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.

[chopin2256]

Hi,

I keep getting 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

My host says this though:

"Imap listens on port 143, not port 110 as the error is showing. If you are sending via imap then it should be port 143. Port 110 is for popping your mail, it's what outlook uses"

I cannot figure out how to install this after many many many attempts, and I still have no idea if this is a software error bug, or a problem with the way my host set up IMAP. Although, IMAP should be working correctly, they installed it twice, and made sure it was working correctly.

[chopin2256]

Here is additional verification that IMAP and all ports are working on my server:

Hi,

I've checked to see that port 110, 143, and 25 are all open and listening.

-bash-2.05b# hostname
vps.youngcomposers.com

-bash-2.05b# telnet localhost 110
Trying 127.0.0.1...
Connected to localhost.
Escape character is '^]'.
+OK Hello there.

-bash-2.05b# telnet localhost 143
Trying 127.0.0.1...
Connected to localhost.
Escape character is '^]'.
* OK [CAPABILITY IMAP4rev1 UIDPLUS CHILDREN NAMESPACE THREAD=ORDEREDSUBJECT THREAD=REFERENCES SORT QUOTA IDLE ACL ACL2=UNION STARTTLS] Courier-IMAP ready. Copyright 1998-2005 Double Precision, Inc.
See COPYING for distribution information.


-bash-2.05b# telnet localhost 25
Trying 127.0.0.1...
Connected to localhost.
Escape character is '^]'.
220-vps.youngcomposers.com ESMTP Exim 4.63 #1 Wed, 18 Apr 2007 18:15:54 -0400 220-We do not authorize the use of this system to transport unsolicited, 220 and/or bulk e-mail.

Apparently the error is not on my end, and a potential bug in the software installation process.

[MikeHolohan]

I installed this on my test forum, now I can't login, it keeps sending me back to the login page.. Mike.

[Slave]

Here is additional verification that IMAP and all ports are working on my server:
Hi,

I've checked to see that port 110, 143, and 25 are all open and listening.

-bash-2.05b# hostname
vps.youngcomposers.com

-bash-2.05b# telnet localhost 110
Trying 127.0.0.1...
Connected to localhost.
Escape character is '^]'.
+OK Hello there.

-bash-2.05b# telnet localhost 143
Trying 127.0.0.1...
Connected to localhost.
Escape character is '^]'.
* OK [CAPABILITY IMAP4rev1 UIDPLUS CHILDREN NAMESPACE THREAD=ORDEREDSUBJECT THREAD=REFERENCES SORT QUOTA IDLE ACL ACL2=UNION STARTTLS] Courier-IMAP ready. Copyright 1998-2005 Double Precision, Inc.
See COPYING for distribution information.


-bash-2.05b# telnet localhost 25
Trying 127.0.0.1...
Connected to localhost.
Escape character is '^]'.
220-vps.youngcomposers.com ESMTP Exim 4.63 #1 Wed, 18 Apr 2007 18:15:54 -0400 220-We do not authorize the use of this system to transport unsolicited, 220 and/or bulk e-mail.
Apparently the error is not on my end, and a potential bug in the software installation process

If I remember correctly, from when I first set up vBMS, there are two types of IMAP. One is the IMAP service, which as your host has shown is working on your box, the other is the PHP package. The error you're getting is to do with the PHP package. (Don't worry, it took me ages to find this information out!)

You need to ask your web host to update/install the PHP on your box with "php-imap"

If you box is redhat linux, as example, the host would use the following command from shell ..

up2date --imap

Which should get something like the following ..

