be able to do it automatically, and you'll have to add these edits yourself.

In template navbar, find:

<td class="vbmenu_control"><a href="usercp.php$session[sessionurl_q]">$vbphrase[user_cp]</a></td>

Add after:

			<if condition="$show['popups']">
				<td class="vbmenu_control" id="navbar_vbms">
					<a href="vbms.php$session[sessionurl_q]">$vbphrase[email]</a>
			
					<if condition="$vbms_newmessages['newcount'] > 0">
						<span style="font-weight: normal; padding: 1px 1px 1px 2px; margin: 0px 3px 0px 2px; border: 1px inset" class="alt1">
							<phrase 1="$vbms_newmessages[newcount]">$vbphrase[x_new]</phrase>
						</span>
					</if>
				
					<script type="text/javascript">
						<!--
							vbmenu_register("navbar_vbms");
						// -->
					</script>
				</td>
			<else />
				<td class="vbmenu_control" id="navbar_vbms">
					<a href="vbms.php$session[sessionurl_q]">$vbphrase[email]</a>
				
					<if condition="$vbms_newmessages['newcount'] > 0">
						<span style="font-weight: normal; padding: 1px 1px 1px 2px; margin: 0px 3px 0px 2px; border: 1px inset" class="alt1">
							<phrase 1="$vbms_newmessages[newcount]">$vbphrase[x_new]</phrase>
						</span>
					</if>
				</td>
			</if>

Find:

<!-- / header quick search form -->
	</if>

	<if condition="$show['member']">

Add after:

		<div class="vbmenu_popup" id="navbar_vbms_menu" style="display: none">
			<table cellpadding="4" cellspacing="1" border="0">
				<tr><td class="thead">vBulletin Mail System</td></tr>
				<tr><td class="vbmenu_option"><a href="vbms.php?$session[sessionurl]">$vbphrase[navbar_inbox]</a></td></tr>
				<tr><td class="vbmenu_option"><a href="vbms_new.php?$session[sessionurl]">$vbphrase[navbar_write_message]</a></td></tr>
				<tr><td class="vbmenu_option"><a href="vbms_ab.php?$session[sessionurl]">$vbphrase[navbar_address_book]</a></td></tr>
				<tr><td class="vbmenu_option"><a href="vbms_folders.php?$session[sessionurl]">$vbphrase[navbar_folders]</a></td></tr>
				<tr><td class="vbmenu_option"><a href="vbms_filters.php?$session[sessionurl]">$vbphrase[navbar_filters]</a></td></tr>
				<tr><td class="vbmenu_option"><a href="vbms_options.php?$session[sessionurl]">$vbphrase[navbar_options]</a></td></tr>
				<tr><td class="vbmenu_option"><a href="faq.php?$session[sessionurl]faq=faq_vbms">$vbphrase[navbar_help]</a></td></tr>
			</table>
		</div>

In your ACP, there should be a new set of options in a "vBulletin Mail System" category. That set of options is your main set of management stuff, and is pretty straightforward.

Feel free to post with any bugs or questions you find, etc. I'm trying to get this working again thoroughly, for all of us.

FAQ

• Is POP support available for my users?
  No, this is similar to a webmail system.
• What is a catch-all email address, and how do I set it up?
  A catch-all address is an email address that any mail sent to your server that isn't picked up by another account will go to. For example, if someone sends an email to randomgibberish@yoursite.com and you do not have a "randomgibberish" account defined, it would forward to your catch-all account that you have set up, such as all@yoursite.com.
• Can I run this if my server doesn't let me have a catch-all mail account?
  Yes, but it's not recommended. As has been suggested by a few members, you can set up one mail account to the be "catch-all" and have vBMS connect to that, then set up mail accounts for each member who wants one and have it forward to the catch-all. All this has to be set up manually with your web host, and takes a great deal of willpower and availability from the website administrator, and is thus not recommended.
• I'm receiving the following error:
  

  Fatal error: Call to undefined function: imap_open()...

  If you're getting an error similar to this, you do not have IMAP functionality available in PHP. Find your php.ini file on your server (usually /usr/local/lib/php.ini on Linux, C:\Windows\php.ini on Windows), and find the extensions section. Uncomment the line ";extension=php_imap.dll" (that is, remove the semicolon at the beginning) and restart your web server. If you don't have access to your web server to do this, contact your web host about installing IMAP support for PHP. If they won't do it, then this hack is not for you.
• I can't connect to the mail server, with this error:
  

  Warning: imap_open() [function.imap-open]: Couldn't open stream {localhost:110/pop3}INBOX in /includes/vbms_class_installer.php on line 791

  First, make sure that your port number and server information are right. Some mail servers are on non-default ports (this is common), and some you may have to connect to a different host besides localhost (this is very rare). Also, try using the "Force no-TLS connection" option in the vBMS Options in the ACP.
• I can connect to the server just fine, but it won't get any email!
  Check the "Mail checking logs" in your ACP (under the vBulletin Mail System area). If there are no logs, then the cronjob probably isn't running. If there are logs, see if there are any errors in there. If it's checking the mail account fine and simply says there are no messages, check with a webmail to see if the catch-all account is even receiving mails. If the webmail shows that the account has mail stuck in it and vBMS isn't picking them up, but vBMS is saying it's checking the account alright and finding 0 messages, then you're likely connecting to the wrong account. By doing these steps, you should at least be able to figure out where the problem is occurring.

