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.

[bashy]

Any thoughts on the installation issue please Krofh post # 48

This is the conflict list

• The following phrases exist and may result in alternate text being displayed in vBMS pages: actions, method, minutes, to, warning, and warning
• A change in the template "navbar" in the style "MNS 7" couldn't be made because the target text didn't exist or was already appended with the change text.

Image enclosed

Looks like imap is not compiled, will update once sorted!!!

[NuclioN]

Altough i have catchall on our server enabled i'm not sure on how this works. When i create a catchall for @mydomain.com it is asking next for a mail forward address. When i fill in that @mydomain.com has a forwarder info@mydomain.com .. is info@mydomain.com the catchall address?

And how about the pop3? Is it correct to use pop3@mydomain.com or do i have to use the server address for example: pop3@server1.com address?

[Zate]

Something strange I just found. I kept getting the following error in my logs:

PHP error: imap_open() [<a href='function.imap-open'>function.imap-open</a>]: Couldn't open stream {mailsvr:110/pop3}INBOX

After some research, I noticed that notls wasnt being appended to the /pop3. Even though I have notls selected in the options. I modified your code to force the addition of notls to the pop3 and it works fine now.

//return "{" . $hostname . ":" . $port . "/pop3" . $notls . "}INBOX";
return "{" . $hostname . ":" . $port . "/pop3/notls}INBOX";

[Zate]

Also, deleting emails takes me to a white page.

[Brent H]

Anyone here get this to run on a MediaTemple server? I'm having trouble finding the right settings for installation and support is taking forever and day.

[Kmaster]

Originally Posted by Zate

Something strange I just found. I kept getting the following error in my logs:

PHP error: imap_open() [<a href='function.imap-open'>function.imap-open</a>]: Couldn't open stream {mailsvr:110/pop3}INBOX

After some research, I noticed that notls wasnt being appended to the /pop3. Even though I have notls selected in the options. I modified your code to force the addition of notls to the pop3 and it works fine now.

//return "{" . $hostname . ":" . $port . "/pop3" . $notls . "}INBOX";
return "{" . $hostname . ":" . $port . "/pop3/notls}INBOX";

I have same error as you, plz inform which file have to change? thanks.

[Tri@de]

Can i use an external mail?
i mean: i have name@yoursite.com
but i want to check my mail name2@anothersite.com
i can do it?
can i set multiples email accounts?

[Krofh]

Originally Posted by TTG

But there are 6 emails in the catch all email and they can be read in web mail with no problems !?

The log shows that it's getting into an account on your server and checking emails just fine. It would seem, then, that it's logging into the wrong account, or it's in a log that you didn't see. Try sending an email directly to the catch-all account, then go to vbms_checkmail.php, then look in your logs and check the last 5 logs to see if there's anything about that one email.

Originally Posted by bluechris

Is there a reason that my attachments are deleted ? i mean i get mails in VBMS but when i read the message the attachment has a X icon and says

It would seem that there's a spam/virus filter on your server doing that. The vBMS system itself doesn't worry about virus-checking attachments. This has nothing to do with your vBulletin permissions or anything vB-related.

Originally Posted by bashy

Any thoughts on the installation issue please Krofh post # 48

Not really, I'm not sure what's going on :-/ do indeed make sure imap is enabled and then try again, I'm surprised it doesn't come up with an error saying so, though, unless you've got errors turned off in php.ini or something.

Originally Posted by NuclioN

Altough i have catchall on our server enabled i'm not sure on how this works. When i create a catchall for @mydomain.com it is asking next for a mail forward address. When i fill in that @mydomain.com has a forwarder info@mydomain.com .. is info@mydomain.com the catchall address?

From what you're describing, it does indeed sound like that is the case. Try setting it up like that and see if it works.

Originally Posted by NuclioN

And how about the pop3? Is it correct to use pop3@mydomain.com or do i have to use the server address for example: pop3@server1.com address?

Not sure what you're describing... the "POP3 Server Username" would usually be "info" in your case, since that's your catch-all account, and the password would be whatever password goes with that account.

Originally Posted by Zate

After some research, I noticed that notls wasnt being appended to the /pop3. Even though I have notls selected in the options. I modified your code to force the addition of notls to the pop3 and it works fine now.

Ahh, I see... will fix that in the next update.

Originally Posted by Zate

Also, deleting emails takes me to a white page.

I can't seem to replicate this problem... Using the Quick Action "delete" from the inbox, checking the box and then using the "With checked items" dropdown box to delete it, and opening the email and then clicking "Delete" all work fine for me. Any other information on this one you can give me?

Originally Posted by Kmaster

I have same error as you, plz inform which file have to change? thanks.

That should be in the includes/vbms_functions_checkmail.php file, if you want to fix it right away. Like I said, I'll try and get this fixed in the next update.

Originally Posted by Tri@ade

Can i use an external mail?

You might be able to, with an external POP3 server and such. You'd have to set the catch-all account to be the one on that server, set all the POP3 information right and such, and see what happens; no guarantees, though, I'm not sure what would happen if you gave ppl emails at a domain other than what your forum's hosted at and how that would work. You'd probably also have to get all your mail records on your servers straight to allow each other, or you'll end up with everything you send out getting marked as spam by anyone who receives it.

[Zate]

Originally Posted by TTG

Still no incoming emails .. glad I didn't pay for this when I originally saw it on the WWW.

Clicked uninstall :down:

Responses like these are why I do not develop for the vbulletin community.

More then likely the author who is working on this project now is not the original author who wanted to charge for this mod. He just picked it up and tried to bring it back to life, FOR FREE. Waisting his own time, on his dime, with little to no thanks in return. Infact, mostly complaints.

[thincom2000]

Thanks for this. I always thought it was a big hassle to log into my site's email separately. In fact, I had not checked it once until I installed this mod (500 returned mails!).

Some of my users have multiple email accounts on my server, so it would be ideal to allow multiple aliases for each user. I tried auto-forwarding the other accounts to the user's vBMS alias, but apparently this makes no changes to the email headers, so vBMS does not recognize these forwarded mails properly. If support for this could be added for the next version, or you could tell me which functions I need to alter, that would be excellent.