Testing package set / solving RPM inter-dependencies... 
######################################## 
php-imap-4.3.2-37.ent.i386. ########################## Done.                    
php-4.3.2-37.ent.i386.rpm:  ########################## Done.                    
php-ldap-4.3.2-37.ent.i386. ########################## Done.                    
php-mysql-4.3.2-37.ent.i386 ########################## Done.                    
php-odbc-4.3.2-37.ent.i386. ########################## Done.                    
php-pgsql-4.3.2-37.ent.i386 ########################## Done.                    
Preparing              ########################################### [100%] 

Installing... 
  1:php                    ########################################### [100%] 
  2:php-imap               ########################################### [100%] 
  3:php-ldap               ########################################### [100%] 
  4:php-mysql              ########################################### [100%] 
  5:php-odbc               ########################################### [100%] 
  6:php-pgsql              ########################################### [100%] 
The following packages were added to your selection to satisfy dependencies: 

Name                                    Version        Release 
-------------------------------------------------------------- 
php                                     4.3.2          37.ent               
php-ldap                                4.3.2          37.ent               
php-mysql                               4.3.2          37.ent               
php-odbc                                4.3.2          37.ent               
php-pgsql                               4.3.2          37.ent

As you can see I'm running PHP 4.3.2

Once that's done, restart the server and vBMS "should" work

[Ultimative]

When I try to install I'm getting this error:

The following setting groups are already defined: vbms

I previously installed it but it's no longer there and I wish to install from scratch. Anyway to correct this?

[Krofh]

Originally Posted by scan-pa

Do you have an update on the changes for the next release of this product?

I'm just gonna be completely honest... I thought I'd have time to work on this, but it's not working out. I've got some exams in the middle of May, and after that I'm mostly done with school for the summer and should then be able to spend the time on this. I don't honestly expect to be able to get anything done before then though. Sorry for the long delays on this.

For those of you using IMAP rather than just accessing your mail server by POP3, you might try this option... I set this up for someone using IMAP and this was the only way I was able to get it to work on his site. In includes/vbms_functions_checkmail.php, find the vbms_checkmail_construct_connection_string(...) function and change this bit:

function vbms_checkmail_construct_connection_string($hostname = false, $port = false, $notls = NULL)
{
	global $vbulletin;
	
	$hostname = ($hostname === false ? $vbulletin->options['vbms_hostname'] : $hostname);
	$port = ($port === false ? $vbulletin->options['vbms_port'] : $port);
	$notls = ($notls === NULL ? $vbulletin->options['vbms_forcenotls'] : $notls);
	
	$notls = ($notls ? "/notls" : "");
	
	return "{" . $hostname . ":" . $port . "/imap" . $notls . "}INBOX";
}

That should do it. I'm gonna try and make IMAP access a chooseable option in the next update.

Originally Posted by Ultimative

The following setting groups are already defined: vbms

Try deleting the "vbms" entry from the settinggroup table in your database then. You could also try properly running the uninstaller, as it's likely that the setting groups are not the only thing that was leftover from the first installation.

Originally Posted by MikeHolohan

I installed this on my test forum, now I can't login, it keeps sending me back to the login page.. Mike.

Restore a database backup? I have no idea what'd be causing this... can you not log in to the ACP or the normal forum or both?

[MikeHolohan]

Originally Posted by Krofh

Restore a database backup? I have no idea what'd be causing this... can you not log in to the ACP or the normal forum or both?

I couldn't login to anything, not the forum, not the AdminCp nothing, but it didn't matter it was just my test forum, I restored the database, thanks for the reply... Mike.

[MAXpowerPXL]

After much reading through all the errors posted here to find answers to my questions, I have this up and running.

I had the connection error during the installation and I found my server would only allow me to connect via imap not pop3.

In my opinion, this is the best vBulletin mod/hack ever made.
I almost can't believe it's free!

Thank you so much Krofh for the effort that has gone into this.

[nonamer69]

"EMAIL ATTACHMENTS = NO WORKY"

I've looked all over this thread to find a reason why I cannot seem to receive any attachments in my email messages. I tried the solution succo stated but still the same result. Has this problem not been resolved or is there a solution to that I missed somewhere in this thread?

btw, thanks for this great addon I just wish I could use it to its full capacity.

[thincom2000]

Changed it to output $reason instead of the error image and to hopefully locate my issue.

When running the cron, there are emails in the vbms account. VBMS checks the right account and counts the messages correctly.

PHP error: array_key_exists() [<a href='function.array-key-exists'>function.array-key-exists</a>]: The second argument should be either an array or an object (/home/crackede/public_html/includes/vbms_functions_checkmail.php:421)

No mail is saved to user accounts.
The mail VBMS found is deleted.
No logs are saved.

I am using PHP 5.1.6