Install clicks, donations and HotM nominations are always welcome.

[dfe]

Can VBMS run with Google mail for it's SMTP and POP servers? Or does it require a localhost server?

[Krofh]

Originally Posted by raiderlax

Can we have it so only members we choose can have email and can use this system?

Usergroups. I'm not being picky in my product about that, but that's how vBulletin works. Everything else permissions-related is based on usergroups, not on individual people being allowed.

Originally Posted by dfe

Can VBMS run with Google mail for it's SMTP and POP servers? Or does it require a localhost server?

You can try if you like, but why would you do that? You'd have to get your server's catch-all to forward everything coming in to a Google mail account, then check the Google mail server remotely... which really is just a waste of traffic.

Originally Posted by Twisted Chaos

i downloaded a copy of the PEAR system for mail mime...
i then took the original and modified it for a full release with thvbms.... works better than constructing mime types on your own....just an idea im using on my system

True, but a lot of users will not have the ability to install PEAR on their website.

Originally Posted by Twisted Chaos

first bug is when recieving mail from outloo...
entire html source is displayed... i added in a processor for full html conversion....

You're saying that if you send a letter from Outlook to the vBMS, it doesn't work? This surprises me, since Outlook is primarily what I've been testing with.

Originally Posted by Twisted Chaos

also if the system finds ONE attachment that isnt allowed....... it strips them all???? why cant we just strip the ones not allowed?

The idea is that, if one attachment is potentially dangerous, any other attachments probably are as well. I might make that an option though.

[Fearlessninja]

My server does not support "catch all" e-mails, any other way for this to work?

[Krofh]

^ See the FAQ on the main post:

Can I run this if my server doesn't let me have a catch-all mail account?
Yes, but it's not recommended. As has been suggested by a few members, you can set up one mail account to the be "catch-all" and have vBMS connect to that, then set up mail accounts for each member who wants one and have it forward to the catch-all. All this has to be set up manually with your web host, and takes a great deal of willpower and availability from the website administrator, and is thus not recommended.

[amjadakmal]

Well I got problem in installation ... It says like this

"Warning: array_merge() [function.array-merge]: Argument #1 is not an array in /admincp/vbms_install.php on line 74"

vBMS Upgrade in Progress

installation Complete.... And I cant see anything in my AdminCP.. Please help

[ringoflight]

The VBMS was causing me a database errors when I tried to uninstall it, so I tried to remove the vbms_ tables in phpmyadmin.
I now cannot enter my website at all now, nor do I have a recent backup. I try to reinstall it, but I cannot do this, so now my website won't work...........
Can you advice me?

[Rickeo]

Database error in vBulletin 3.6.5:

Invalid SQL:
SELECT phrasetypeid, title, product
FROM phrasetype
WHERE phrasetypeid IN (500);

MySQL Error : Unknown column 'phrasetypeid' in 'field list'
Error Number : 1054
Date : Sunday, April 1st 2007 @ 09:10:47 AM
Script : http://adviceforall.org/forum/admincp/vbms_install.php
Referrer :
IP Address : 195.93.21.71
Username : Rick
Classname : vB_Database

Thats the error I get any help??

[amjadakmal]

Well I deleted all of previous installation thru phpMYadmin.... Now i got new error in my installation...

Warning: imap_open() [function.imap-open]: Couldn't open stream {localhost:110/pop3}INBOX in /includes/vbms_class_installer.php on line 791

[Krofh]

Originally Posted by amjadakmal

Well I deleted all of previous installation thru phpMYadmin.... Now i got new error in my installation...

Warning: imap_open() [function.imap-open]: Couldn't open stream {localhost:110/pop3}INBOX in /includes/vbms_class_installer.php on line 791

Well the first error looked like you probably didn't upload all the files before installing. About this error, well... look in the FAQ on the first post, this one's been covered.

Originally Posted by Rickeo

Thats the error I get any help??

I dunno why it's still referring to phrasetypeid anywhere at all; can you describe what you were trying to do? The error by itself doesn't help me much.

Originally Posted by ringoflight

The VBMS was causing me a database errors when I tried to uninstall it, so I tried to remove the vbms_ tables in phpmyadmin.
I now cannot enter my website at all now, nor do I have a recent backup. I try to reinstall it, but I cannot do this, so now my website won't work...........
Can you advice me?

There's a reason I provide so many warnings about backing up your site before installing this.

Regarding what to do now, you could try turning off the plugin system in vBulletin and working from there. Delete files, uninstall plugins, etc.

[bluechris]

Is there a reason why sometimes a mail is coming 1000 times? i mean i have noticed it once when i 1st installed the mod and 1 test mail that i had sent it with attachment came to VBMS 1000 times and eventually hunged the forum..
This huppened again yesterday and i and some other users got the same... a mail 1000 times.
I saw the error logs of vbulletin (not the VBMS logs) and i noticed that VBMS has trouble to attach the attachment of the e-mail to the Vbulletin database. I dont know why this is huppening but its a bit of a problem cause i dont know when it will hit again.
Is there anything i can do? or is there a hidden option that will put the attachments in the disk and not in the VB database? or maybe is there a limit somewhere that i reach it and this is huppening?

Another 1 question... does anyone knows the variable of VBMS that i need to put in CMPS to see in Navbar the new incoming box?

Thx in advance
Chris